Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Captain Zoom]

Hi folks,

This question might not get asked much, but I'm thinking about taking a break from Tokyo and ducking over to Korea for a year. The main reason is that things are really expensive here and salaries aren't that high. I manage to send money home, but my bank account is running low and I feel the need to sock away some serious savings.

So, yeah, that's where Korea comes in. I visited Seoul for a few days so I think I have a bit of a feel for that city, but I just have some questions about Korea. If anyone would be kind enough to help out, that'd be cool.

1) Is there a big difference in what the typical person saves depending on whether you live in Seoul or in some other area?

2) How livable are the major cities besides Seoul? Are there any major differences between Seoul and the other big cities? (besides Seoul's greater size and stature, of course) I might like Busan as I could duck over to Japan quite easily I gather on the ferry and I have some friends in that part of Japan.

3) Is there a lot of foreigner-Korean interaction outside of Seoul? I ask this because I'd like to study Korean and it would certainly help to live someplace were chatty and outgoing and whatnot. Are any cities or areas well-known for that kind of thing? I imagine that Seoul is too big to be very friendly.

4) If I'm only going to be there for a year, I wonder if I could power-study my way to decent Korean. What do you think? I have decent Japanese, which should give me a head start. Are there any areas of Korea where foreigners seem to have a higher level of Korean ability?

5) Are people going to give me problems because I've lived in Japan? Is this something that I'm going to have to hide from Koreans? It's not really something that I'd want to keep secret, so are there any areas of Korea that are particularly anti-Japan? Any areas where it would be less of a problem?

6) Any other thoughts?

So, yeah, I'd appreciate any comments. Basically, I'm just an experienced English teacher who's looking to pile as much away into my bank account as possible in one year and since I'm there anyway I'd like to get at least an intermediate level of Korean by the time I go.

Thanks,

Zoom

[kingplaya4]

All I can tell you is people way exaggerate the money they save here. I think some maybe are in the ballpark, but understand some of them have Korean wives, and have been here many years and make a lot more than us newbs have an opportunity to do.

On a salary of 2.0 in Daegu which I am told is a lot cheaper than Seoul I honestly end up sending home about 700 USD a month, and I only go out once a week (as far as drinking) and don't go nuts. Don't know how this compares with Japan, but from talking with my coworkers here, this is a ballpark fairly typical actual savings rate, although I know one guys who really lives it up and doesn't save a penny. Don't know how this compares to Japan, but before I came here I was told sending home 1000 USD after going out all the time was easy, not true, although if you live small it is possible without privates.

[Rey Mysterio 619]

Depends. Average pay is 2.2 a month now I think. Remember this though: Korea is not like Japan - there is one city, and one city only - Seoul. All other cities are smaller versions without a distinct character.

Also, Korea, if you were to compare it to Tokyo, Taipei, Bangkok, Saigon, Phnom Penh, etc is really boring regarding nightlife. So it works both ways - either sit at home for lack of any good things to do, or go out and spend a lot of money just trying to remain sane.

Truth be told though, the money here can be good, but it takes time to find the good gigs. You won't find the good jobs via the internet, or the privates, either; all the good stuff comes from the people you know.

[doggyji]

[Rey Mysterio 619]

Wait, I sounded really bitter in my post, allow me to clarify - what I meant was, is that it is difficult to meet people in Korea, as opposed to other Asian countries.

Koreans are offish towards foreigners, and a lot of foreigners here have an unapproachable holier-than-thou attitude for some bizarre reason. Make of that what you will, but it is true.

[laogaiguk]

[laogaiguk]

[quote="laogaiguk"]

[cwaddell]

Regarding saving money, I'm not sure how the poster above fails to save only 700,000 Won when only drinking once a month. I either go out drinking, or go on a weekend trip to a different city every weekend, and find it pretty easy to save 1,000,000 a month.

[rothkowitz]

Hmm...say you're on 2.2 and go out once a week(spending 50K each time)

You ought to be able to save 1 million easily if:

-you don't need to buy a new wardrobe
-don't have an expensive hobby
-have a gf that's modest rather than high-maintenance
-don't mind getting sloshed cheaply at home or at friends
-don't go on trips to Thailand during your holiday
-can keep yourself amused to some extent

The more you socialise and want to take up new stuff,then the more you'll spend.Some teachers will keep this in check by not paying their fair share or pleading poverty.

If you take up kumdo or a gym subscription that could be 80k a month...

To save money I'll do a gi-normous shop every 2 weeks then make sure to cook at home as much as possible.Trying to maintain a western diet will probably be your biggest expense.

[princess]

I always worry that I don't save crap compared to other people, but I am single and I have a life. At least I have met people worse off than me though. In 2004, one girl I worked with didn't have a dime at the end of her one year contract. She had to borrow 600,000 from another teacher to get through her last 2 weeks before getting her final pay and bonus. She took waaaaaaay too may taxi rides from Seoul to Uijeoungbu and drank like a fish. I could never be this poor at saving money.

[numazawa]

[PimpofKorea]

Wanna save money....eat your own boogers....it will get you through a drought...believe you and me.

[Captain Zoom]

[rocklee]

When you come to Seoul, you will find that your standards will drop.

Those trailer park bars are pretty common in these parts.

I loved Japan for being Japan (there is no other way that I could describe it), I loved China for being so big and mysterious and I'm slowly warming up to Korea for being the way it is.

[laogaiguk]