Korean Job Discussion Forums

[shawner88]

I was supposed to come here to China for just a couple of weeks and now it's going on 2 months and I'm staying. After 5 years in Korea, I can't believe how easily I have adapted to China and how much I like it here. There are ups and downs of course - but the best side is that the women are awesome and the people are much more genuine. The food is also great, so many different kinds to choose from and there are Korean restaurants all around too.

Anyone else make the move here from Korea? I would post this on the China board, but Dave has to make it a job only discussion room or get banned I guess. That's one of the downsides of China...

[Ya-ta Boy]

I thought seriously about it. I applied for and was offered a couple of uni jobs. I just couldn't justify doing the same work as in Korea at such a low salary.

Best of luck

[waterbaby]

Shawner - I did it, but got screwed royally by the uni I was employed by and found myself back in Korea 6 months later - hope it all works out better for you ... would like to see another book based on your experiences in china

[Badmojo]

Are you kidding me man?

I'm there next week.

Once you realize money isn't everything, you go to China.

I love Chinese people. You just can't compare these two countries. Korea loses everywhere but money. F that, I'll leave poor, but with Chinese.

That's it, there's nothing else.

[SarcasmKills]

Let's see how much you like China when you realize that you can't save squat compared to Korea there..

That's just one factor.. but the whole "more genuine people" comment and the like are a bit laughable.. not to say they might have some sense of validity, but you're obviously in your honeymoon period of being in China..

Your just setting your self up for criticism once you realize that the land of Mao isn't the dreamland you are presently envisioning..

that's being said.. good luck... I think you're going to need it!

[Lao Wai]

I lived in Korea for two years and China for one year. In Korea, I lived in Busan. In China, I lived in Shenzhen, which is a new city located 45 minutes from Hong Kong by boat.

Comparisons...hmm...well, for starters, Shenzhen looks a million times better than Busan. Palm trees everywhere, grass, flower beds, nice buildings, clean, wide streets, excellent cafes and restaurants. Oh, they also had a number of foreign food stores where you could find EVERYTHING (In my case, Cool Ranch Doritos). So, from an aesthetic point of view, Shenzhen wins hands down.

The people...I didn't find people in Shenzhen to be overly friendly, but I did appreciate that they didn't stare at me as much, and I generally didn't feel as freakish there. I never felt the 'inner rage' I used to feel sometimes in Busan when people were so blantant in pointing and talking about me in front of my face. The whole time I was in China I never heard anyone call me Lao Wai (Foreigner) or Mei guo ren (American). Chinese people assume everyone is American too, but the people in Shenzhen at least, didn't feel it necessary to say it to my face.

Still, in one year I never made ANY Chinese friends, besides some waiters and waitresses at a local foreign pub. In Korea I had a lot of Korean friends. I found Koreans to be much more in your face. This could be a good thing or bad thing, depending on the the situation. I'm thinking my lack of friends had a lot to do with the fact that the level of English in Shenzhen was surprisingly low, considering it is so near Hong Kong. I also had a lot less free time (working at an international school), and didn't drink as much in China.

People in Shenzhen were also much better at navigating their way through crowds, I didn't bump into people as much there either. The women in Shenzhen also wore much less makeup than Korean women, and didn't seem as princess-like.

One thing I didn't like about China was the amount of homeless people begging. It was truly shocking. And these weren't people scamming either. The were missing limbs or were mentally challenged for the most part. Another thing I didn't like were the overly agressive sales people. "Mister!!! DVD, DVD DVD DVD!!! WATCH!!! MASSAGE!!!!" When I tried to walk by I'd get a whispered "SEXY DVD?"
I didn't find the sales people came after me at all in Busan.

I have to agree with the OP, Chinese food is much better than Korean food in that there is such a huge variety. I still really like Korean food but by the time I left there I was sick of gochu-jang.

Overall, I had a better time in Korea (lots of stories to tell when I went back to Canada), but for day to day living, China was a lot easier on my head. I could get the food I craved from home, didn't get stared at as much, lots of green space, nice restaurants, less crowded, etc. The only stories I had to tell about China were really unrelated to China itself, with the exception of my bi-monthly jaunts to Hong Kong, and my trip to Beijing. I realize that Shenzhen is a special economic zone, so it might not be representative of the rest of China, and I did find there was more English in Beijing. Shenzhen felt like it had no Soul compared to Busan. I felt this way, and another teacher who had taught in Seoul agreed with me.

[captain kirk]

Me: I've heard the only way to make money teaching English in China is to move to Korea.

Chinese English teacher: Haha.


Me: I've heard Chinese people are friendlier than Korean people.


Chinese English teacher: They're more simple.

[stalinsdad]

I'm always confused when people-usually Canadians think that we are well paid here in Korea!
USA/Canada/Britain/Australia average wage is around 30,000$ per year.
Admittedly we work less but, there are some draw backs!!!!
I was talking to an American guy last night from Georgia, he is paid 1700$ a month welfare+ housing paid etc.
He seems to have the right idea sitting on his arse eating chittlings.

[RachaelRoo]

[guangho]

If you can set yourself up in an international school or some situation outside of the average Chinese ESL jobs (which pay 3,000-6,000 yuan a month, equaling about U.S. $ 375-750), the place is worth a shot. Mind the omnipresent Chinese army and be careful with what you say and who you talk to.

[gmat]

I have just moved from China (Dalian) to Seoul (Gangnam). I enjoyed my time in China, however, day to day living is so much more civil here in Seoul. In terms of ease of living, after reading this Korea forum for years, I was expecting it to be more like China, but thankfully Seoul is much more like __________ (insert any North American city here).

When I read people complaining about certain aspects of Korea, I now realize that the Great Wall of Whiner was correct when he claimed China is like Korea on steroids. Take any problem you have in Korea mutiply by 10 and that will be the situation in China.

Having said that, I have been underwhelmed by the beauty of Korean women (even here in Apgujeong). Perhaps it is a case of having high expectations (by reading this forum). Of course there are great looking women here, but I believe Dalian has much better looking women on average than Seoul.

Please note that Dalian girls (along with Sichuan and Hangzhou) are regarded as the best looking in China - according to Chinese polls. FWIW.

[weatherman]

Shawner88, what are you doing for work over in China, and does it pay the bills?

[Ya-ta Boy]

[trevorcollins]

China is infinitely more interesting. And plum (sp?) jobs are starting to appear. The second that regular salaries there reach $1000+ a month the only suckers left working in Korea will be those that married into it and are trapped here. For good. Arrgh!

[buddy bradley]

Well, I guess that I'll be seeing you guys in Shanghai - I can't wait!