Korea

S

someone

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Jun 7, 2003
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I may have a chance to spend a year or so in Busan (aka Pusan) starting in March 2010. I know that is not for some time, but over the next month or so, I have to decide if I am interested enough to try to peruse this opportunity. I have never been to Korea and I was hoping some terbites might know something about the place.

My first question concerns language. I have heard many contradictory things. One American that has lived in Busan for four years without speaking the language tells me that he gets by without MAJOR problems. At the other extreme, an Iranian friend who spent a couple of months in Soul does not know how someone could get along there for any length of time without speaking the language. Everyone seems to agree that when it comes to day-to-day activities like shopping, not many people speak English. I would try to learn a bit of Korean but from past experience, I know that I don’t have much ability with languages and they would not be paying me to spend long hours learning the language for my day-to-day convenience. Can anyone here give me their views on this issue?

My second question concerns the cost of living, as I have heard different things. A few people have told me that it is very cheap but another person says the cost would be within 10-15% of the cost in Canada. I would get a free unfurnished apartment which would cut down on my costs (but I guess I would have to get some furniture). Does anyone know what the cost of living might be (relative to Canada)? I assume furniture shopping when I don’t speak the language would be a bit of a hassle.

I got some information on hobbying from an internet search and right now, that type of information is not a priority in making a decision anyway. However, if anyone wants to volunteer information on that subject, I would always be interested.

Of course, having never been there, I likely don’t know many things I should be asking. Any other information more knowledgeable people can think of would be greatly appreciated.

If I do end up going, I will likely bump this thread up in a few months to get more information.

Thanks in advanced!
 
When i went to Far East for a longer duration, i hired a nice lovely chick to manage all my local affairs over there, as i could not speak their language, thus it was a big communication problem, but she used to talk in their local language,bargain all prices of comodoties, as she was well versed in written and spoken english too, so i was lucky to have a girl in form of angel to help me out from A to Zee during my stay of over 3-months, i hired her on a normal salary and she used to be with me for 3~5 hrs in a day, doing everything what i could not do over there, including my shopping and groceries too, & daily cooking my meals too.
 
The level of English is among the best in the region - better than Japan or China. Most of the younger generation has at least some rudimentary English skills. You can "get by" with only English but if you actually want to do more than "get by" (especially if you are not in Seoul), learning at least the basics of the local language should be priority.

Korea is not that cheap a place. Seoul is one of the most expensive cities in the world to live in. Busan should be cheaper since it is smaller, but it is still a large city (bigger than Toronto in population) so I don't think it will be that cheap. I would wager that Busan is considerably cheaper than say Tokyo, but maybe comparable to Toronto. How cheap it is will depend on if you try to live more like a local or westerner (for example, meat is more expensive in asia and not eaten as much as it is in the west). But your biggest expense would normally be rent and since that is taken care of, that is a big plus.
 
If you are going to live there for a year, you might as well get the full experience. Learning to read the language won't be too difficult as Korean has an actual alphabet. So it would make things easier when trying to get around. However, the language (grammar) itself is obviously a bit different than English, and may take more time.

I've heard that as a foreigner, if you make the effort to try to speak the language, they would be appreciative and understanding (unlike here, but I admit, even I can get a little impatient with people who don't speak English well, but now I'm getting off topic).

So even if you don't have a lot of time, or have difficulty learning languages a few minutes a day would help you with basic words. Below are links to useful videos on youtube on getting around in Korea by teaching relevant words and phrases. Just go to the users channels to find the other episodes.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=plujaKEG5pI (and the host is easy on the eyes)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KKuvvoPh-Ro (same video series but more for 2007)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hvcKYW5ustw (learn to read/write)

Also a good book for about $10 is Lonely Planet Korean Phrasebook (isbn 1740594916).

Good luck
 
someone said:
I may have a chance to spend a year or so in Busan (aka Pusan) starting in March 2010. I know that is not for some time, but over the next month or so, I have to decide if I am interested enough to try to peruse this opportunity. I have never been to Korea and I was hoping some terbites might know something about the place.
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I'm an expert for Japan, not Korea, except the Korean pussy I touch in Japan as an alternative to those "Japanese only" nonsense clubs. However, I can say this, I flew Korean Air twice from Tokyo (NRT) to Hong Kong (HKG), via Seoul (ICN) and what a FREAKY language barrier experience, as I speak Japanese and English (barely a little Cantonese, but ZERO Korean, mi da)!

All I know is the Japanese hide their really "bad dealings" with Korea. The Koreans show news with a very different opinion of the Japanese. Additionally, I noticed this: All the foreigner baseball players end up in the Japan baseball leagues. And all the foreigner basketball players end up in the Korean basketball leagues. I found that to be absolutely mind-boggling.

Hope you can make it in Korea. I'll bet you'll be out of there in 3 weeks if you can't speak the language, or turn the glass the right way among Korean colleages.

Best coffee is on Korean Air. Can't speak for Asiana.

Gyaos Baltar.
 
You may also want to do a google search on related terms, such as "expat", "basket of goods", etc.

The "basket of goods" comparator is used by multinationals to determine the relative cost of a common selection of items in a large number of places across the globe.

The Mercer Cost of Living survey is a useful example:
http://www.mercer.ca/print.htm?siteLanguage=1009&idContent=1095320&eu=null
(Note: Toronto is listed 54th, so you can compare the 50th position on the list to Seoul (5th on the list) to get a sense of how much more expensive things are likely to be.)
 
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