Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Dev]

I'm really curious about people who have worked in both countries. How do they measure up? I hear that the money can be quite good in China nowadays.

Obvious benefits in China are;

Tastier and a better variety of foods
Lower cost of living

Cons -
Corrupt employers and cops
Filthy environment

I bumped into an American dude at a backpakers in Seoul and he told me horror stories about employers in China that walk all over their contracts and fire teachers with no notice. He said, Korea, although far from perfect was heaven in comparison. Any thoughts on this?

[Dazed and Confused]

I worked in China about 10 years ago. I would agree with what the backpacker had to say. China is very different from Korea. For everyone there are pluses and minuses. That's not to say I never had good times but I've found Korea much more bearable-9 years and counting.
I hate Chinese food. Never really had an opinion about it before I lived in China but ever since living there I don't think I've had Chinese food of my own free will.
There are a couple other posters here who have crossed the Yellow Sea in either direction. Joe Dofu and Great Wall of Whiner come to mind. There a few others but I don't remember their names. They'd have more up to date info on salaries, visas, ect than I do.

[Juregen]

I Do not agree with the food


4 days in China gave me acidic stomach aches.

FIlthy environment hell yes,

Crazy drivers .. i was happy to be back in Korea, imagine that?

Hardly any facilities available for a decent living, i really pitty the chinese, or am i just being spoiled?

The day ofcourse they start consuming like Westerners we are in for a lot of trouble.

[jacl]

I think the best place between the four majors (Korea, Taiwan, Japan, and China) is Korea.

China's salaries are still relatively low even with the low cost of living. Life conditons are very iffy and the food would be very risky. I like Chinese food. They have great dumplings, noodles, chicken dishes, etc. I can't comment on what the food would be like in China because my only experience is in Taiwan. There, the food can get monotonous much like here. But it's different and there's more of a variety in taste. You might find yourself very bored in China. Chinese kids are probably like teaching the devil himself.

Taiwan's salaries don't seem to be going anywhere and they screw you on your contract before you even start in most cases. Income taxes are higher, no year-end bonus, no free rent, bad visa regulations, contracts in Chinese, etc. Taiwan, however, can be more fun than Korea because it's more laid back. Kids are more difficult to deal with than in Korea.

Japan's salaries have gone down. It's more expensive there. It seems that you would be more of an outcast. Have to wear a suit.

Anyway, that's about all I know. Not much help. It would be interesting to hear some stories from China. I saw a couple of jobs for principals there in the past that paid 20,000 RMB/month. That's good!

[jacl]

I laugh when I hear people complain about drivers and noise here. In Taiwan, it's noisy as hell with people running red lights, driving drunk and basically, well, just bad. Dirty as hell and smelly with the seweres. Dogs running all over the place and barking/growling at you. Noodles were good. As were the dumplings and breakfast shops. Hot chilli sauce rules. Chinese restaurants are good (and loud, but who cares?). People can be quite deceiving.

So, I imagine that China would be worse than Taiwan. You'd want to live in a big city, but the pollution is really bad.

[dreaming_saturn]

I've taught in China, but not yet in Korea ( I'll be arriving in August) but I'll share my experiences.

A lot of mention of dirt/etc, well, remember that China is HUGE, and it really depends on what area of China you move to. If that kind of thing puts you off move to the richer east, it's more expensive but quality of life is better. I lived in Hangzhou and have to say it had everything I needed, a large Carefour departements store, fairly clean, beautiful parks around west lake, tons of bars and clubs, all kinds of restaurants and places like starbucks, all the fast food places, nice sports clubs. It was fairly clean and quite beautiful. But travelling around to, for example to Xian in the middle of the country, everything looked rusted and falling apart, and much dirtier. Also wasn't that impressed with Beijing, it was nice but don't think I'd want to live there. So, I think there are some nice places to work in China, it's huge. I had a good impression of Qingdao as well, beautiful city right on the beach. There are plenty of places I'd never work after visiting. I'd say go there first and pick a city you like.

To what jacl said above, I liked Hangzhou, Suzhou and Qingdao better than Taiwan, much quieter.

[alinkorea]

I've worked in both for a few years each. They are very different. China is undergoing huge cultural change, which makes it a very interesting and dynamic country. Capitalism and communism are meeting head on, making you feel your living in an important part of history. Korea doesn't remotely offer that feeling.
That said the standard of living offered by teaching in Korea is much higher. China would be extremely daunting for the first time traveller. Most day to day 'things' are much more difficult, which can be frustrating, but also add to the mix. Life is Korea is much easier.
A myth about China I've seen on Dave's is that it's a gold mine to make money from teaching. It isn't. There are some good job's, but there are very, very few where an inexperienced teacher will get the benefit package standard to Korea. Many contract teaching jobs, where you get paid 12 months a year and get accomodation are relatively low paid, (around 800 dollars a month.) Many other jobs pay per hour (good rate in cities is 20 dollars) but they don't give anything else. No apartment, no wages when there are no classes.
PS. In Beijing or Shanghai you can get a great mix of food from all over the world. Elsewhere the novelty of Chinese food wears off very quickly

[Boodleheimer]

i made the switch from china to korea on july 1st. so i'm probably still in the honeymoon phase with korea.

chinese food is horrible. the only thing i really liked was hot pot.

i worked at a university in beijing and at a college in qingdao. the uni was nice to me, but beijing is a hole in the summer and winter, not to mention the ubiquitous pollution. qingdao was a more liveable city, but there were just as many kids crapping on the streets. and the college fired people without notice and cut off the heating to the teachers' apartments during the coldest months, among other nasty things.

i'm very glad i made the move to korea, even if it does mean less vacation time and more office hours. (i'm in a public high school now) i much prefer korean food and the people don't stare anywhere near as much (and i'm in the country) and they're much, much more accepting and polite.

[Aussiekimchi]

Is my math terrible or does the average teaching job in China pay about 800 000KRW a month?
Anyone who has worked in China please let us know what you were making and how did that compare to other foreigners teaching there.

[rocklee]

[bluefox808]

I'm working in Shanghai right now, teaching adults. My contract is up in a few months, and I was looking into teaching in Korea or Taiwan next. This thread was really helpful! Here's my 2 cents on Shanghai:

Pros:

--One of the most dynamic cities in the world now. The fast pace of construction is unbelievable. Go back to America for a month, and you won't recognize your own street when you come back (that happened to me). You really feel like you're on the cutting edge of the global economy.

--Very international city. Although the majority of my students are Chinese, I also get a lot of Japanese, Korean, and Taiwanese. When I go out for a drink, I run into lots of Europeans. Everybody's coming to China for business. I've only worked in Shanghai, but I have the feeling if I went to another country, I'd only teach students of that country.

--Great nightlife and restaurant scene. It seems like a new club has a big opening every week. Top international DJs are always flying in.

--Cheap pirated DVDs. Cost about $1 USD each.

Cons:

--Low salaries. 10,000 RMB ($1250 USD) a month is average. If you work directly for a primary school or high school, not through some ESL company, it's much higher, 20,000 RMB- 30,000. The top corporate teaching jobs can pay that too, but competition is fierce and the requirements are high.

--No flights, no housing, no health insurance.

--Spitting. I've heard it's worse in the North of China, but it's still bad here. Nothing ruins my day like hearing someone behind me go, "HOIK!"

--Littering. People throw trash everywhere, even out car windows.

--Rudeness. People bang into you on the sidewalk. Cut in front of the line at shops. Getting in and out of buses, subways can be an epic battle. That's when China's overpopulation becomes really obvious.

--Public transportation. Although Shanghai has a subway, it only has 4 lines currently. There's supposed to be 9 lines by 2010 for the World Expo. Buses go everywhere, but there's no bus map or website that has English. I learned through trial and error and asking my Chinese co-workers which buses to use.

--Construction. It's hard to escape the noise. My friends and I have all had people doing loud work above our apartments and at our offices.

--Censored Internet. I get so pissed off when I can't view a web page because it's blocked.

--Currency controls. You can change U.S. dollars to Chinese RMB, but it's very difficult to do it the other way around. It's also hard to wire money back to the States.

--Learning Mandarin. Stick to the North of China for that (Beijing, Qingdao, Dalian, etc.). In Shanghai, they usually speak Shanghai dialect on the streets.

I haven't visited Korea yet. The free flight & free apartment packages sound really attractive to me right now. Is it true about the xenophobia and lack of foreign products? How's the scene for teaching adults?

I visited Taipei and loved it. Too bad I hear that there's a glut of foreigners there now. Still might go there anyway. I can speak some Mandarin, I'd hate to start from zero again if I went to Korea.

[Richard Krainium]

[Dev]

[saybanana]

China vs. Korea

I am currently teaching in Korea and worked last year in China.
There are pros and cons to each country. I worked in a private academy in China and a public school now. So I cant compare the two places of work with the same degree.
What I notice with Chinese kids is that they are much more disciplined than Korean kids (not all, but many) Many families are middle class (but very poor compared to western countries) In China, One child= invest in this child, give the best education to get into the best high school and into the best university. You dont see many young kids around the afternoon to evening. Many are stuck home doing homework/chores or studying. In Korea you dont see many kids either, except weekends, but you see many middle/high schoolers (based on their uniforms).

School salaries and perks =KOREA
Korea=2.0million won ($2000?), low tax, healthcare, free housing.
China=6000RMB (($750), tax higher (*average middle class chinese makes 2000rmb or less, teachers make 3X-5X more than chinese) healthcare, some free housing/some you must pay, but you can get a huge apartment 1 or 2 bedrooms).

Food: CHINA

Chinese food is so diverse. There are many dozens to choose from, spicy mild, salty, sweet. Many Korean dishes I find have something like that in China. But dont tell Koreans that. I havent got the liking to most Korean food, except Kalbi and Bulgugi sp??

Cleanliness: KOREA

The thing with Korea like to seperate trash, recycables, food, etc. There are few rubbish bins in Korea, so you end up carrying your trash with you a lot. People dont spit as much here. Less pollution, more trees.
In China its total opposite. There are rubbish bins near most corners, but people just throw their trash wherever. The spitting is the worse. Hearing it and seeing it done, especially by women. Worse thing I saw was a young couple on the train. The girlfriend was picked his boyfriends pimples and flicking the thing on the the floor. Bathrooms in Korea are everywhere, every other building. In China, bathrooms are hard to find. Usually there is a sign posted saying 200meters- 500m. Thats far. No soap or toilet paper at all. Bring your own or buy from the attendant. Many people, mostly kids and few adults uriniate and deficate on the streets/alleys. Some of these restrooms cost money to use. The very poor cant afford to pay.

Culture: CHINA

With its long history, China has a lot to offer and it's evident in every city. The oldest being places like Beijing with retains most of its architecture. Most cities has a unique look to it. Beijing looking old, red, rustic, while Shanghai is all glass and modern. Suzhou central city has few high rise buildings, Dalian with its tree lined streets from its Japanese influence.
Korea being invaded lost many of its Korea treasures, but even now, there isnt any sense of Korean-ness to anything in Korea that distinguishes it from any other city.

Cost of living: CHINA

You can find everything in China. Look at everything you wear or use, most likely made in China. You can buy the real thing or knock offs which are almost exactly the same quality. Everything is cheap except western products (NIKE, Adidas, Cologne, Perfum, Shoes, Clothes etc.), and electronics) Food is dirt cheap. Even western food is cheap compared to western restaurants. I could get a small steak for ($7) thats with a salad, bread and tea. Fruits are very cheap in China, not like Korea,1000 won apples. or a cantaloupe for 5000 won.


OVERALL, if it wasnt for the money, I would definately go back to China. There are alot more things to do and see. Its a country in a major transition. Its happening in every part of the country. History is being made in China, and you feel and see it. There are things I miss, like those crazy taxi drivers that make left hand turns eventhough there is oncoming traffic, all the other cars will swirve to avoid hitting him.

[rocklee]

That sounds pretty much like my experiences of China saybanana.

You don't happen to work for AES did you?