How has your attitude to Korea changed?

East Asia respect elders (they know more than young people).

In America, where they worship youth and look down on elders, society is collapsing. Anyhow, we won’t miss you when you go. You can take all your hatred for this country and simply get out of this country! Easy!! It’s good for everyone.

This respect of old people that is referenced constantly is a myth that seem to have turned to the gospel over time. I hardly ever see it in daily life. I see more respect for old people in London especially when you are neighbours.  All I see here is everyone for themselves.

Hua hin is great. Returned from there last night. All the sea front you'd ever need.

Your assessment is great. I have lived allover the place with my korean wife and we both agree we don't want to live in korea once old. Our overpriced flat with zero amenities will buy us a wonderful place in Chitlom (complete with pool and Gym)  and still leave plenty of change.

I have met several older Koreans that moved to Chiang Mai on my flights to Thailand.

I like the fact people in Thailand are always smiling even if impecunious and can even understand a joke without the need for me to attempt an explanation of the joke.

Of course the Americans had a good exchange rate then.  Like 2 million won was $2100 USD.  Nowadays it's $1550 USD or something ridiculous like that.

Has dropped to $1494. 1,000 won is 74 cents. Takes 1,340 won to get one dollar. Even worse when taking into account the bank takes a cut when exchanging money.

Hi all! First post. Returning to Korea for stint 2 in 2023. Be interesting to see how its changed in the 7 years since I left!

Hi all! First post. Returning to Korea for stint 2 in 2023. Be interesting to see how its changed in the 7 years since I left!

Welcome back!

Having been here 20 years, let me say the last 5 to 7 years: so much more elementary school student English swear words in use (the f bomb, s word), so much more need for a basket for students to put their smartphones in, so much less intolerance for not reading hangeul: wait staff in restaurants point at no-English and no pic menus on the wall and now EXPECT you to understand (a big difference from a decade ago); heck, English has disappeared from several consumer products. Also, the recent trend in delivery charges might make you decide to pick up instead.

Hi all! First post. Returning to Korea for stint 2 in 2023. Be interesting to see how its changed in the 7 years since I left!

Curious as to what made you decide to make the move back.

Welcome back!

Having been here 20 years, let me say the last 5 to 7 years: so much more elementary school student English swear words in use (the f bomb, s word), so much more need for a basket for students to put their smartphones in, so much less intolerance for not reading hangeul: wait staff in restaurants point at no-English and no pic menus on the wall and now EXPECT you to understand (a big difference from a decade ago); heck, English has disappeared from several consumer products. Also, the recent trend in delivery charges might make you decide to pick up instead.

Yet...stuednts who are motivated to look like they are doing well.

Curious as to what made you decide to make the move back.

Who would have thought there could be more to life than the dollars of cents of any given occupation?  I guess he must be a loser right?

Welcome back!

Having been here 20 years, let me say the last 5 to 7 years: so much more elementary school student English swear words in use (the f bomb, s word), so much more need for a basket for students to put their smartphones in, so much less intolerance for not reading hangeul: wait staff in restaurants point at no-English and no pic menus on the wall and now EXPECT you to understand (a big difference from a decade ago); heck, English has disappeared from several consumer products. Also, the recent trend in delivery charges might make you decide to pick up instead.

How have you gotten by for 20 years without at least learning hangeul? You can learn it in a single evening.

Welcome back!

Having been here 20 years, let me say the last 5 to 7 years: so much more elementary school student English swear words in use (the f bomb, s word), so much more need for a basket for students to put their smartphones in, so much less intolerance for not reading hangeul: wait staff in restaurants point at no-English and no pic menus on the wall and now EXPECT you to understand (a big difference from a decade ago); heck, English has disappeared from several consumer products. Also, the recent trend in delivery charges might make you decide to pick up instead.

Fortunately, that is not what most people are dealing with, so you can pretty much dismiss it out of hand.  Kids were throwing the f-bomb and s-word around more at my schools a few years back.  Don't hear it as much anymore as I told them it was bad language in English and wouldn't be allowed.  Korean teachers emphasized the message. 

Have not not noticed any intolerance for people not knowing Hangeul, but since 95% of those who have been here more than a few months have made an effort to learn it and restaurants are probably the firsts test you pass, it's not an issue.  I certainly would expect Koreans to be surprised by any long termer that hasn't learned to read it, but not intolerant. They know we have slow learners sprinkled throughout our demographic as well. 

The biggest change might depend on where you lived.  A small rural community of Gyeonggi might now be a bustling new high rise community connected by subway.  Otherwise, in the short time you've been away things won't shock you. 

A small rural community of Gyeonggi might now be a bustling new high rise community connected by subway.  Otherwise, in the short time you've been away things won't shock you. 

By rural one should not think Gyeonggi province whatsover. Urban sprawl, metro area, is a real thing.

Rural is where i'm at. It takes more than an hour to get to a city (if by city you mean more than 80,000 people). It takes longer to get to a city of a million or more. Gyeonggi may have "rural" areas, but aren't they minutes from Seoul?

Got it.

Thanks for them welcomes back all!

Curious as to what made you decide to make the move back.

Lots of reasons! I’m from the UK, and it’s been a pretty tough place to live the last few years, including right now. The cost of living is sky high, and I’m a lecturer at a UK uni so not on a bad salary.

Also my wife is Korean and we have 2 little uns born in England, so it will be good for them to get to know the Korean side of their heritage. I’m planning to teach uni here, and I speak OK Korean, so I hope to not have to deal with many of the issues Van Islander mentions, but let’s see haha!

I’m also a bit of a Koreaboo If I’m honest. I loved it there. I think our quality of life will be better. Englands been ok for us, but I’ll be glad to get back to Korea for a while!

Thanks for them welcomes back all!

Lots of reasons! I’m from the UK, and it’s been a pretty tough place to live the last few years, including right now. The cost of living is sky high, and I’m a lecturer at a UK uni so not on a bad salary.

Also my wife is Korean and we have 2 little uns born in England, so it will be good for them to get to know the Korean side of their heritage. I’m planning to teach uni here, and I speak OK Korean, so I hope to not have to deal with many of the issues Van Islander mentions, but let’s see haha!

I’m also a bit of a Koreaboo If I’m honest. I loved it there. I think our quality of life will be better. Englands been ok for us, but I’ll be glad to get back to Korea for a while!

If you are on a tenure track professor path teaching actual subjects, you will make a decent salary and can live well as long as you live outside of Seoul which is crazy expensive (though housing prices seem to be rising all around the country the past 2 years or so).  If you are teaching esl, expect the same starting salary low to mid 2.0's with a much much higher living cost.  With a family, unless the wife gets a good paying job survival will be tough.  Korea isn't what it was.  Other wages have gone up but English teachers wages seem to have stayed the same or only gone up marginally while the cost of living here has shot through the roof.  You will find it very different from 7 years ago unless you are living with her folks to save money.  As for the UK if there is a regional university in a small town outside of London, I would assume you could live well, assuming same salary.  All this said, I had a friend teach at Sogang in Seoul and they wouldn't give him tenure so he went to a rural university working in the law department teaching US Common Law courses as US lawyer.  This rural university gave him tenure and treated him just like a Korean prof and put him on the same pay.  After a few years going up some levels he was making around 7 million won a month but was more like 4 or 5 million before that.  He actually left Korea 9 years ago to back to lawyering in the US.  But he was raking it in during a time that the living cost in Korea was cheaper than chips (as some of you other Commonwealth folks like to say).  My friend was doing the professor things starting out about 18 years ago and about 15 years ago switched to the rural university, and then left about 9 years ago.  It was a sweet gig while he had it.  Drove a BMW when they were more rare over here, especially outside of Seoul.  Nowadays, they are everywhere, it seems.  Heck even with the much higher living cost, the 7 million salary a month is still a darn good salary nowadays still.  It was even more back then with inflation factored in and the fact housing costs outside of Seoul use to be much much cheaper.  Anyways, if you are being hired as an actual prof then you should make enough coin to live well.  Though Seoul unis may not give tenure even with an F visa.  But maybe things have changed. 

If you do come over, best of luck.  Just know what you are up against in 2023 (by the time you get over here).  It is a very different country compared to what it was. 

If you are on a tenure track professor path teaching actual subjects, you will make a decent salary and can live well as long as you live outside of Seoul which is crazy expensive (though housing prices seem to be rising all around the country the past 2 years or so).  If you are teaching esl, expect the same starting salary low to mid 2.0's with a much much higher living cost.  With a family, unless the wife gets a good paying job survival will be tough.  Korea isn't what it was.  Other wages have gone up but English teachers wages seem to have stayed the same or only gone up marginally while the cost of living here has shot through the roof.  You will find it very different from 7 years ago unless you are living with her folks to save money.  As for the UK if there is a regional university in a small town outside of London, I would assume you could live well, assuming same salary.  All this said, I had a friend teach at Sogang in Seoul and they wouldn't give him tenure so he went to a rural university working in the law department teaching US Common Law courses as US lawyer.  This rural university gave him tenure and treated him just like a Korean prof and put him on the same pay.  After a few years going up some levels he was making around 7 million won a month but was more like 4 or 5 million before that.  He actually left Korea 9 years ago to back to lawyering in the US.  But he was raking it in during a time that the living cost in Korea was cheaper than chips (as some of you other Commonwealth folks like to say).  My friend was doing the professor things starting out about 18 years ago and about 15 years ago switched to the rural university, and then left about 9 years ago.  It was a sweet gig while he had it.  Drove a BMW when they were more rare over here, especially outside of Seoul.  Nowadays, they are everywhere, it seems.  Heck even with the much higher living cost, the 7 million salary a month is still a darn good salary nowadays still.  It was even more back then with inflation factored in and the fact housing costs outside of Seoul use to be much much cheaper.  Anyways, if you are being hired as an actual prof then you should make enough coin to live well.  Though Seoul unis may not give tenure even with an F visa.  But maybe things have changed. 

If you do come over, best of luck.  Just know what you are up against in 2023 (by the time you get over here).  It is a very different country compared to what it was. 

no.

didn't you ask that your account be deleted?

China could be an option. Once it opens up, of course.

Unfortunately, some of the older people on this board might be dead by then.

If you are on a tenure track professor path teaching actual subjects, you will make a decent salary and can live well as long as you live outside of Seoul which is crazy expensive (though housing prices seem to be rising all around the country the past 2 years or so).  If you are teaching esl, expect the same starting salary low to mid 2.0's with a much much higher living cost.  With a family, unless the wife gets a good paying job survival will be tough.  Korea isn't what it was.  Other wages have gone up but English teachers wages seem to have stayed the same or only gone up marginally while the cost of living here has shot through the roof.  You will find it very different from 7 years ago unless you are living with her folks to save money.  As for the UK if there is a regional university in a small town outside of London, I would assume you could live well, assuming same salary.  All this said, I had a friend teach at Sogang in Seoul and they wouldn't give him tenure so he went to a rural university working in the law department teaching US Common Law courses as US lawyer.  This rural university gave him tenure and treated him just like a Korean prof and put him on the same pay.  After a few years going up some levels he was making around 7 million won a month but was more like 4 or 5 million before that.  He actually left Korea 9 years ago to back to lawyering in the US.  But he was raking it in during a time that the living cost in Korea was cheaper than chips (as some of you other Commonwealth folks like to say).  My friend was doing the professor things starting out about 18 years ago and about 15 years ago switched to the rural university, and then left about 9 years ago.  It was a sweet gig while he had it.  Drove a BMW when they were more rare over here, especially outside of Seoul.  Nowadays, they are everywhere, it seems.  Heck even with the much higher living cost, the 7 million salary a month is still a darn good salary nowadays still.  It was even more back then with inflation factored in and the fact housing costs outside of Seoul use to be much much cheaper.  Anyways, if you are being hired as an actual prof then you should make enough coin to live well.  Though Seoul unis may not give tenure even with an F visa.  But maybe things have changed. 

If you do come over, best of luck.  Just know what you are up against in 2023 (by the time you get over here).  It is a very different country compared to what it was.

Thanks for the response. The jobs I'm seeing pay more than low 2s. More like low 3s, but I also know there's quite often paid overtime at universities to boost the salary. My wife will work as well, and should make about the same. Unfortunately cost of living in the UK is just sky high right now. For example, we're paying about £1000 a month for our 2 lil uns to go to nursery 3 days a week. Its madness.

We're looking at South Seoul/south Gyeonggi, to be near family. Plan is to live with her family for a few months to find our feet, then depending on the housing market and whetehr we've settled in an area, either jeonse for two years then buy, or buy right off.

I know it's not perfect, but as I said I think our quality of life will be higher in Korea than the UK.

look like someone opened the tap up all the way.

So, that's two people who were done with this site that are back.  Hangook77, I always had you down as a poster of integrity.  I'm a bit disappointed that after all the big talk about asking/demanding  your account be deleted you're back with the same old message.  Was it the lack of response to your cringey whine on K  O  R share that made you return?  Anyways, we now definitively know that multiple threats of violence against multiple posters will not result in a paying member getting the boot.

Is that because the site needs the money or does the source code just not allow it?

Only sysadmin can ban accounts / IP addresses (although apparently lvl4 mods can delete user names and accounts?).

Speaking of, I just deleted comments from this particular thread because there were, like, a dozen reports on here, and it looked very similar to the kind of threads that caused several people (who were not involved in the arguments directly) to leave the site last semester. 

Please remember that this is a professional site and to keep flaming to a minimum.
Keep in mind that if a comment seems to be targeting you, it might sometimes be better to flag it for moderation rather than replying to it.

Apologies if the censorship seems excessive, but I think the topic subject is interesting, and felt that returning the thread to topic was preferable to locking it or whatever.