South Korea

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Its hard to give you exact figures of prices, especially utilities as mine sort of come bundled under one 'fee'. The most expensive thing by far is oil heating. It can cost from $100 upwards a month in winter, depending on how much you use it. I dare say the winters here are fierce but from my knowledge most people are happy to part with the money. I'm extremely fortunate in that I don't actually pay for any oil, I have a very good director.

Food is cheap. You can live comfortably for $50 a week. Eating out is often cheaper and a full meal costs between $5 to $10. Of course the more 'fancy' you go the more you pay, as one would expect.

Power is also dirt cheap. Again, I don't see my power bill, but it isn't very much. $50 a month is top.

Tax here is at best dodgy. Officially, and hold onto your hat for this one, its only 5%. Your employer deducts this from your salary and you really don't even notice it.

Insurance is about $30 a month. All contracts state you have to have insurance and generally your employer pays for 50% of it. In my experience its worth having. Its a small price to pay in the event of something going wrong. I also ride a motorbike here so it's peace of mind for me should I ever be in an accident.

I actually live at my academy so I don't pay rent as per se. All up I pay $100 for all my utilities, tax and rent for one month. As you can see I pay less then 5% tax, but the tax laws here aren't stringent. The most I've ever heard anyone pay for rent is $200 a month. Most contracts have the employer paying for rent.

South Korea

David a Perth identity has been teaching TESOL in South Korea for several years and we have a series of informal and informative letters from him for publication over the next few issues:

Thanks for the reply. I'll try go onto some more details regarding the business aspect of teaching here in Korea.

I wouldn't personally say Seoul is expensive, not especially after being in places like Tokyo and Singapore. However it can be expensive if you're not careful with your money. A lot of teachers go out drinking and having a good time every night (a late work start allows this) and you can easily blow $100-$150 a night, especially at some clubs. It boils down to sensibility, and most foreign teachers working in either Seoul or anywhere else in Korea walk away with substantial savings (expenses can be as low as a third of your pay).

Kimchi (gimchee) is Korea's pride and joy, along with its famous alcoholic beverage; soju. Restaurants have flat fees, you don't haggle prices, and its the same for everyone. I've never been overcharged and in general most places feel privileged to have a foreigner enter their establishment. In a small town like Andong I find the people exceptionally warm, even more so when I start talking with what limited Korean I know.

Korea is extremely westernised. Many people forget its the home to such companies as LG, Samsung and 3 or 4 car manufacturers. Seoul is a progressive city, and while the rest of the country has a long way to go, I wouldn't at all say its backwards. In general, people are happy, wages are increasing, and the young generation are very possibly the most educated in the world.

David