Korean Job Discussion Forums

[hi54u]

I've recently been offered a position in Shanghai and a position in Seoul. I've worked in Korea for a while and I'm considering Shanghai for the experience of being someplace new as Seoul and Korea in general are the same old same old. I would make more money in Korea but so far I'm willing to look pass that for the experience. I should note that I've never been to Shanghai before or even mainland China for that matter, so it would be nice to read some opinions of those who may have worked in both cities or who are at least somewhat familiar with both. How does Shanghai compare to Seoul employment wise and outside of work?

[Speck7]

don't be naive. Take the Shaghai job. Ten times better than life draining Seoul, Korea. Korea is as you put it, "same old, same old" if you want to come back you can, but for heaven's sake, check out China.

[KimchiNinja]

Shanghai is a lot of fun.

[lemak]

Do a search. The topic gets rehashed at least every couple of months. The general consensus from those who made the jump from Seoul to Shanghai is that the latter is far preferable. It's a modern, cosmopolitan and vibrant city. By comparison Seoul feels like a gray, uniform and depressing backwater.
When I was in Korea I met so many teachers who said they want to go to China to teach. Now I'm in China I've met exactly zero teachers who say the same in reverse.
It is getting expensive though. You'll be barely scraping by on a Chinese university salary. You'll likely have to go for the private schools to keep your head above water financially.

[joelove]

I'd say they are both pretty good cities and if money is your top concern go with the one where you can put more away each month. I'm not sure which I'd prefer, though I've only spent a few short visits to Shanghai and years in Seoul. There was something about Shanghai that was sort of exciting but also just as artificial and money hungry as anywhere else I suppose. Sounds like a toss up to me, even though I prefer Chinese people overall. This is coming from many years in Korea, a few years in Seoul, and a few years in China, and 2 or 3 years not far from Shanghai, with various visits mainly to the area around West Nanjing Street in Shanghai, I believe. Big money area, many foreigners. Looks almost like a Japanese city I thought.

Ask on the China forums too. You'd need to register for the international forums if you are not yet.

[hi54u]

Thanks for the replies. The consensus on all of the other Shanghai/Seoul threads also overwhelmingly leans towards Shanghai. I just wanted to get an idea of if that's still the case, which it seems to be.

[Died By Bear]

Shanghai was on the news today. The smog was so bad that they lowered their smog restrictions so the warnings would stop. Don't know if you caught that or not. Really funny. You couldn't see two feet in front of you. Crazy Chinese guberment.

[Sector7G]

[littlelisa]

Personally, I like Seoul better than Shanghai, although I enjoyed my time in Shanghai as well. I have a friend in Shanghai who has said the same thing. She is looking at jobs outside of Shanghai for next year, I think. Assuming the jobs are equal, I'd go for Seoul, personally, but everyone is different.

Btw, Shanghai is totally different from everywhere else in China. My first reaction was that Shanghai was not very Chinese at all (I've been mostly to Beijing and in the more rural south of China before Shanghai).

[byrddogs]

Shanghai by a long stretch; and it's not really fair to Seoul to compare it with a place like Shanghai. The places are just different.

[joelove]

Go for the better looking job. I would, and I would rather be in China than Korea too. Practical matters might interfere.