Korea can be cheap and it can be expensive. Some foreigners work as English teachers for a few years and get their student loans paid off while others have never-ending debt that just keeps piling on. The cost of living in Korea is quite the paradox. If you are a teacher in Korea or considering becoming one, this article will help you to understand how much you can expect to earn and save if you are living and working in Korea.
Average teaching salaries in Korea
If you are deciding whether or not to come and work in Korea, one of the biggest factors will be how much you can earn and save. The first thing to understand is the average salary and how much this equates to in your home currently. For the past decade, starting salaries for unqualified or inexperienced teachers in Korea has fluctuated around 2,000,000 won (about 1700 dollars). For higher-qualified teachers, academic managers, and university lecturers, the pay is usually somewhere above 3,000,000 won.
This pay is usually for somewhere around 25 hours of teaching per week, although this will vary highly depending on where you work. Although inflation has obviously increased the cost of living, the salaries have generally stayed the same, which does mean that in some sense, things are not “as good” as they were ten years ago for expat teachers.
Consider the benefits
Regardless of how impressive a figure you think 2 million won is, it is very important to consider the benefits that are offered to you, as they can amount to a lot of saved income (or not). For example, if your school/academy offers free housing in an expensive area of Seoul, this is equatable to receiving roughly 600,000 won every month, as you would certainly need accommodation anyway. However, if you were living in a very rural area, this could only equate to 300,000 per month.
By Korean labor law, all employers are required to pay a 13th bonus paycheque, so this is not something special to consider. The same goes for return plane tickets, which are an accepted standard. Something that you should also consider very carefully will be how your hours are split up, asking yourself questions like “Do I receive paid planning time for my lessons?” and “Will I be required to spend extra time at my school/academy if I finish early” as this all eventually equates to time, effort and money. Finally, you should carefully consider how much paid vacation time you get, the standard is 10 days, but pay special attention to how they are split up (getting them in one or two chunks is usually highly preferable). If you work at a cushy job and you receive two months of paid vacation, this would be a great opportunity to legally work at summer camp and generate lots of extra savings. Also, consider any extra-added benefits that might be of special importance to you and equate to extra value - for example, the opportunity to teach overtime legally at the school/academy, free school lunch, free Korean lessons, etc.
Housing
In Seoul, the standard rental amount for a decent one-room apartment should be somewhere around 600,000 won. However, this could vary greatly due to the location, condition, age, and facilities of the apartment. As a general rule of thumb, the closer something is to a subway station, the more expensive it will be. It is possible to get housing for around 300,00 to 400,000 won in Seoul, but this might be challenging to live in due to the conditions of the apartment. I have seen places for that amount that had serious problems with mold and leakage, so if you do decide to go that route, try to proceed with caution.
If you are living outside of Seoul, housing prices will undoubtedly be cheaper and spaces will usually be larger. You can usually get some kind of one or two-room apartment for about 400,000 won, but once again this will depend highly on the location. A prime-location in Busan will obviously be more expensive than rural Jeollanam-do, for example. If you are required to choose your housing with a realtor, it is highly advisable to see as many places as possible in the area, so that you can make an informed decision on what is best for you in the local housing market. Unfortunately, due to the time pressure of starting work, this may not always be possible, but it will greatly aid you to make the correct decision if you have more information to work with. If you simply look at two places, it might be very difficult to make a sound decision.
Utilities
It is quite rare to find a school or academy that will pay for your utilities, these will usually be on you unless you are living on the school premises or something like that. Your main utilities should be something like water, electricity, gas, maintenance fee, and internet. Water is usually about 10-20,000 won a month. Electricity varies highly based on use, especially if you are using an aircon during summer, it may go up to 60-100,000 won. The same with gas, usually under 20,000 won, but if you are using heating extensively during winter your bill could balloon to over 100,000 won. It is important to note that gas and electricity charges are not uniform, once you go past certain usage caps you will start paying more per kWh. I’ve seen electricity bills for 7,000 won and for 330,000 won, so try to use things more conservatively when you first arrive so that you don’t get a big shock!
Groceries and Food
I remember clearly that when I first came to Korea, I was shocked by how expensive it was to buy groceries from a local supermarket. In my country, it is usually always drastically cheaper to buy and make food than it is to buy from a restaurant, but that is not always the case in Korea. For example, if you go to the local store and buy some basic salad ingredients, you could easily end up spending 20,000 won and if you are living alone, that means you have to try really hard to finish the fruit and vegetables before they go bad. Fruit can tend to be incredibly expensive, you literally see apples priced for 5,000 won sometimes. Similarly, if you try to buy pasta ingredients, you could easily end up spending 25,000 won plus all the time and effort of cooking. If you buy Korean food and Korean ingredients, things will naturally be cheaper, but remember that Korean side dishes can also be very expensive if you have to buy them instead of being given them. The good news is that eating out can be very affordable, there is usually a neighborhood restaurant within a kilometer that will offer a decent meal from about 5 - 10,000 won, which is great value for money. Ordering food is also relatively cheap, you can usually get something for about 20-30,000 won that will feed up to two-three people (a box of chicken, a bowl of stew, etc.)
So, how does the cost of living in Korea stack up for you? Do you think you’d be able to save a lot of money here, or are you doing so already? One of the reasons that Korea is an attractive option for expat English teachers, is that they are usually able to save about 500,000 won (420 dollars) per month without really trying. Good luck with finding the right fit for your situation!
