Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Howler Monkey]

I was reading a thread earlier that mentioned Korea is due for a big economic meltdown/crash in the coming year. Right now I work in China, I'm content here, but I want to make more money to go back to uni.

Weathering an economic tsunami in Korea is pretty much promising that'll kill my return to school plans.

Any thoughts on a possible market/economy collapse for the Land of 1000 Soju Vomit stains between my apartment and my school?

[ttompatz]

Personally, I would be more worried about Uncle Sam having an economic meltdown with its monstrous deficits.

At least Korea still has China as a major market.

.

[Howler Monkey]

So things are looking fairly stable in Korea then?

[GwangjuParents]

China's a big bubble waiting to pop.... no, wait... it's already popping...

http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2010/07/ponzi-shark-loans-fuel-chinas-housing.html

[Yaya]

South Korea�s economy probably grew for a sixth straight quarter in the three months to June, adding to evidence that Asia�s fourth-largest economy is withstanding risks to the global recovery.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-07-22/south-korea-economy-probably-outperformed-adding-to-pressure-on-rates.html

[brickabrack]

Just think which countries have not or are not having a bubble burst.
Minus Brazil.
SK is due. China has been brewing for some time. The U.S. has been battling theirs in the most futile manner. The EU is definitely not out of the dark.

I can see it happening in SK, but what will that mean in terms of savings. What currency are you converting to?

SK's housing bubbling is like the thing happening in China right now. Resistance is futile! Get back to the basics. Bartering, crafts, DIY.

Actually, saying that a bubble will burst in SK come November is like saying that the GDP will grow by 6%. Nobody really knows. Do some global finance research and don't listen to Dave's ESL forecasters.

[Howler Monkey]

I'll be converting to USD. Right now I just can't save enough in China to pay for school. One year in Korea and I'm set. I may well do that year, return to China to work at some cake Management job as a DoS in a backwater branch of the company I work for now and do the schooling bit.

[brier]

Many have spoken of Korea's position as weak, but I think Korea will do just fine. Only wish the Korean government would let the housing bubbe deflate slowly. By Korea doing fine, I mean corporate Korea and all of its lackies.

[4 months left]

The Korean gov't is trying to let the housing bubble deflate slowly by buying up apts.

Korean depends heavily on China and U.S. for trade, depends on how those countries do.

Disturbing headline from China released a few minutes ago.

China�s Banks Said to See Risks in 23% of $1.1 Trillion Loans


July 23 (Bloomberg) -- Chinese banks may struggle to recoup about 23 percent of the 7.7 trillion yuan ($1.1 trillion) they�ve lent to finance local government infrastructure projects, according to a person with knowledge of data collected by the nation�s regulator.

About half of all loans need to be serviced by secondary sources including guarantors because the ventures can�t generate sufficient revenue, the person said, declining to be identified because the information is confidential. The China Banking Regulatory Commission has told banks to write off non-performing project loans by the end of this year, the person said.

Commission Chairman Liu Mingkang said this week borrowing by the so-called local government financing vehicles may threaten the banking industry. The nation�s five-largest banks, including Agricultural Bank of China Ltd., plan to raise as much as $53.5 billion to replenish capital after the sector extended a record $1.4 trillion in credit last year.

Local governments set up the financing vehicles to fund projects such as highways and airports due to limits on their ability to directly borrow money. The central government this year restricted borrowing on concern money isn�t being used for viable projects.

Only 27 percent of the loans to the financing vehicles can be repaid in full by cash generated by the projects they funded, the person said.

Calls to the banking regulator�s press office in Beijing after business hours weren�t unanswered.

Ensure Repayment

China last month ordered local governments to ensure repayment and to concentrate on completing projects already under way. Financing units that fund only public projects and rely on the fiscal income of local governments to repay debt should stop spending, the State Council said June 13. Local governments have also been barred from guaranteeing loans taken by their financing vehicles.

To minimize losses during this reform, the banking regulator has ordered lenders to create teams to discuss loan repayments with local governments and protect the rights of creditors, the person said.

Chairman Liu said in April that inspectors would visit banks in the third quarter to check on loan reports that had to be submitted by the end of June. Those reports showed the banks had 7.7 trillion yuan of outstanding loans to the local financing vehicles at the end of last month, the person said.

[World Traveler]

[Jeonmunka]

Korean companies were close to Wall Street. Just pre-Lehman's demise one Korean company nearly bought it. And not dirt cheaply either.
I get the feeling Korea is/was very much stuck with junk bonds.
The property market in Seoul is quite inflated. But, pple are still paying.
The xrate has KRW so low, but pple are still exchanging ...

[jdog2050]

[Vix]

Stop trying to predict the future, you'll rarely be right and its stressful!

[nstick13]

The Won may see difficulties in the next year if the US faces a double-dip recession. Simply put, when the economy goes down the toilet in the US, investors race to buy up US bonds, which makes the dollar stronger globally. Great if you're vacationing to Europe, terrible if you're working in Korea.

Korea will be fine largely because their government practices strong Keynesian principles--spending when times are bad and saving when they're good. Hence the point about buying apartments to slow a housing bubble burst.