Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Faron]

To get the 200 000 won rural/provincial allowance, how rural are we talking about? Are we talking about towns with less than 200 000, 100 000 or 50 000? I can't seem to find any info on average population of rural areas using english teachers in korea. Thanks in advance.

[passport220]

Hiya:

The rural allowance is given based on the province that you are in and not the town you are assigned to. I have been told anyplace referred to as a �gun� is very small (maybe less than 5,000 people). Example: Yecheon Gun.

I live in a town of 300,000 and still receive the rural allowance. It is a modern small city with up-to-date shopping (we have an e-mart), a public bus system and a lot of good restaurants. It is the Omaha, Nebraska of South Korea.

If you want to live in a larger town I suggest you look at a map of South Korea and pick out towns within the province you are interested in. You can then do a search of the town. Most cities in Korea with a population above 50,000 seem to have a municipal web page. I told my recruiter the town of my preference and that is where I was assigned.

Good luck

[Smee]

I live in a town of 16,000 and I don't get a rural bonus. Some of the folks around here teach in schools with 40 students, or they go to "villages" (면, actually) with 3,000 people, and they don't get bonuses. There are 3 counties in this province---I think---that give bonuses: Goheung, Wando, and Jindo. 2 are islands and 1 is comprised of a peninsula and some islands. I also listened to offers from other provinces---Gyeongsangnam-do and Gangwon-do---that were offering bonuses. I guess it depends on the province, and in Jeollanam-do's case I guess it depends if you're on an island.

That said, I've seen Naju---a "city" of 100,000---that I'd consider rural. If you're looking at places that offer a bonus, you're probably looking at a county with something like 60,000 people (ballpark). In Jeollanam-do's case you'd get placed in the county seat, which would have between 10,000 and 20,000 people. For Gyeongsangnam-do, I was offered an extra 200,000---100K for provincial, 100K for rural---to go to Sancheong, population 36,800 for the entire county.

You can find population stats on counties if you go to www.wikipedia.org or www.galbijim.org You can find population stats for villages---most times---on the county's official site.

[Boodleheimer]

i'm in a town of 45,000 and i get the bonus. we finally got an Emart a few weeks ago! but if i don't get out of here once a month i know i'll lose it.

[just because]

[just because]

In response to the Op question:

rural could mean many things...

I live in changwon city which gives an allowance and has over 500 000 people. It could be anything from 500 000 to 500 people...

In saying that it is a lot different from living in the city...a lot more laid back, but also you are much more of a curiosity so expect the positives and negatives of that to play out.....

[formerflautist]

80,000 and I get it.

[mithridates]

[Ya-ta Boy]

I've worked at two schools located in myons of under 10,000 people and did NOT get the extra money. As with many of the laws in Korea, this one is enforced in an arbitrary manner and therefore unpredictable.

[xtchr]

[spliff]

^Me to...I live in a real small rural town but only receive 100,000 bonus.

[Faron]

Thanks guys for the responses, I know the Jeonbuk province and the Chungbuk province give the bonuses in certain areas and was hoping to get the extra 200 000. I'm not exactly sure if I could handle living in a village but I think I could manage living in a town of 30 000+ Thanks again

[dogshed]

[Len8]

Question for you public school teachers. Do you get that bonus every month?

[antoniothegreat]