Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Suwon23]

I'm going to work in Korea very soon, and I'm in a bit of a dilemma.

Last time I went to Korea I was on salary, and it was great. The company (CDI) paid for my housing and I saved an embarrassing amount of money by the end of my contract. This time, however, the same company wants me to work hourly. The base pay is higher, but I won't get free housing. I have student loans to pay off, so I really want to go with the option that pays better. They're offering me 3 million/month, plus key money. Last time it was 2.3 million a month and free housing. Also, I'm going to be in Seoul, specifically in Songpa, so housing might be expensive.

I would really love some advice on this if possible. Thank you all in advance.

[Weigookin74]

You'd have to speak to some who work for the specific school you're going to. But, I think the average half decent one room in Seoul is 500,000 won a month rent. Plus maybe 5 or 10 million won deposit. Think I had heard CDI only gives you 5. 10 would be better. Deal might be doable. You'd end up with 2.5 or 2.6 left over. If you wanted to rent a room, you'd really bank more. But, are they using this hourly rule to screw you out of medical and pension? Get confirmation on that first.

[wishfullthinkng]

how much key money is the question? the more they give you the less you will pay monthly. i'm fairly sure with 10k key money you can get a decent studio and only pay about 300-400 a month. so if you get benefits it sounds like you could bank even more, especially if overtime is in the equation.

[northway]

All the CDI employees I've known have said you make more from the hourly option than you do from the salaried option, and that's from three different schools. You can make a killing during the intensive periods. My friend took home 4 million one month.

Another thing to consider is if you're getting Wednesdays off. Doing that on an hourly contract can actually end up being pretty awesome, considering your base pay ends up averaging out to about 2.3 on a contract.

[Suwon23]

They do offer only 5 million in key money. Is that really not enough? I'm sure nothing about this contract is even slightly negotiable. It's CDI. I'm like an ant to them.

Also, I'll be living in a studio/bachelor apartment, not a one bedroom. I was told In Songpa-gu they usually go for 500k-600k, which is probably affordable.

[furtakk]

That is enough to get you something semi-decent in certain areas of Seoul. As far as I know CDI only has afternoon hours. If you don't mind it, you can live further away and just commute.

[Who's Your Daddy?]

5 Million isn't enough, even Busan is 10 Mil. And he's working in Songpa.

If you have some money in the bank to cover the key money you'll make more money on the hourly.

But as regards the "4 Mil a month during intensives" isn't great if you think about other jobs. Uni teachers I know are making 5 (they're getting a paid vacation plus working a paid camp). I'm around 6 mil. We're probably working less hours than someone working CDI for 4.

[Suwon23]

I talked to someone at CDI and they assured me that the real estate agent would be able to find a place for 5 million in key money. But I'm worried that it might be somewhere out on the edge of Songpa, and I would like to live in Bangi-dong in central Songpa, close to the school. It doesn't look like they're going to budge on the key money, so I'm not sure what I can do about it other than just leave and start the whole process over again, which I really do not want to do.

As for the money, I'm really not unhappy about it. As long as I can get an apartment that's close and not too expensive, then 3-4 million a month is fine. It's a hagwon, after all, not a university. Maybe someday I'll make more. My main concern right now is that I won't be able to find an apartment I can afford that's less than two or three kilometers from the school.

[furtakk]

there are plenty of places all over seoul where 5 million will do just fine. granted it won't get you a palace, but it'll be doable. even if the realtor advertises the place as 10 mil down, you can offer to up the monthly if it's something your heart is set on.

is there a reason you want to be so close? as far as i know cdi hours start at 4 or something similar. you'd have plenty of time to commute. 30 minutes on the subway will open up a lot of options in terms of housing.

[Suwon23]

I am absolutely unwilling to commute. When I applied to CDI, I explicitly stated that I wanted to work and live in downtown Seoul, and that I wanted to be near my school. If I were a salaried employee, I would be living within two blocks of the school. I spent two glorious years walking to work and I'm not about to spend 30 minutes every day crammed into some ajoshi's armpit at the same salary just because the company thinks I'm a sucker they can walk all over. Sorry, I don't mean to rant. It's just that having an apartment close to work used to be one of the benefits of working at CDI, and I told them as much before they offered me this position, so now I'm pissed.

[Who's Your Daddy?]

[Suwon23]