Moving to Seoul

Well, now that I've been in South Korea for a month, I figured it's time to update my blog! For my first post about Korea, I'm doing an FAQ about the process to get here and general living in Korea, but feel free to send me any questions I missed that you would like answered.

Why did you choose South Korea?

Directly after college, I taught English in Spain for a year and I absolutely loved it. I would have liked to stay for another year if I could've; however, I have student loans, and I didn't make enough in Spain to afford to live there and also pay my loans. My parents very generously helped me with payments until I came home and got a job in the US, but I still wanted to try teaching overseas again, ideally somewhere I'd never been. I planned on taking a few years to get work experience at home and save up some money before I made the big move.

I knew that I wanted to teach in Asia so that I'd be able to explore a different part of the world that I'd never visited. From talking to other teachers and also from my own research, I learned that specifically east Asia paid the most to foreign teachers, which would allow me to live there and still pay my loans, so I narrowed my search to China and South Korea (The cost of living in Japan is so high that I worried it wouldn't be a good fit for my situation). I found a company that I wanted to work for in China and set the ball in motion in late 2019. Without drawing out the story too much, the teaching job in China fell through thanks to the pandemic, and after almost 18 months of waiting and hoping it would work out, I pivoted and started pursuing teaching in South Korea instead in August 2021.

What was the process like to get this job?

When I taught in Spain, I was a broke recent college graduate, so I did everything myself. I applied for their government-run public school program and basically got dropped into the middle of the nowhere with not even a "good luck" from the program facilitators. That was fine then because I was 22, I didn't know any better, and it forced me to improve my Spanish, so I have no regrets. However, doing this almost 7 years later without speaking a word of Korean, I know more now and I'm also more financially stable, so this time I decided to go through a recruiter. Using the company XploreAsia, I paid them to do the work for me when it came to setting up interviews with schools, handling the visa paperwork, and also to get my Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) certificate (which Spain didn't require). The recruiting fee and the TEFL certificate combined cost $1,500. I have since met people here who found their own jobs or worked with recruiters who were free to use because they get paid by the schools, so you can absolutely find a job here without spending a fortune. Personally, I'm happy I paid for a recruiter. I've been in contact with them several times when I had questions, and they've also connected me with other teachers. I really appreciate having the support.

As for the actual job itself, I told my recruiter that I wanted to be in Seoul. They told me Seoul is really competitive because everyone wants to teach there, so they would do what they could but made no promises. They set me up with one interview for a private language school for preschoolers in Seoul, and I got it! Admittedly, I would have preferred a job with older kids, but I was so thrilled to be in Seoul that I was happy to take it. And I also really prefer the working hours; I'm at work from 9am to 6pm, including an hour lunch break. Teachers who work with older students often work 12-8pm or 1-9pm because their students come to them after a full day of regular school.

What is the weather like?

Before I left the US, I got this question all the time. People would ask me, "So is it summer there even though it's winter here?" I'm not making fun of anyone because I'm very aware that geography really is not prioritized in the US, so let me explain that since South Korea is still in the northern hemisphere, as is North America, Europe, etc., we experience seasons at the same time. Furthermore, I read that the temperature is comparable to New England in the US, as South Korea has all four seasons. The winter is definitely drier though, as I haven't seen any snow here thus far. When I got here in early February, the daily highs were in the 30s, and now that it's mid-March, it's mostly 40s and 50s. From what I hear, summer in Seoul is hot and very humid. Most days will be in the 80s but 90s are not uncommon (unfortunately for me!).

What is the food like?

Obviously I do not pretend to be an expert, since I've lived here all of a month, but I really like the Korean food I've had so far. Lunch is provided for teachers at my school every day and most of the time I enjoy it. Kimchi, aka slightly spicy fermented vegetables, is the most common and is served with literally every meal. I've also enjoyed tteokbokki, a spicy rice cake (Although "rice cakes" here are soft and spongy so very different from the rice cakes at home) and galbitang, beef short rib soup. My favorite thing I've had was bibimbap with bulgogi, which is a mixed rice and vegetable dish with sweet marinated shredded beef. I also had Korean barbecue for the first time this past weekend; we had pork belly and grilled kimchi, which was delicious. Seoul is such a cosmopolitan city, however, that I've also had pizza and tacos since I've been here. Western-style grocery stores are really popular, which helps significantly, as traditional Korean grocery stores don't have nearly the variety that I'm used to from home. Case in point, the Korean grocery stores only sell cheese that is individually wrapped slices, like Kraft singles. They have different flavors of cheese slices, including cheddar and mozzarella, but that's clearly not going to work for me. The Western-style grocery stores have much more of the variety that I'm used to, but the Korean grocery stores are great for essentials.

Where do you live?

For my visual learners, the red star on the map above is me. I live in a studio apartment in Mok-dong, Yangcheon-gu, Seoul, which is not far from the western edge of the city. To get into the city center takes 30-40 minutes by subway. Gu is the Korean word for district, and Seoul has 25 gu. Each gu also has neighborhoods, which are dong. So Mok-dong, Yangcheon-gu, Seoul is like saying Hell's Kitchen, Manhattan, New York.

What is the cost of living like?

The cost of living here is shockingly affordable. The average rent for a studio apartment here is less than $500 USD. And to be fair, the studio apartments really are tiny, but can you imagine a price like that in New York or San Francisco!? I went to the store to get some minor essentials for my apartment, like a trash can, a clothes drying rack, a dish drying rack, some utensils, etc. and I spent less than $100 USD on everything I needed. Public transportation is extremely reasonable; a round trip on the bus or subway is $2 USD. Dining out on Korean food is also crazy affordable; it's usually less than $10 USD and it's so much food and so much variety! The flip side is that Western things are comparatively quite expensive; a small bottle of maple syrup at the grocery store was $8, and a group of us went out for tacos, chips and guacamole, and one cocktail each, which came out to almost $30 per person. I read before coming here that a person could comfortably live in Seoul for $50 a day and so far it seems like that number is spot on.

How easy is it to find peers your age?

Thanks to XploreAsia, the recruiting company I used, I have been blessed with finding peers easily. Meeting other foreigners was a big part of what appealed to me about Seoul, and it has not disappointed. XploreAsia created a personalized Google map for us where the teachers in their program could drop a pin on the map of where they lived and see who lives nearby. We've only been here a month but already we have a pretty solid group of friends to get together on weekends or grab a drink after work. I also work at a school with 4 other foreign teachers, which is wonderful. I definitely have a real community around me already. I also assumed that I would be older, like 6 or 7 years older, than almost everybody I meet here (considering most normal people are at least starting to settle down when they're pushing 30), but I can honestly say I was wrong about that. Two of my coworkers are my age and I've met several people in their 30s. Even in my friend group, where I expected everyone to be 22 or 23, more people are actually mid-20s, which was a really pleasant surprise. I feared being a grandmother in a group of 22-year-olds and I'm happy those worries were unfounded.

What are the most noticeable cultural differences?

• Being here during a pandemic definitely offers a unique perspective. Koreans wear a mask absolutely everywhere they go, including when you're walking down the street or going for a run outside. They take masks off to eat or if they're in a private home and that's basically it.

• Koreans are generally really kind; I have yet to encounter someone really frustrated that I don't speak the language. They will go out of their way to try to help, whether it's in a restaurant, at school, or even in a 7-11 (which are everywhere here, by the way!).

• Conversely, something I find very funny is that they unapologetically take up space. There are never any empty seats on the subway, and they definitely don't observe what I consider "personal space" from strangers. When I'm in a grocery store and I want to look at something, I'm still getting used to pushing past someone to browse; they don't care if you're waiting to pass or to look at the same thing, and they will continue to take their sweet time.

I'm sure there will be many more but these are the first I've noticed!

How did you pack for a year?

I am honestly kicking myself that I never took pictures of my packed suitcase. I planned on it because of how many people were curious about the packing situation. But as you can imagine, it was kind of a stressful situation and it simply slipped my mind. That said, a lot of what I brought were clothes. As a plus-size person, I knew coming here that I wouldn't be able to buy clothes here, so I didn't hesitate to overpack, especially due to Korea having four seasons. When I'm going on vacation, I usually under-pack or only bring essentials; moving is quite different.

Clothes-wise, here's the breakdown: a winter coat, a rain jacket, 2 bathing suits, 3 sets of pajamas, 2 pairs of blue jeans, 2 pairs of black jeans, 3 pairs of jogger sweatpants, 3 pairs of leggings, 3 pairs of cropped leggings, 4 pairs of work pants, 4 sweaters, 3 long-sleeved t-shirts, 5 cardigans, 6 dresses, about 20 various short-sleeved shirts/blouses/t-shirts, a pair of flip flops, 2 pairs of flats, 5 pairs of sneakers, and lots of socks, underwear, and bras.

Otherwise, I brought the obvious essentials like laptop, Kindle, and various chargers, US>Korea plug converter, jewelry and makeup, etc. The less obvious things that I brought were thanks to things I read from other Westerners who had come here and shared their wealth of knowledge: a full size towel for after a shower, since Koreans only use hand-size towels; bed sheets, as Koreans often sleep on mats and/or with duvets; sunscreen and lotion, since many Korean ones have whitening agents in them; various over-the-counter medications like allergy medicine, Pepto Bismol, etc., as Koreans primarily only take drugs that are prescribed; spices or cooking implements from home, which for me was Trader Joe's Everything but the Bagel seasoning and a few Hidden Valley Ranch packets; and any Western products you're especially attached to, which for me included solid deodorant and Dove body wash.

I came with a checked bag, a carry-on size (that I also checked so I wouldn't have to lug it through the airport and because the airline gave me 2 free checked bags), a backpack, and my purse. Unsurprisingly, my luggage was overweight, so I paid $100 for the overweight fee, which really isn't much considering how much I brought. No regrets!

I will be sure to include other observations in future posts, but feel free to send me any questions you would like answered in the meantime. I will definitely be writing one of my more traditional sightseeing-based posts sometime soon!