Life in Korea-Info regarding housing, food, etiquette and customs

FOOD

Most Korean meals have rice as the main dish, accompanied by numerous side dishes of soup, beans, beef and fish, vegetables, and other tasty morsels. The local food is diverse, with a wide variety of dishes ranging from simple regional cuisine to complex gourmet creations in 'better' restaurants.

Many foreigners choose bulgogi (boiled beef) as a starting point, partly because they like it and also because they can pronounce it. Kimbap is similar to Japanese sushi, and although Bibimbap comes in a wide range of versions is usually makes a satisfying meal. Kimchee is a uniquely Korean dish, prepared as a pickled, spiced and peppered cabbage. It is best described as an acquired taste, although many people come to quite enjoy it.The average Korean lunch costs about 5,000 to 8,000 won (US$4.50 to $7.50). Some hotels and restaurants offer western food, you can expect to pay at least 20,000 won for a meal. The fast food folks will be pleased to find U.S. franchises (such as McDonald's, Wendy's, Burger King, KFC, Baskin and Robbins, Dunkin' Donuts etc.) have become very popular in Korea. You will have many options in shopping for food. You might head to the local supermarket. Recently, more and more Western products have been appearing in Korean supermarkets. 

Bottled water is cheap and many foreigners have it delivered to their apartments. If you want to save your money, you had better adapt you to Korean food.

Kimchee	Bulgogi	Kimbap

Life in Korea-Info regarding housing, food, etiquette and customs

Convenient Facilities

Post Office
The Korean mail service is good, and rates compare with many western countries. There are around 3,000 post offices in the country, so accessibility is good. Larger offices have a parcel wrapping service which is well worth while.
Delivery time is 1 or 2 days nationally, but airmail and small parcels from places like the U.S.A or Australia seem to take up to 2 weeks with the occasional article lost. Surface mail is available, but can take months. Registered mail and messenger services such as FedEx and DHL are here.

Phone

The telephone system is world-class, with ISD to all the countries that foreigners are likely to come from. The charges are slightly higher than many western countries, so if you are homesick it could cost you. There are three major fixed phone carriers, SK Telecom, KT Corp and LG Uplus. If you want to buy own mobile phones, visit SK Telecom's branch offices and agencies with certificate of Alien Registration or passport.

Internet

The same world-class comments apply to the internet. broadband connection is very popular in Korea, and they have adapted both the user interface and Microsoft Windows so that internet ready computers brought in from countries with English user interface won't work properly. South Korea's internet speed is almost six times faster than the world average of 3.8 Mbit/s, and more than twice as fast as the United States at 10 Mbit/s. It is important to note that 100 Mbit/s services are the average standard in urban South Korean homes and the country is rapidly rolling out 1Gbit/s connections or 1,000 Mbit/s, at $20 per month. KT Corp, SKBroadband, and LG Uplus also provide the broadband and the dedicated Internet circuit including Ethernet.

Entertainment, Recreation
There are many theaters and concert halls where national and international performances are available, especially in Seoul and Busan. Obviously the movie theaters show Korean movies, but there are a lot of American productions, and these are screened with sound in English and Korean subtitles.
There are numerous amusement parks throughout the country.

Newspapers.
There are two English daily newspapers, The Korea Times and the Korea Herald, which are published from Monday to Saturday. You can buy these at the numerous news-stands around the larger cities, but they are harder to get in the smaller centres. They can be home-delivered for around W18,000/month.

TV and Radio
There are some English radio and television channels, but in some areas these stations are only available by cable.

Life in Korea-Info regarding housing, food, etiquette and customs

SHOPPING

Shopping is the number one leisure activity in Korea. If you like shopping, you will love this country. You can buy all sorts of things at street stalls; there are small specialty shops; some huge open markets and of course western style big department stores.
There are bargains to be had in the markets, although a lot of stuff is imitation or not quite what it appears to be. Be that as it may, it is a very entertaining way to shop, and if you like to bargain you will find plenty of adversaries here.

Living Cost

Broadly speaking there are two sets of prices in Korea, one cheap and the other relatively expensive. The things that are usu cheap are anything "Korean" like Korean food (around 4-6000 won for a good cheap meal), transport (the subway and buses are usu only 1000 won), utilities (usu around 70000/mth all up) etc. The things that are relatively expensive in Korean terms (although often normal in Western terms) are anything that is "foreign". This is not just things that are imported like foreign spirits (very expensive) but even things produced locally like strawberry jam, pizza (around 15000 won), MacDonalds Combo (approx 3700 won), cafe coffee (up to 5000 won). Also its not just Western foreign things that are relatively pricey but also anything "foreign" like Karaoke bars and foreign Asian restaurants. So basically if you keep your usu consumption habits you're going to spend a lot more money than if you change your habits and eat the local food etc which is delicious. How expensive it is in Korea is up to you to a fair extent.
Other article prices (note that in Seoul everything is higher):
Movie ticket -9000-10000 for a new release.
T-shirt -5000 for a knock off.
Levis Jeans -120000, its a foreign article
Internet cafe -1000-1500/h usu although can be cheaper. They call them PC Bangs
Bread -2500-3000 for a loaf.
Eggs -2300 for 24
Coffee - 2000-3000 usu at a cafe but can run to 5000 in Seoul.
Cable TV -about 25000/mth but can be cheaper.
Dry cleaning -usu 2500 or so per item

Life in Korea-Info regarding housing, food, etiquette and customs

FINANCE

General Living Cost
The cost of living is very reasonable. Most foreigners can live on about US$340-$630 dollars per month, depending on lifestyle. This would include; food, transportation, utilities, phone bill and entertainment.

The Korean currency is the Won, which currently exchanges for around W1,210 to US$1.00 but obviously this changes daily. You should open a bank account in Korea for convenience. You will need some documentation; passport or residence card. If you deal regularly with the same branch it is likely that on subsequent visits less documentation will be required. You can remit money from most Korean banks to your own bank at home. This can be by money order or electronic transfer, and once you have your 'green card' you can send all of your income.

Credit card
Most major credit cards are OK, but some shops seem to have difficulties while the one next door can process a credit sale with no trouble.
It is most likely that your credit card will be an important source of funds for you when you first arrive here because you probably won't be paid for at least a month. So make sure your cards will work in Korea before you leave home. And that means double check; this is important - it is surprising how often the folks at home don't really know about Korean procedures.
For instance, you can use your international card to make purchases in Won (bring money into the country); but it is much harder to pay Won into that credit account (like send money out of the country) because there are economic restrictions on funds leaving Korea. So you will need to organise a way to pay your card from home before you leave.
In principle, it is expensive to use a foreign currency credit card overseas. That is, you make a purchase in Won; the shop does a credit sale on your card (which might be denominated in US dollars, for instance); so your bank at home charges your card for the USD equivalent plus a foreign exchange fee. Then at some time you will have to use some of your income to pay the card off; so you are looking at another foreign exchange fee. In practise, these two fees should add up to about US$7.50 on a transaction, so if you only use your credit card for significant purchases then the extra fees don't matter that much. However, check your bank to find out just what your fees will be.

Income Tax
As usual, income tax is a common complaint. Most foreign employees are required to pay Korean income tax, which should be withheld from your salary. The Korean income-tax rate is 5-10 per cent.

Life in Korea-Info regarding housing, food, etiquette and customs

HOUSING-
Key Money(Jeonse in Korean)
The Koreans have an intriguing home rental arrangement called 'Key Money'. The general idea is that you pay the property owner a year's rent as an upfront deposit when you move in, and you don't pay monthly rent. At the end of the contract period, you get the deposit back. Yes, that's right - the owner has the use of your money to earn interest during the contract period, and when you move out he gives you back your deposit.

While it sounds like a very good arrangement for a teacher, remember this is Asia and financial deals don't seem to have that fixed quality that westerners associate with the word 'contract'. The property owner might change his mind or whatever, and assume (probably correctly) that a foreigner won't be able to defend whatever rights he may have. Obviously, your Korean friends should take up the rental because they are in a much petter position to work through any problems.
The actual key money amounts vary enormously, but for instance a small and ordinary flat in the low end of town could be 30-50 million Won and a mid-range 2 bedroom apartment in a more desirable part of town could be 75-100 million Won.

Monthly Rent(Wolse in Korean)
This is a variation of the key money idea, but looks more like a conventional western bond plus rent arrangement. You pay a lower upfront deposit (which you get back when you move out), and you pay a monthly rent as well. Like deposits, the rental amounts can vary widely, but for instance a mid-range flat could be in the range of 2.5-8 million Won per month.

Boarding Houses
It is reasonably common for low end of hotels and boarding houses to rent single rooms. The cost can be in the order of 500,000-750,000 Won per month, and obviously much depends on location. A popular tourist area will be higher than a quiet country town. Services might include some meals and maybe laundry service. Lack of privacy can be an annoyance, and security of your personal effects can be a problem.

Homestay
Sometimes boarding with a local family is an option. This is a wonderful chance to experience Korean life up close, but again the lack of privacy can be a serious problem.