Moved to Korea

[canuck paul]

I spent several years in Hefei and enjoyed some good times and friends. However I couldn't save a dime. I moved to Korea and in 6 months I saved over $8000 dollars (no change in habits) .I work for the public middle school in Korea teaching 12 - 17 year olds. My pay (set pay scale-) after deductions including Canadian taxes( for Canadians only) is $2285 Canadian each month.( about 16,600 Yuan). The pay is debited the 25th of each month without fail. The airfare is covered upfront but is on loan to you until you put in your time. There are also two weeks of sick days with pay

The work is not hard and consists of 20 to 22 45-minute classes each week with half those classes having 36 students. The provide you with a co- teacher who according to the contract is your boss.(this can be tricky because you are technically the assistant) The administrative treatment of foreigners is better( public schools) depending on your luck. The free apartment is smaller but much more modern than the norm in Hefei. The schools are much more modern with the Internet in every class. All teachers have a computer at their desk in a common room, which is good because you are in school from 9 - 4:30pm. There seems to be plenty of holidays, sport days test days etc, and winter, spring and summer breaks The teachers are more professional but they still inflict corporal punishment with sticks that I have never seen in China. The food in the school is uniform for all and is much better than any school cafeteria in Hefei. (Kimchi every day). I went on a bus trip and at least half of the foreign teachers were middle aged and older.

 The food is pricier here but works out Ok with wages and the like. A taxi in my town is $1.80. A head of lettuce was $5 in Dec but down now. Fruits and vegetables are much higher in Korea. I bought a pound of imported hamburger at an import store for less than half the price at a supermarket) (Go figure!) Hamburger is $30 a kilogram but fish is quite cheap.  Oh and local beer is $2 for the big can

There is much more to tell for anybody interested in coming this way. It was a very good move for me and anybody interested in more info can email or respond on this topic.

Canuck Paul

[WhitDeMuerta]

Wow that sounds like a sweet deal! What China needs to realize is that there are a lot of other countries in the world that want native english speakers to teach there. And so they pay more, give you better living conditions, and give you control of your classes.

The Japanese government has the famous JET program that starts you out on US$30,000/year plus ticket and room! How can you compare that to the RMB3,500 Yuan/year plus ticket and sometimes room? It's a huge difference that China really needs to pay attention to.

[Leon]

hi Paul
thanks for postin here to let us know what our options could be, do you happen to know if they can have a shorter contract duration.. like 6 months or 3 months for teaching?

[canuck paul]

There are some short term positions in the summer and the odd short term job with private companies but the majority of the jobs are a year. You would have to dig through the job postings to find more info.

[osofarinchina]

Hi!  What are the differences with students, faculty, etc. compared to Chinese classes you have been involved in? Why is it easier to save money there?
Because you make more?  Less wild spending?!??

[canuck paul]

There is not much difference in the students except that generally speaking the Korean students are better to speak but poorer to write than their chinese couterparts. The faculty is more professional, friendlier and in tune with the rest of the world. Saving money comes down to making more and the realization that if you saved half of the money you made in china, it still isn.t that much. Half of your pay here (Korea) is 3 times half the money you save in china.