Korean Job Discussion Forums

[demaratus]

Hi all,

I am looking for opinions and advice about a possible move to Korea. Here is my situation. I have spent the last year and a half in Taiwan (Kaohsiung) and have recently returned home. I enjoyed my time there but for me it was time to go. I will be in Canada for a few months visiting family and building some seed money for a trip back to Asia. Prioir to leaving for Taiwan I seriously considered Korea as a destination but many friends and contacts drew me to Taiwan. The money was decent (say roughly 2000 Canadian dollars a month), the lifestyle was fantastic, and the opportunities for travel were well used and appreciated (Saw Cambodia, Thailand, Vietnam and Taiwan). I had a great time in Taiwan but I would like to move on elsewhere. There were some things that weren't very tolerable (health issues) and more importantly some things that I missed a lot (mountains, snowboarding ect..).

My priorities are the ever-so generic Financial (who doesn't care a little about money?), Cultural and social (I actually would love to learn the langauge and make some local and foriegn friends in whatever country I land in). However being happy in my working situation is also very important to me. I have been told that Korea has a high standard or medical care, good food (I really like bulgogi and kimchi at least), and financially I believe it will be considerably better than Taiwan. But what about the average working situation? I read a lot of negative things here and elsewhere (I like to think that for every 1 that has something negative to say there could be 10 who are silent and happy though).

So anyone who has worked in both Taiwan and Korea, how would you compare them? Do they compare at all?

I have so many more questions on so many more topics, but I will limit this post to this topic.

Cheers,

Dem

[Tiger Beer]

I think it varies with every individual.

Mine:

1st Korean contract/employer. Busan. Split shift with adults.. 30/hours week. Shared apartment in 4-bedroom place. Sometimes I only had 1 other roommate in there.. sometimes had 3.. varied throughout the time there.

2nd Korean contract/employer. Seoul. Adult hogwan.. again split shift with adults.. 30/hours week.. my own apartment - living room, small bedroom and kithcen.

3rd Korean contract/employer. Seoul. Teaching at an internet company.. had a cubicle and computer in the office.. also had a one-room studio apartment. Had to be in an office for 35 hours a week.. but usually only taught between 15-20 hours a week. All ages, mostly kids though the internet.

4th and current employer. Seoul. University teaching. 12 hours a week.. 5 months of paid vacation.. 3-bedroom apartment to myself.

The first contract was 1996-1997 and wages were quite a bit lower then.. the other ones were all in Seoul 2000-.. and they all paid either a little or a lot more than the $2000 you were getting in Taiwan.

[iiicalypso]

I have done both Korea and Taiwan. My experience was apples and oranges-- working in Korea at a hagwon (hired help and expendable for odious bosses) versus a public school in Taiwan (treated like a professional for a wonderful and decent man). I don't think it is really possible to compare the two, and (here comes the obvious disclaimer) it depends on your situation.

I just have a soft spot (perhaps in my skull) for Korea. I found that I was better treated by the general public in Taiwan, and certainly ran into less of the obstacles that seem to pop up in Korea (paperwork, visa issues). Then again, maybe I got lucky with a great boss in Taiwan. Or perhaps it was the fact that I was in the countryside, where pale faces were rare. Couldn't tell you for sure, but I know that whenever I had trouble in a bank or grocery, one of my students parents would magically appear and help me.

I think that the food is better, by far in Korea, and I personally hated the weather in Taiwan (too damn hot too much of the time). The cost of living was significantly lower for me in Taiwan, but, again, I was not in Taipei, where there were things to spend your money on.

So, to answer the OP's question... I have no idea which is better. I am glad to have done time in Taiwan, but I think Korea is more exciting, vibrant and challenging. If that is what you are looking for, go Korea. If, on the other hand, you prefer a more straightforward and less frustrating life, I say stick with TW.

My two cents.

[demaratus]

Thanks guys! I was pretty fortunate in Taiwan, I didn't live in Taipei, but Kaohsiung isn't the countryside either. I did find though that I enjoyed myself much more in Taiwan when I left Kao, and travelled around esp to Taipei. I would think that Seoul is a pretty interesting place, and Busan also seems really cool (hell so do about 5 cities in Korea). I am pretty sure that financialy Korea will be a far better deal than Taiwan was (greta q of life but not a great place to save). But the only things that I am really unsure of are the quality of the working environment I will be in, the quality of housing (there isn't a lot of info on this, to me it seems to be a big mystery), and of course the culture which seems also to be quite the topic on this board.

Professionally I worked for decent people but they were businessmen before educators thats for sure. I have no illusions about changing the system, peoples cuture or that I or anyone can keep eveyone very happy all of the time. My expierience in Taiwan was pretty easy as I had friends there well before me who helped me a lot, I don't expect that but a nice working and living environment would be nice.

Thanks again,

Dem