Korean Job Discussion Forums

[aweitzm1]

I am wondering if it is possible to live comfortably on 2.5 million won with sending approximately 1.3 - 1.5 million won back to the US each month.

I am trying to figure out a budget and if I am being realistic that I can send that much money home. My goals are to 1. payoff my debt of approximately $10,000 2. Travel S.E. Asia and 2. live comfortably.

I will be living in Mokdong, Seoul and I heard the area if more expensive then other parts of Seoul. I was told utilities can be as much as 200,000 won and I do not think that includes cable and internet.

I am thinking that most of my money would go towards food as I do not cook all that much. So I would probably eat out most days.

I would like to also set some money aside to travel while I am in SK. Is that possible?

I will be working afternoon and evening hours so I would probably only go out on the weekends and possibly one night after work occasionally.

Once I pay off my debt I would like to start saving money so when I return to the US I do not have to worry about supporting myself while I look for a job

I would appreciate any feedback as to what I am thinking of budgeting. Let me know if these are realistic prices or if I am off in my thinking. I know I won't be able to fully calculate how much everything will cost me until I get to Seoul in a couple of weeks but I would like to see if I am on the right track.

FYI- I tend to budget high so if something unexpected comes up I will not have to worry about it

Utilities $200,000.00
landline $ 50,000 (this is mandatory according to my contract and I will use it to call family internationally)
Trans $ 40,000.00 (I am a big subway person or taxi if I have a lot of things to carry. I hate taking buses as I get motion sickness)
food $100,000.00
restaurant $400,000.00 (I am thinking this might be high)
misc/ent. $150,000.00
internet $ 40,000.00
cable $ 40,000.00
cell $ 40,000.00 (let me know if this is to low... I would like a plan where I can text and use the internet and talk on the phone... hopefully I can get an iphone)

I am trying to find room to put money aside to travel, entertainment, and find enough room to send money home. I need to cut something somewhere but I do not know what yet.

My idea of entertainment is a movie, museum, concert, dinner, theater, or visiting a budhist temple. I do not go to the clubs very often and I am not a big drinker.

Thanks in advance

[wormholes101]

400,000 won for food is not unrealistic if you eat out for dinner every night and don't always eat budget.

15 meals @ 6,000 won (budget)
4 meals @ 25,000 (special night)
11 meals at 10,000 (mid-range)

That makes 390,000 won.

[AsiaESLbound]

Your figures such as $40,000 for cable seem a bit high. Yes, you can easily live on 1,000,000 won a month. I live on less and my utilities run 100,000 to 200,000 per month. My food runs 400,000 to 500,000, my most major expense so far. Less if I did not buy luxuries like Starbucks coffee beans, fresh foods, and bottled water. If you drink or go out on the town regularly, then you will spend tons more. My fruits, vegetables, and juice ramp up the costs more than what the minimum food costs would run such as if I drank tap water, ate rice, and only cheap street foods for eating out which many Korean people do live so spartan as this.

[Senior]

You shouldn't have any issues living on a mil if you are a single guy.

The best way to save is to "pay yourself first", on pay day, transfer the money you want to save, to an account you can't access easily, and live on the rest. Having said that, I don't recommend depriving yourself. Don't skimp on the important stuff like food and clothes.

[aweitzm1]

Thanks for all the feedback.... I figured out I need to send back about $1,200 a month to payoff my bills back home and some other incidental bills. I am figuring I will need to live on about 1 million won a month. I will be glad once my bills are paid off and then I can enjoy life a little more.

I am trying to see what I can live without like learning to cook and not eating out as much.

[BringTheRain]

I have no idea why you would have to have a mandatory landline. I've lived years here without one.

Even more baffling is why it would cost W50,000 per month.

Use the internet to call home... or your cell. Of course it's cheaper online but not that expensive on your cell.

[air76]

Use skype to call home....it's 2 cents/minute and free if they sign up for skype as well....skype to skype calls are even better quality and free!

You can easily live on 1 million/month. What makes Seoul more expensive is not the general cost of goods there, but the availability of foreign foods and other goods. If you limit your trips to Burger King, Starbucks, and Cold Stone then you will be fine.

My girlfriend and I live off around 1 million won TOTAL. It's hard, but doable....so one person off a million shouldn't be hard at all. Don't get me wrong, you'll still need to watch your spending if you want to stick to a million. A couple 100,000 won drinking nights and 2 expensive foreign dinners could kill your budget pretty quick.

If you honestly don't cook, then Gimbap Nara will be your friend...but if saving money is a real priority then you might want to reconsider the no cook policy and try to cook some food at home.

[goesslry]

when i first came here, i lived comfortable on 500k per month. but i was single also.

Now that I am married (wife is korean) with a child, it takes close to 3 mill a month to be comfortable.

[emclaine66]

Yeah, landlines are obsolete here, and about 10,000 won a month if you do have one. Just say you already have a cell phone with free minutes to the US and use skype, like others have mentioned.
No problem whatsoever to save 1,000,000 especially if you pick up a couple of overtime classes.

[wormholes101]

I think the 50,000 won is probably your internet and cable together, maybe phone too.

[akcrono]

[jomiro]

Utilities $200,000.00 - (depends on the season. summer, with no air con, but fan on 24/7, you will have utitilties that wont even get up to 50.000. in the winter the 200.000 can easily be reached due to the heating)

landline $ 50,000 - get skype and call them from skpe. $10 will last you very, very long. or, if necessary, get an internet phone connection. much cheaper and works like a normal phone. usually internet and phone bill comes together. would say its not more that 20.000 for the phone connection (the calls not included)

Trans $ 40,000.00 - 900 won for subway minimum. can go up to 1100 depending on how many stations you ride. bus is the same. taxi starts at 2.400 krw. 30 mins on a cab are around 20.000 krw. subway stops running past midnight and resumes service at 530am. inbetween that, if you take a cab, the cabs charge an extra fee.

food $100,000.00 - will you be cooking at home?? if not, cross off
restaurant $400,000.00 - average price here for a meal at lunch time is between 5.000 - 9.000 krw. at night prices are a bit higher. but theres also very inexpensive korean fast food restaurants (kimbab cheonkuk) where you can get some korean food for little money.

misc/ent. $150,000.00 - not sure if thats enough. a beer is at 3.000, a mixed drink is at 5.000 the least. movies 8.000 - 10.000. clubs and some bars charge cover for men (girls are for free). so that depends on how much of an entertainment seeker you are. concerts are at 88.000 (international bands, cheapest ticket).

internet $ 40,000.00 - too much, id say. you can get a good connection for 30.000 already. i pay around 25.000, its lg innerwebs.

cable $ 40,000.00 - if you order the cable service from the same provider that provides you with phone and internet, its much cheaper. i pay 17.200 a month for cable.

cell $ 40,000.00 - iphone.. forget about that. thats at least 60.000 for a leasing period of 2 years. foreigners pay more, as our visas dont last for two years.
normal cell plan. it comes as cheap as 15.000 - 20.000 incl. free txt msgs and free calling mins. if you get a smart phone or a phone with a bigger screen its almost usual to have internet coming with that, as well as tv. as far as tv goes, unless you speak korean, no use for that. as its all in korean. would say 30.000 max and you are in.


i have a pretty good life with 1.1 million a month. but then again, im not a teacher, sharing an apartment with other people and have to pay my rent myself.
in addition im taking a long weekend off every other month and travel to japan. (not the cheapest place to travel to and stay at). however, i do think if you want to send 1.2 mil back a month, you should be able to without having to live on the edge to poverty ^&^

[dsun1226]

[Captain Von Sillypants]

Bottled water's cheap. I get a 6 pack of large bottles of the good stuff for 4k-5k. The tap water tastes horrible.

[DeMayonnaise]