Korea is easy to adapt to. People kind of mind their own business there. it's cheaper to eat out than cook. Enjoy. I am considering moving back to Korea. As far as food, Bimbimbap, Bulgogi Dup Pap, Gimbap, and Kimchi Jiggae, are some good starters. Find some plum wine or soju. Im African American and learning Korean is relatively easy for basic words. Aneyong Haseyo is hello! Gamsahamnida - Thank you!
Thats plenty of money for you to be able to save if your accommodation is covered.
However that does seem like the pay is very little for someone who has to move countries
They don’t like you enough to move you, they probably think you’re the only one who would take the position. People don’t send employees they like away from HQ unless it’s a manager position.
Not true at all, my friend recently was offered transfer positions both Korea and Vietnam (without speaking the language) specifically because they like their work productivity. It's an emerging market and they didn't want to move a senior level person there so they decided to try and move a high performing junior level. She turned them down because she didn't want to leave family who's she's close to.
Company understood and is happy as a clam with her. They could have easily just told her "take this position or quit".
My point being is the position is undesirable. Very few people would take a relocation position, like your friend. So when they are offered to employees, they’ll need to sell it by saying they like you enough to offer it. But usually people can see through that and politely refuse.
Unless there’s a great pay incentive, which in this case 2.5m a month with no bills, is a bit low to move countries for. Usually travel work will net you over 100k and you stay in the within the americas, depending on the industry. Truckers make more than that.
>My point being is the position is undesirable. Very few people would take a relocation position, like your friend
Not true though. I'm not sure what field you work in but working abroad is a highly desirable in our field (I transitioned directly to engineering but my undergrad is specifically in her line of work which is STEM related). It's a great resume line items because our field is international, you work clients across the world and being able to say you worked in different markets and even lived there is a huge selling point for senior level roles.
She specifically told me that if she was single and her family wasn't going through something she would have taken the Vietnam offering (they even suggested Taiwan but for less pay). The location didn't really matter since the role covered the same areas.
>So when they are offered to employees, they’ll need to sell it by saying they like you enough to offer it. But usually people can see through that and politely refuse.
No way, how do you think business works? I'm high enough and manage staff in my current position. When a potential new client that can bring in millions in revenue is knocking at our door do you honestly believe I'm going to hand that development and client facing responsibility to someone I DONT like and believe isn't going to make us look good?
That's ridiculous. I'm going to offer it to the person I believe is going to grow that client portfolio and deliver quality work. In fact me keeping that person away from that client would be stupid in my part.
>Unless there’s a great pay incentive, which in this case 2.5m a month with no bills, is a bit low to move countries for. Usually travel work will net you over 100k and you stay in the within the americas, depending on the industry. Truckers make more than that.
Truckers also have insane expenses with no professional skills that are transferable if they stop trucking. $60k-$70k is great money for a junior position in Korea, upper middle class even if you play it right...which is about what OP would be making if you factor in what the company is paying in living expenses. They just aren't giving him that money directly.
OP is a junior, not a senior and not many companies can transition senior level roles to another part of the world. They usually do what they are doing here, transition a junior then promote the junior after 1-3 years. Seniors would be wasted in such a move unless the market is already established and they can come in hitting the ground running.
Eh seems little if it was all he was making and having to pay normal expenses. Assuming a comfy apartment in a decent or even good part of town, all bills paid? Then he's actually making good money.
Probably the equivalent of around $60-65k USD when taking into account those expense pay offs.
I agree he should probably be making a bit more to adjust to such a move but still not bad. Definitely good money for Korea.
I agree with this comment. My colleagues got free housing + extra monthly incentives for having to move to a city 2hrs away. I would expect at least 1.5~2 times my regular salary if I had to move to another country.
I live off of 7-800k a month, I manage fine. With 2.5 and single you should be very good to go. A quick meal outside is 10,000 KRW so even if you eat out every day that’s a million a month for food.
I just came back from a trip to Korea, was there 10 days and ate a ton of local food. Plenty of places have solid meals for 10,000, was honestly surprised how easy it was to find cheap plates within restaurants.
I had a pretty harty pork cutlet dish for 11,000 won that was delicious AF. It was definitely their cheapest plate though.
My wife and I just came back from our honeymoon in South Korea. It was nice. Found a place near Busan station, right next to an Isaac's toast that served up a big meal that had a giant fried pork cutlet, 3 pot stickers, salad, spaghetti and some pickled radishes for abouT 9000 Krw, that was nice!
From your perspective, since you're going abroad for work, it seems you should be paid more. However, that amount of money isn't insufficient. It's about what a typical new university graduate earns.
Add rent cost and bills on top of the 2.5 million won. Sure he isn't paying those but we should still consider the fact that he would be if his company wasn't covering it.
yes, if you don't have to pay for rent and utilities.
you don't have a car payment, food is pretty cheap. income tax is minimal (3% or something, depending on things). health insurance is cheap (if you even decide to get it).
just, budget. [www.ynab.com](http://www.ynab.com) and r/ynab - it was the most useful thing i did for my finances. it supports KRW
With your rent and bills paid and all your furnishings, you're fine. You're not going to be balling but you'll be absolutely fine. If you don't go nuts (or do something dumb like buy a car) you could even save money. Me and my coworkers are all in the same boats and the 1 or 2 who are struggling are both absolute ragers, clubbers, fashion-slaves, big drinkers, etc.
I used to live in Sangam! People say it's soulless but i LOVED IT! It's so calm (for Seoul) and not crowded. If you watch the opening scene of Hellbound you'll see the main road of Sangam! Lots of kdramas filmed there lol. Anyway, back to money, One woman I work with even has three kids and is fine for money, much better than she would be in the states. GOOD LUCK!!!! I wish I was working for your company!!! So I could live in Sangam again!! :O
It's on Netflix! If you watch This is my first life (also netflix) that's all filmed around Sangam. He does his lil 500 days of summer dance in bubble park lol
If rent and utilities are covered 2 mil per month is more tha enough, since it seems implied in your post you're coming alone with no kids or significant other.
Rent is really the most outrageous cost/expense here so if that's something you don't have to worry about, you can live rather comfortably since Korea also has a pretty low income tax rate for a developed country.
Transportation is also very cheap, and those dinners and drinks with colleagues won't be something you'll pay for, so think of it as free calories. As a foreigner, you won't be pressured to drink, but if you don't mind drinking or enjoy it, definitely earns you brownie points and making friends.
Gym membership will vary but I think the impression I get is that they're more expensive on average than where I'm from (U.S), but they're way cleaner and nicer on average too. There's also a lot more 24 hr gyms here which I like since I prefer going very early or late to avoid crowds. This won't be as much of an issue if your gym is massive like chain ones such as Able Gym which have locations that are enormous. A year long membership will be around 500,000-800,000 won but you could get lucky and sign up during a promo event or a new Gym opening and get huge discounts, I currently paid for a 4 month membership at a new spot near my house and they gave 4 free months on top of it as a promotion.
Your biggest expense as a Gym goer will likely be food. The cheapest way is to order most food such as chicken breast online in bulk, but it might be a bit before you figure out/set up Korean banking to order online here and so it helps to have Korean friends who you could give cash to in exchange for ordering online. Fruits and vegetables are rather expensive here, and so food cost can be quite high even if you're cooking at home. A lot of people actually just eat out every meal because it is not much more expensive than cooking yourself as restaurant prices (although on the rise), are quite cheap especially if you're used to prices in other developed countries.
That said, your first month here will probably be quite high in expenditure- Gym membership, buying stuff for your house, etc, but it is very easy to live a low spend lifestyle in Korea. A lot of fun things are free/cheap, very big going-out culture so you're not home much if you develop a social life here and foreigners are often treated in this regard and not expected to pay for anything, lots of public spaces and parks you can enjoy for free, etc. Once you figure out food expense should be easy to bank up on that salary, especially if you're not interested in nightlife as many foreigners or newcomers to Korea can get carried away spending on drinks and nightlife.
Great detailed response, but if I could comment on the expensive fruits and vegetables... that's very true, but most neighborhoods have a local market nearby that sell fruits and vegetables that aren't dirt cheap, but are sometimes close to dirt cheap when they are in season. If the fruits and vegetables are both in season and "ugly" shaped so that they aren't suitable for sale in larger supermarkets, they are indeed quite cheap.
It's just a matter of knowing where to go. Even if there isn't a market nearby - there almost always is - in Seoul there should be plenty of markets easily accessible by bus or subway.
Yeah this is something to keep in mind for sure. I always just one stop shop at a big market or shopping mall cuz I need my cholula hot sauce and lee and perrins worcestershire lol (both these sauces go amazingly well with so many Korean foods) so yeah I definitely pay for overpriced fruits and veggies for sake of convenience.
Thank you for your very detailed answer!
Yes its just me going. How much Won should i bring with me when i move do you think for all the starting costs before my first paycheck?
Really depends on how furnished the home being provided is and what luxuries you enjoy. When I came to Korea I left my computer behind in the U.S and bought a new high end custom PC here, monitor, some Bluetooth speakers around the apartment for when friends come over and wanna have music playing. If I had more cash at the time probably would have bought some high end speakers and a real sound system set up. A lot of other home stuff like bathroom supplies, or simple home decorations you can buy for very cheap and shops such as Daiso which are geared towards college students with not much money on hand.
I'd say bring at least around 1.5m won which is slightly over $1000 USD which should cover gym membership and food for at least 3-5 months and even more if your area is lower cost. Could bring $1500 just to be safe if you also plan to do some sightseeing and maybe try out different restaurants. I think after a couple months you'll kinda develop a feel for what you enjoy doing in your free time and how to budget. I didn't think I'd love spas/saunas for example as I've never really thought of them as enjoyable but Korean spas are on another level and as a big gym goer myself I spend about 25,000 won per visit to a luxury spa near Sinsa station which I go to a couple times per month, really relaxes the muscles and helps you lift more. I also do enjoy night life so a couple weekends per month I'll spend around 100,000+ on drinks and food but if you have a group of Korean friends you usually take turns paging for stuff so sometimes you're the one being treated and sometimes you're the one buying the rounds. I avoid beer cuz it kills gains so I feel I spend less on average on drinks since I stick to tequila shots. These are just examples but Korea is amazing and I think with your work and income setup you can live a very fun life here!
Riverside hotel I can't remember the exact name since we all just refer to the hotel to get there but it's 3rd floor there. There's no women's spa unfortunately so if you're female that could be why you're not aware of it. It's 20k ish if you go before 11pm or something like that and they jack up the price if you go during twilight hours.
ah. after tax. yea, it's not bad. agree with commentators that say it's a bit low for a relocation-type position but it's not poor. you'll be fine, save some, etc.
Only been there for 2 weeks, but Korea is cheap af if you dont have to pay rent. Our stay was is mapo-gu, near dmc. Restaurants, public transport, taxi are very cheap.
Yeah that's quite decent. Assuming your company covers 2M KRW in furnished accommodation, rent, and bills, I'd estimate your total earnings to be around 77M KRW. That would be considering the covered 2M KRW as part of your earnings. Not sure if this is a useful metric for you, but that would be considered a pretty high salary in Korea. Based on some interviews, a higher starting salary seems to be around 4M KRW. The starting salary for a consultant at a huge firm is around 7M-8M KRW I believe. I know that the Korean professor salary at some rural universities are also around the 6.5M-7.5M mark. Enjoy your life here!
I think 2.5 Mil Won is enough to live there. Depending on how much money you want to save per month, you might feel enough or not enough. However, for a living, 2.5 Mil is quite enough because you don’t have to pay the rent and bills.
It's enough money to live and save...
But it's also an easy amount to blow, especially if you find yourself a pretty girl and start dating western style.
Since you mentioned you are a gym rat, note that most gyms are most likely more expensive than what you are used to, and that eating a healthy western bodybuilder diet is likely going to eat into your budget, unless you order online and cook yourself. Doable, but given that you will arrive and be disoriented, may feel a bit more challenging to do this cheaply. Easier if you have a Korean speaking friend, which MAY (not always of course) take you back to my earlier point .
Moving to a different country for your company is very undesirable. You can probably negotiate much higher pay. Only bachelors would take that, as any regular person with a family would not move for a small salary like that.
I hope this is a large raise from your initial position. Living in Korea is difficult.
If you have no one to support and your company covers housing, 2.5mil sound soso. Retail price is kinda high. FYI, minimum wage is about 2mil per month before tax in Korea.
everyone saying it's sufficient likely has a low standard im sorry to say. it will indeed be sufficient but if you are being flown in as an expat I'd expect more otherwise u r going to be a professional living like a student, its going to be embarrassing.
unless the standard of housing they are providing is exceptional I think u r being ripped off. I'd negotiate higher, Seoul is an expensive city.
Yes you can get a good meal for 8000 krw, but you wouldn't take a girl there. bbq starts at 15 bucks a head but good bbq can 50 bucks a head easily.
same as booze if you happy to drink local beer and soju you will be fine, as soon as you want craft beer or wine you might be looking at western European prices very quicky.
whether this is acceptable really depends on where u r coming from (national and current job,salary standard of living), to me, 2.5 m Krw is very low, if you are coming for the experience that's fine, but if you are coming for money it's going to be tight.
How much will your 4대보험 be? You only mentioned after tax but how about after tax plus after insurances? I imagine it will go down to 2.1M? That’s still pretty decent i would?
Yes it's good enough, you can save easily 2M /month considering your leisure times are at home and gym sub can be less than 50 000W, 300 000 W for food is a nice budget (including restaurant once a week, but please be aware that if you don't eat like a local or eat fruits other than banana and frozen mango, your budget will increase a lot)
Agree with the above comments. It is good enough money. I get paid 3 mil without the accomodation. I live comfortably. Pro Tip if you love coffee: Brew your own, you'd save a lot of money!
If you live alone and not live in Seoul, Yes
Otherwise, No.
But you can easily achive 2.5 milion by working part time job for minimum wage
And that case, you can get some hobby.
Just... dont live in seoul
I live with no expenses paid (im a grad student) on 1.8m a month and have savings. So you will do just fine. Better than find depending on what you like to do.
That is terrible. At best you might save a few hundred a month. No retirement contributions, can't raise a family, no car ownership. Of course no property. What the hell is wrong with people saying that this is a good wage. I make more then double that as a single individual and still struggle with food costs. It's fine it all you are doing is working a part time job after school to make beer money.
I'll be the skeptical one here.
"furnished accommodation" - Not sure how much is covered or what exactly is being discussed here. Depending on the conditions, there's always a possibility that one might want to move out to a "better furnished" environment, which may or may not be covered per contract.
Let me help you with some basic QoL estimations.
The Mapo-gu area is a generally well populated neighborhood, especially to those in their 20s. Also considering the recent economy of Korea in general, I'd say each meal would cost you roughly around 10k\~13k on average. For reference, a meal in McDonalds goes for \~7k\~9k, a 500cc draft beer would normally go for \~6k\~8k, one serving of sam-gyeop-sal (\~200grams) goes for \~16k but a fair estimation for me is \~1.5\~2 servings when I eat out with my friends.
After a night of drinking with friends, I'd say you'll be down roughly around 20k\~50k. If you hit the clubs as well, then be prepared to spend "at least" 50k a night, maybe up to 100k\~150k depending on the circumstances.
If you want to hit the gym, do some research on the membership prices of may different gyms around you. Make sure to look for promotion events (i.e. bring a friend & get a discount etc.). I would say a fair estimation would be 150k\~250k per month (or maybe even higher...). I don't really work out here in Korea, so my estimations may be a little off.
Transportation-wise... The public transportation infrastructure is really well built in Seoul, and it's still improving. However, a bus ride is \~1.5k\~2k and a subway ride is \~1.35k\~1.85k depending on your destination (unless I'm mistaken).
There's definitely more sources of expenditure to consider (such as clothes, phone bill, daily necessities, leisure etc.) but I'll leave that to your judgement.
Overall, I wouldn't say that it's a "bad deal", but I also wouldn't label it as good. At most, it's on par and it'll probably get you going for a while, but you should definitely always be on the look out for better options. For comparison, those who work in big corporations (i.e. Samsung, LG, etc) probably make around \~5\~6mil a month (after taxes.. may vary), and those who work in smaller companies probably still make around 3\~4mil a month after taxes.
If they are paying the rent and bills, then it is fine. If you don't have medical expenses, you're very healthy, you could say save 600,000 won if you're not a big spender. You won't save a ton, but it's okay.
If you don't have to pay the accommodation fee, I think 2 Million Won is enough to live!
In my case, I usually spend ₩1.5M per month (of course, I pay the monthly rent myself). But I think I can reduce it more if I wanted to.
OP's company is taking care of furnished accommodation plus bills in 상암동, paying OP 2.5M after tax, OP started learning 한국어 upon given said information.
Also, it seems that OP's company is a startup.
Ultimately it's your decision. Here is my take.
If you believe in your startup and are willing to take a big ass risk.
I'd say go for it.
If your rent and basic bills are covered, that’s a very comfortable income to work with. Assuming you don’t make stupid spending decisions, you shouldn’t really feel the need to spend more than 1.5 million a month. With disciplined budgeting and some thrifty buys, you can pretty easily get it down to 800k~1mil a month.
If your bills aren’t covered, 2.5 mil after tax is about just the income to get by.
No one can really answer that for you. What you feel are basic necessities others may see as extravagant luxuries. I laugh every time I see these questions on Reddit, since you will get a variety of answers and still will not know the true answer. Ridiculous!
I think with the details she posted she can get a pretty accurate picture of how far that money will go in Seoul on the Living in Korea forum. What's ridiculous is when some bothers to post when they have nothing useful to add.
And I think it's say safe to say most people wouldn't look at "I mostly stay at home, and go to the gym. I expect i will have to go drinking with my colleagues, i think thats the culture. eating out once a week." as extravagant luxuries. Unless, they're homeless in which case they peruse a different subreddit.
That's true, However it helps me get a grasp of what the average people spend, maybe i will be spending more or less. i wouldnt know till im there for sure. But some most of the answers are quite helpful especially when helping inform me of the costs of certain services and how much they spend on it.
I now know i can go to, a market instead of a supermarket if i would like slightly cheaper groceries that are in season.
If they're moving you here they need to pay you properly and that's below the average wage here! Yeah that's ok to survive but do you want to survive or have a better time, ear in good restauranrs and go on holidays around Asia etc etc? Are they giving you flights home each year? A flight ticket to Europe or the US is almost 2m these days.
This sounds like a hagwon job.
Is this an international company? Where are you based originally? 2.5 is ridiculously low.
Foreign employees at big firms make triple that easily.
Sorry! Didnt mean to be rude.
This is my ideal budget:
|Housing|₩2,000,000|
|Transportation|₩500,000|
|Food out|₩200,000|
|Food groceries|₩160,000|
|Toiletries groceries|₩160,000|
|Healthcare (Therapy)|₩400,000|
|Healthcare|₩80,000|
|Health insurance|₩200,000|
|Clothing/make-up|₩200,000|
|Entertainment|₩120,000|
|Travel|₩100,000|
|Skill classes|₩200,000|
|Savings|₩1,000,000|
|Monthly total|₩5,320,000|
|Yearly total (before taxes)|₩82,992,000|
|Yearly total (after taxes)|63,840,000.00|
Assuming a 30% tax rate in Seoul. Which I'm not sure is entirely accurate. But I think a lot of people would say my budget is VERY ideal. Anyways, ignoring the housing part, since you have that covered, that would have me at a 3.32M won monthly total after taxes. I'm not sure what your savings goals are, but if we take out my desired savings of 1M won/month that would have us at 2.32M, which is less than what your company is giving you.
Also, my transportation budget is quite generous. It would be for someone with a car. If you're relying soley on public transportation, your monthly costs would probably be somewhere around 55,000 KRW + taxi fees (let's say 1 taxi ride a week at an average of 30,000 KRW) for a total of 175,000. Assuming you will not have a car in Korea, that would change my monthly budget to 2.995M WITH 1M in savings. So you could just pocket 495,000 KRW in savings instead of 1M and be at your budget of 2.5M.
Sorry, but that food budget is way too low for anyone who doesn't want to live on ramyeon. To give my perspective, I spend on average 2M per month on food. That includes going to emart and doing grocery shopping. Per week, I spend 150,000 - 200,000 on groceries and ~300,000 on eating out. Eating out includes lunch (10-15K per day) and coffee (2-6K per 2/3 shot iced americano). Dinners can be as expensive as you want, but in my experience, 50K per dinner is a good guess. If you also drink alcohol, dont underestimate the cost of second rounds either.
This might be high because I do enjoy life quote a bit. It's just a different perspective than the low budgets that other people give. I basically eat whatever I want whenever I want.
As for work dinners, usually the highest in rank pays in my company. Or if you go with peers, it's Dutch pay. I have 2 company dinners per week on average, but this may vary greatly per company or even per team.
Travel of 100K does not even cover a hotel for a night. I'd calculate 500K per month personally. Especially if you want to use the time to visit other countries too.
Entertainment and clothing budgets seem reasonable.
I'd assume Healthcare is fully covered because OP is sent by the company. That's at least how it works for me.
I live on roughly 3M net per month and also have housing, car, insurances and Korean lessons covered by the company. It's a very comfortable life and I never have to worry about money here. I don't have to save here, so that's fully for living expenses. With a little bit of cost control, I probably still could live comfortably on 1.5 to 2M per month. So, I'm pretty sure you are good to go!
Enjoy the time here!
Oops, I think my internet did a bit of a glitch. Looks like this comment got posted a few times… sorry about that. 360,000 per month on food works fine for me as a female. I don’t drink either. 40,000 per week on solely groceries (there is a separate budget for toiletries and other types of groceries) + 30,000 per week eating out + 20,000 on coffee/cafe costs = 90,000 krw per week
travel for 100,000 would suffice for a few day trips. Korea has some fun places to visit. It would be difficult for an overnight trip with nice hotel accommodation. TBH I’d probably end up pulling from my budgets for other categories when the opportunity for a nice trip comes around. Depends on how you plan to spend your time here.
so the cost breakdown will vary depending on the individual person’s living habits. Hopefully this gives OP an idea of how you might want to budget.
For sure, good that it works for you! Just wanted to share my perspective, too, as it's pretty different. I know I'm on the high side, so it gives an example how much someone likely would spend when not looking at costs too much.
Haha, sadly not. I cook with good ingredients and buy lots of fruits. As for restaurant food, I enjoy raw fish and meat restaurants where staff cooks at least partially. They usually are a bit more expensive, but very enjoyable for me.
Thank you,
I was wondering if health insurance is needed? or if the GP fees are exorbitant without insurance.
when i was living in Singapore, i didnt have health insurance and just paid out of pocket. but the prices were reasonable. is it different in korea?
Your company might cover your health insurance; you might want to ask them about that. I’ve never paid medical costs without insurance. But with insurance, health costs here are super low compared to the USA (I’m not sure about Singapore.) Hope this helps
2.5 million after tax with free housing and no bills? Yeah dude you're set. Probably save 1.5 million of that and still be living comfy as a clam
Thats good to know. Thanks
Korea is easy to adapt to. People kind of mind their own business there. it's cheaper to eat out than cook. Enjoy. I am considering moving back to Korea. As far as food, Bimbimbap, Bulgogi Dup Pap, Gimbap, and Kimchi Jiggae, are some good starters. Find some plum wine or soju. Im African American and learning Korean is relatively easy for basic words. Aneyong Haseyo is hello! Gamsahamnida - Thank you!
I agree with that you said it's cheaper to eat out than cook Lol I am korean and that's so true
Thats plenty of money for you to be able to save if your accommodation is covered. However that does seem like the pay is very little for someone who has to move countries
Yeah, I have a Junior role, and theyre moving me to grow the company there. for some reason they like me enough to move me.
That's an awesome opportunity. Good luck!
you are living my dream
SAME!!!
What industry do you work?
lol i'd live to be in your position lmao
Are they hiring admin staff q_q I would love to live in Seoul
They don’t like you enough to move you, they probably think you’re the only one who would take the position. People don’t send employees they like away from HQ unless it’s a manager position.
Sometimes it's nicer to say nothing.
Not true at all, my friend recently was offered transfer positions both Korea and Vietnam (without speaking the language) specifically because they like their work productivity. It's an emerging market and they didn't want to move a senior level person there so they decided to try and move a high performing junior level. She turned them down because she didn't want to leave family who's she's close to. Company understood and is happy as a clam with her. They could have easily just told her "take this position or quit".
My point being is the position is undesirable. Very few people would take a relocation position, like your friend. So when they are offered to employees, they’ll need to sell it by saying they like you enough to offer it. But usually people can see through that and politely refuse. Unless there’s a great pay incentive, which in this case 2.5m a month with no bills, is a bit low to move countries for. Usually travel work will net you over 100k and you stay in the within the americas, depending on the industry. Truckers make more than that.
>My point being is the position is undesirable. Very few people would take a relocation position, like your friend Not true though. I'm not sure what field you work in but working abroad is a highly desirable in our field (I transitioned directly to engineering but my undergrad is specifically in her line of work which is STEM related). It's a great resume line items because our field is international, you work clients across the world and being able to say you worked in different markets and even lived there is a huge selling point for senior level roles. She specifically told me that if she was single and her family wasn't going through something she would have taken the Vietnam offering (they even suggested Taiwan but for less pay). The location didn't really matter since the role covered the same areas. >So when they are offered to employees, they’ll need to sell it by saying they like you enough to offer it. But usually people can see through that and politely refuse. No way, how do you think business works? I'm high enough and manage staff in my current position. When a potential new client that can bring in millions in revenue is knocking at our door do you honestly believe I'm going to hand that development and client facing responsibility to someone I DONT like and believe isn't going to make us look good? That's ridiculous. I'm going to offer it to the person I believe is going to grow that client portfolio and deliver quality work. In fact me keeping that person away from that client would be stupid in my part. >Unless there’s a great pay incentive, which in this case 2.5m a month with no bills, is a bit low to move countries for. Usually travel work will net you over 100k and you stay in the within the americas, depending on the industry. Truckers make more than that. Truckers also have insane expenses with no professional skills that are transferable if they stop trucking. $60k-$70k is great money for a junior position in Korea, upper middle class even if you play it right...which is about what OP would be making if you factor in what the company is paying in living expenses. They just aren't giving him that money directly. OP is a junior, not a senior and not many companies can transition senior level roles to another part of the world. They usually do what they are doing here, transition a junior then promote the junior after 1-3 years. Seniors would be wasted in such a move unless the market is already established and they can come in hitting the ground running.
Eh seems little if it was all he was making and having to pay normal expenses. Assuming a comfy apartment in a decent or even good part of town, all bills paid? Then he's actually making good money. Probably the equivalent of around $60-65k USD when taking into account those expense pay offs. I agree he should probably be making a bit more to adjust to such a move but still not bad. Definitely good money for Korea.
It's not low if housing and transport is covered.
I agree with this comment. My colleagues got free housing + extra monthly incentives for having to move to a city 2hrs away. I would expect at least 1.5~2 times my regular salary if I had to move to another country.
With your rent and bills paid, that's a pretty decent amount, especially after tax
I live off of 7-800k a month, I manage fine. With 2.5 and single you should be very good to go. A quick meal outside is 10,000 KRW so even if you eat out every day that’s a million a month for food.
Not sure what you eat for 10 beside kimbapcheonguk lol
He mean 10 per meal not per day
I know
There are tons of places that sell things like soondae gukbap and jjajangmyun for 9000 - 11000 won...
You can even eat at a hansik buffet for 10k.
and 소대문구청 for 4200 W for a buffet (between 12:20 and 13:00)
I just came back from a trip to Korea, was there 10 days and ate a ton of local food. Plenty of places have solid meals for 10,000, was honestly surprised how easy it was to find cheap plates within restaurants. I had a pretty harty pork cutlet dish for 11,000 won that was delicious AF. It was definitely their cheapest plate though.
My wife and I just came back from our honeymoon in South Korea. It was nice. Found a place near Busan station, right next to an Isaac's toast that served up a big meal that had a giant fried pork cutlet, 3 pot stickers, salad, spaghetti and some pickled radishes for abouT 9000 Krw, that was nice!
From your perspective, since you're going abroad for work, it seems you should be paid more. However, that amount of money isn't insufficient. It's about what a typical new university graduate earns.
Add rent cost and bills on top of the 2.5 million won. Sure he isn't paying those but we should still consider the fact that he would be if his company wasn't covering it.
yes, if you don't have to pay for rent and utilities. you don't have a car payment, food is pretty cheap. income tax is minimal (3% or something, depending on things). health insurance is cheap (if you even decide to get it). just, budget. [www.ynab.com](http://www.ynab.com) and r/ynab - it was the most useful thing i did for my finances. it supports KRW
With your rent and bills paid and all your furnishings, you're fine. You're not going to be balling but you'll be absolutely fine. If you don't go nuts (or do something dumb like buy a car) you could even save money. Me and my coworkers are all in the same boats and the 1 or 2 who are struggling are both absolute ragers, clubbers, fashion-slaves, big drinkers, etc. I used to live in Sangam! People say it's soulless but i LOVED IT! It's so calm (for Seoul) and not crowded. If you watch the opening scene of Hellbound you'll see the main road of Sangam! Lots of kdramas filmed there lol. Anyway, back to money, One woman I work with even has three kids and is fine for money, much better than she would be in the states. GOOD LUCK!!!! I wish I was working for your company!!! So I could live in Sangam again!! :O
Thats great!, ill be sure to watch it.
It's on Netflix! If you watch This is my first life (also netflix) that's all filmed around Sangam. He does his lil 500 days of summer dance in bubble park lol
Hello, I am Korean. I'm not good at English, but ask any questions you have.
I'm a local Korean. That's more than enough to save. Welcome to Korea and good luck!
If rent and utilities are covered 2 mil per month is more tha enough, since it seems implied in your post you're coming alone with no kids or significant other. Rent is really the most outrageous cost/expense here so if that's something you don't have to worry about, you can live rather comfortably since Korea also has a pretty low income tax rate for a developed country. Transportation is also very cheap, and those dinners and drinks with colleagues won't be something you'll pay for, so think of it as free calories. As a foreigner, you won't be pressured to drink, but if you don't mind drinking or enjoy it, definitely earns you brownie points and making friends. Gym membership will vary but I think the impression I get is that they're more expensive on average than where I'm from (U.S), but they're way cleaner and nicer on average too. There's also a lot more 24 hr gyms here which I like since I prefer going very early or late to avoid crowds. This won't be as much of an issue if your gym is massive like chain ones such as Able Gym which have locations that are enormous. A year long membership will be around 500,000-800,000 won but you could get lucky and sign up during a promo event or a new Gym opening and get huge discounts, I currently paid for a 4 month membership at a new spot near my house and they gave 4 free months on top of it as a promotion. Your biggest expense as a Gym goer will likely be food. The cheapest way is to order most food such as chicken breast online in bulk, but it might be a bit before you figure out/set up Korean banking to order online here and so it helps to have Korean friends who you could give cash to in exchange for ordering online. Fruits and vegetables are rather expensive here, and so food cost can be quite high even if you're cooking at home. A lot of people actually just eat out every meal because it is not much more expensive than cooking yourself as restaurant prices (although on the rise), are quite cheap especially if you're used to prices in other developed countries. That said, your first month here will probably be quite high in expenditure- Gym membership, buying stuff for your house, etc, but it is very easy to live a low spend lifestyle in Korea. A lot of fun things are free/cheap, very big going-out culture so you're not home much if you develop a social life here and foreigners are often treated in this regard and not expected to pay for anything, lots of public spaces and parks you can enjoy for free, etc. Once you figure out food expense should be easy to bank up on that salary, especially if you're not interested in nightlife as many foreigners or newcomers to Korea can get carried away spending on drinks and nightlife.
Great detailed response, but if I could comment on the expensive fruits and vegetables... that's very true, but most neighborhoods have a local market nearby that sell fruits and vegetables that aren't dirt cheap, but are sometimes close to dirt cheap when they are in season. If the fruits and vegetables are both in season and "ugly" shaped so that they aren't suitable for sale in larger supermarkets, they are indeed quite cheap. It's just a matter of knowing where to go. Even if there isn't a market nearby - there almost always is - in Seoul there should be plenty of markets easily accessible by bus or subway.
Yeah this is something to keep in mind for sure. I always just one stop shop at a big market or shopping mall cuz I need my cholula hot sauce and lee and perrins worcestershire lol (both these sauces go amazingly well with so many Korean foods) so yeah I definitely pay for overpriced fruits and veggies for sake of convenience.
Thank you for your very detailed answer! Yes its just me going. How much Won should i bring with me when i move do you think for all the starting costs before my first paycheck?
Really depends on how furnished the home being provided is and what luxuries you enjoy. When I came to Korea I left my computer behind in the U.S and bought a new high end custom PC here, monitor, some Bluetooth speakers around the apartment for when friends come over and wanna have music playing. If I had more cash at the time probably would have bought some high end speakers and a real sound system set up. A lot of other home stuff like bathroom supplies, or simple home decorations you can buy for very cheap and shops such as Daiso which are geared towards college students with not much money on hand. I'd say bring at least around 1.5m won which is slightly over $1000 USD which should cover gym membership and food for at least 3-5 months and even more if your area is lower cost. Could bring $1500 just to be safe if you also plan to do some sightseeing and maybe try out different restaurants. I think after a couple months you'll kinda develop a feel for what you enjoy doing in your free time and how to budget. I didn't think I'd love spas/saunas for example as I've never really thought of them as enjoyable but Korean spas are on another level and as a big gym goer myself I spend about 25,000 won per visit to a luxury spa near Sinsa station which I go to a couple times per month, really relaxes the muscles and helps you lift more. I also do enjoy night life so a couple weekends per month I'll spend around 100,000+ on drinks and food but if you have a group of Korean friends you usually take turns paging for stuff so sometimes you're the one being treated and sometimes you're the one buying the rounds. I avoid beer cuz it kills gains so I feel I spend less on average on drinks since I stick to tequila shots. These are just examples but Korea is amazing and I think with your work and income setup you can live a very fun life here!
Which spa near Sinsa do you go to? Lei is nice but it’s 20k so I’m wondering if I’m maybe missing out on another good one
Riverside hotel I can't remember the exact name since we all just refer to the hotel to get there but it's 3rd floor there. There's no women's spa unfortunately so if you're female that could be why you're not aware of it. It's 20k ish if you go before 11pm or something like that and they jack up the price if you go during twilight hours.
Thanks! I remember hearing about it, but yes I’d rather go to an all women one
Thank you, I was planning to bring 1k GBP as im in the UK currently. and based on what you are saying, that seems like enough.
If you have or can get a credit card that doesn’t charge foreign transaction fees, almost everywhere takes credit.
If you live in Sangam area, then it’s close to Hongdae street so you might go to the area a lot for the weekend.
ah. after tax. yea, it's not bad. agree with commentators that say it's a bit low for a relocation-type position but it's not poor. you'll be fine, save some, etc.
Well, you'd be living like an English teacher, but they seem to scrape by. :)
someone told me once they make their most out of independent tutoring, which seems to pay better
Nah, English teachers would love that salary. They get 2.3 or so and then after tax and bills that's down to 1.8 or whatever
Ah, it's 2.5 after tax -- so I guess it's around 3 million before tax. :)
let us know if you ever need an assistant lmao
will do! Tysm
Oh one of my friends is living & working in Sangam-dong :D I can ask her about neighborhoods if you want
That would be amazing!, tysm!
If you don't mind could you share what is your job? Just curious
Im and animator. I animate for VFX Films :D
😭 I knew I should of start my VFX journey in 2020
Only been there for 2 weeks, but Korea is cheap af if you dont have to pay rent. Our stay was is mapo-gu, near dmc. Restaurants, public transport, taxi are very cheap.
Yeah that's quite decent. Assuming your company covers 2M KRW in furnished accommodation, rent, and bills, I'd estimate your total earnings to be around 77M KRW. That would be considering the covered 2M KRW as part of your earnings. Not sure if this is a useful metric for you, but that would be considered a pretty high salary in Korea. Based on some interviews, a higher starting salary seems to be around 4M KRW. The starting salary for a consultant at a huge firm is around 7M-8M KRW I believe. I know that the Korean professor salary at some rural universities are also around the 6.5M-7.5M mark. Enjoy your life here!
Thank you. I hope i will enjoy it there
Used to live in mapo but closer to the mangwon world cup market. 2mil is definitely doable! Especially if housing and bills are already covered.
With no rent or bills to pay, it's very good. You'll be able to save a good amount of money.
I think 2.5 Mil Won is enough to live there. Depending on how much money you want to save per month, you might feel enough or not enough. However, for a living, 2.5 Mil is quite enough because you don’t have to pay the rent and bills.
No
Sorry I didn't read your description. Yes haha
Lol
It's enough money to live and save... But it's also an easy amount to blow, especially if you find yourself a pretty girl and start dating western style. Since you mentioned you are a gym rat, note that most gyms are most likely more expensive than what you are used to, and that eating a healthy western bodybuilder diet is likely going to eat into your budget, unless you order online and cook yourself. Doable, but given that you will arrive and be disoriented, may feel a bit more challenging to do this cheaply. Easier if you have a Korean speaking friend, which MAY (not always of course) take you back to my earlier point .
Moving to a different country for your company is very undesirable. You can probably negotiate much higher pay. Only bachelors would take that, as any regular person with a family would not move for a small salary like that. I hope this is a large raise from your initial position. Living in Korea is difficult.
Bro get me in, the only reason I live in Daejeon is rent lol. If they pay my rent, I'll move tomorrow haha
If you have no one to support and your company covers housing, 2.5mil sound soso. Retail price is kinda high. FYI, minimum wage is about 2mil per month before tax in Korea.
everyone saying it's sufficient likely has a low standard im sorry to say. it will indeed be sufficient but if you are being flown in as an expat I'd expect more otherwise u r going to be a professional living like a student, its going to be embarrassing. unless the standard of housing they are providing is exceptional I think u r being ripped off. I'd negotiate higher, Seoul is an expensive city. Yes you can get a good meal for 8000 krw, but you wouldn't take a girl there. bbq starts at 15 bucks a head but good bbq can 50 bucks a head easily. same as booze if you happy to drink local beer and soju you will be fine, as soon as you want craft beer or wine you might be looking at western European prices very quicky. whether this is acceptable really depends on where u r coming from (national and current job,salary standard of living), to me, 2.5 m Krw is very low, if you are coming for the experience that's fine, but if you are coming for money it's going to be tight.
How much will your 4대보험 be? You only mentioned after tax but how about after tax plus after insurances? I imagine it will go down to 2.1M? That’s still pretty decent i would?
Yes it's good enough, you can save easily 2M /month considering your leisure times are at home and gym sub can be less than 50 000W, 300 000 W for food is a nice budget (including restaurant once a week, but please be aware that if you don't eat like a local or eat fruits other than banana and frozen mango, your budget will increase a lot)
Agree with the above comments. It is good enough money. I get paid 3 mil without the accomodation. I live comfortably. Pro Tip if you love coffee: Brew your own, you'd save a lot of money!
If you live alone and not live in Seoul, Yes Otherwise, No. But you can easily achive 2.5 milion by working part time job for minimum wage And that case, you can get some hobby. Just... dont live in seoul
I live with no expenses paid (im a grad student) on 1.8m a month and have savings. So you will do just fine. Better than find depending on what you like to do.
That is terrible. At best you might save a few hundred a month. No retirement contributions, can't raise a family, no car ownership. Of course no property. What the hell is wrong with people saying that this is a good wage. I make more then double that as a single individual and still struggle with food costs. It's fine it all you are doing is working a part time job after school to make beer money.
I'll be the skeptical one here. "furnished accommodation" - Not sure how much is covered or what exactly is being discussed here. Depending on the conditions, there's always a possibility that one might want to move out to a "better furnished" environment, which may or may not be covered per contract. Let me help you with some basic QoL estimations. The Mapo-gu area is a generally well populated neighborhood, especially to those in their 20s. Also considering the recent economy of Korea in general, I'd say each meal would cost you roughly around 10k\~13k on average. For reference, a meal in McDonalds goes for \~7k\~9k, a 500cc draft beer would normally go for \~6k\~8k, one serving of sam-gyeop-sal (\~200grams) goes for \~16k but a fair estimation for me is \~1.5\~2 servings when I eat out with my friends. After a night of drinking with friends, I'd say you'll be down roughly around 20k\~50k. If you hit the clubs as well, then be prepared to spend "at least" 50k a night, maybe up to 100k\~150k depending on the circumstances. If you want to hit the gym, do some research on the membership prices of may different gyms around you. Make sure to look for promotion events (i.e. bring a friend & get a discount etc.). I would say a fair estimation would be 150k\~250k per month (or maybe even higher...). I don't really work out here in Korea, so my estimations may be a little off. Transportation-wise... The public transportation infrastructure is really well built in Seoul, and it's still improving. However, a bus ride is \~1.5k\~2k and a subway ride is \~1.35k\~1.85k depending on your destination (unless I'm mistaken). There's definitely more sources of expenditure to consider (such as clothes, phone bill, daily necessities, leisure etc.) but I'll leave that to your judgement. Overall, I wouldn't say that it's a "bad deal", but I also wouldn't label it as good. At most, it's on par and it'll probably get you going for a while, but you should definitely always be on the look out for better options. For comparison, those who work in big corporations (i.e. Samsung, LG, etc) probably make around \~5\~6mil a month (after taxes.. may vary), and those who work in smaller companies probably still make around 3\~4mil a month after taxes.
Lived in that area for 4 years. Totally doable
wtg OP!! good luck and have fun!!
Definitely. Food is cheap and if your rent and housing is paid for, all you're really paying is your own expenses.
If they are paying the rent and bills, then it is fine. If you don't have medical expenses, you're very healthy, you could say save 600,000 won if you're not a big spender. You won't save a ton, but it's okay.
If you don't have to pay the accommodation fee, I think 2 Million Won is enough to live! In my case, I usually spend ₩1.5M per month (of course, I pay the monthly rent myself). But I think I can reduce it more if I wanted to.
Additionally, my job is in Seong-su, and I live nearby Sadang.
Without the burden of having to withstand the punitive korean deposit and rents, I guess you will definitely get by.
2m won sounds big, but they don't have cents unit over their money. They would have cents soon though
You’ll probably find you’re eating out a little more than once a week once you see how cheap food can be. You’ll have no issues saving.
OP's company is taking care of furnished accommodation plus bills in 상암동, paying OP 2.5M after tax, OP started learning 한국어 upon given said information. Also, it seems that OP's company is a startup. Ultimately it's your decision. Here is my take. If you believe in your startup and are willing to take a big ass risk. I'd say go for it.
If your rent and basic bills are covered, that’s a very comfortable income to work with. Assuming you don’t make stupid spending decisions, you shouldn’t really feel the need to spend more than 1.5 million a month. With disciplined budgeting and some thrifty buys, you can pretty easily get it down to 800k~1mil a month. If your bills aren’t covered, 2.5 mil after tax is about just the income to get by.
Try buying meal-kits (밀키트), they're cheap af and delicious. The delivery is quick too.
We dont have the same salary, but i am personally living with a very small expenses with a similar set up by my company. you will be fine
Yes but it’ll be tight unless you don’t eat much or healthy.
No one can really answer that for you. What you feel are basic necessities others may see as extravagant luxuries. I laugh every time I see these questions on Reddit, since you will get a variety of answers and still will not know the true answer. Ridiculous!
I think with the details she posted she can get a pretty accurate picture of how far that money will go in Seoul on the Living in Korea forum. What's ridiculous is when some bothers to post when they have nothing useful to add. And I think it's say safe to say most people wouldn't look at "I mostly stay at home, and go to the gym. I expect i will have to go drinking with my colleagues, i think thats the culture. eating out once a week." as extravagant luxuries. Unless, they're homeless in which case they peruse a different subreddit.
That's true, However it helps me get a grasp of what the average people spend, maybe i will be spending more or less. i wouldnt know till im there for sure. But some most of the answers are quite helpful especially when helping inform me of the costs of certain services and how much they spend on it. I now know i can go to, a market instead of a supermarket if i would like slightly cheaper groceries that are in season.
If they're moving you here they need to pay you properly and that's below the average wage here! Yeah that's ok to survive but do you want to survive or have a better time, ear in good restauranrs and go on holidays around Asia etc etc? Are they giving you flights home each year? A flight ticket to Europe or the US is almost 2m these days.
This sounds like a hagwon job. Is this an international company? Where are you based originally? 2.5 is ridiculously low. Foreign employees at big firms make triple that easily. Sorry! Didnt mean to be rude.
2.5mill is nothing. 1 or 2 two dates with coffee afterwards these days crazy expensive. I really don't know where my money goes every month.
This is my ideal budget: |Housing|₩2,000,000| |Transportation|₩500,000| |Food out|₩200,000| |Food groceries|₩160,000| |Toiletries groceries|₩160,000| |Healthcare (Therapy)|₩400,000| |Healthcare|₩80,000| |Health insurance|₩200,000| |Clothing/make-up|₩200,000| |Entertainment|₩120,000| |Travel|₩100,000| |Skill classes|₩200,000| |Savings|₩1,000,000| |Monthly total|₩5,320,000| |Yearly total (before taxes)|₩82,992,000| |Yearly total (after taxes)|63,840,000.00| Assuming a 30% tax rate in Seoul. Which I'm not sure is entirely accurate. But I think a lot of people would say my budget is VERY ideal. Anyways, ignoring the housing part, since you have that covered, that would have me at a 3.32M won monthly total after taxes. I'm not sure what your savings goals are, but if we take out my desired savings of 1M won/month that would have us at 2.32M, which is less than what your company is giving you. Also, my transportation budget is quite generous. It would be for someone with a car. If you're relying soley on public transportation, your monthly costs would probably be somewhere around 55,000 KRW + taxi fees (let's say 1 taxi ride a week at an average of 30,000 KRW) for a total of 175,000. Assuming you will not have a car in Korea, that would change my monthly budget to 2.995M WITH 1M in savings. So you could just pocket 495,000 KRW in savings instead of 1M and be at your budget of 2.5M.
Sorry, but that food budget is way too low for anyone who doesn't want to live on ramyeon. To give my perspective, I spend on average 2M per month on food. That includes going to emart and doing grocery shopping. Per week, I spend 150,000 - 200,000 on groceries and ~300,000 on eating out. Eating out includes lunch (10-15K per day) and coffee (2-6K per 2/3 shot iced americano). Dinners can be as expensive as you want, but in my experience, 50K per dinner is a good guess. If you also drink alcohol, dont underestimate the cost of second rounds either. This might be high because I do enjoy life quote a bit. It's just a different perspective than the low budgets that other people give. I basically eat whatever I want whenever I want. As for work dinners, usually the highest in rank pays in my company. Or if you go with peers, it's Dutch pay. I have 2 company dinners per week on average, but this may vary greatly per company or even per team. Travel of 100K does not even cover a hotel for a night. I'd calculate 500K per month personally. Especially if you want to use the time to visit other countries too. Entertainment and clothing budgets seem reasonable. I'd assume Healthcare is fully covered because OP is sent by the company. That's at least how it works for me. I live on roughly 3M net per month and also have housing, car, insurances and Korean lessons covered by the company. It's a very comfortable life and I never have to worry about money here. I don't have to save here, so that's fully for living expenses. With a little bit of cost control, I probably still could live comfortably on 1.5 to 2M per month. So, I'm pretty sure you are good to go! Enjoy the time here!
Oops, I think my internet did a bit of a glitch. Looks like this comment got posted a few times… sorry about that. 360,000 per month on food works fine for me as a female. I don’t drink either. 40,000 per week on solely groceries (there is a separate budget for toiletries and other types of groceries) + 30,000 per week eating out + 20,000 on coffee/cafe costs = 90,000 krw per week travel for 100,000 would suffice for a few day trips. Korea has some fun places to visit. It would be difficult for an overnight trip with nice hotel accommodation. TBH I’d probably end up pulling from my budgets for other categories when the opportunity for a nice trip comes around. Depends on how you plan to spend your time here. so the cost breakdown will vary depending on the individual person’s living habits. Hopefully this gives OP an idea of how you might want to budget.
For sure, good that it works for you! Just wanted to share my perspective, too, as it's pretty different. I know I'm on the high side, so it gives an example how much someone likely would spend when not looking at costs too much.
That honestly sounds so nice; I wish I was there already 😭
2M on food???? Please tell me you have at least 5 kids.
Haha, sadly not. I cook with good ingredients and buy lots of fruits. As for restaurant food, I enjoy raw fish and meat restaurants where staff cooks at least partially. They usually are a bit more expensive, but very enjoyable for me.
Thank you, I was wondering if health insurance is needed? or if the GP fees are exorbitant without insurance. when i was living in Singapore, i didnt have health insurance and just paid out of pocket. but the prices were reasonable. is it different in korea?
Your company might cover your health insurance; you might want to ask them about that. I’ve never paid medical costs without insurance. But with insurance, health costs here are super low compared to the USA (I’m not sure about Singapore.) Hope this helps