your opinion living in s. korea vs thailand

[jaytaylor84]

Honestly I just feel I will never be truely happy in Thailand and I was

thinking of trying South Korea.. does anyone having stayed in both have any honest comparison?

[Sophon]

"Chalk and cheese" comes to mind.

Sophon

[jacko45k]

I have a friend who moved there from Thailand and seems very happy. But this person has relatives there.

Glad to get away from the corruption and dishonesty, enjoying the efficiency and likes people there.

Less pleased with the climate.

[ghworker2010]

too close to north korea. Move to Indonesia. Stunning beaches and many tourist options / variety.

[craigt3365]

I've heard mixed reactions from people living in S. Korea. Some liked it, others did not. The weather is a biggie. And it's a lot more expensive.

I suggest you go there for a few weeks and see for yourself before making the plunge. Maybe even rent an apartment for a few months???

[overherebc]

Wonderful quiet beaches.

Can you imagine how much p-ss is in the water.

Edited April 9, 2016 by overherebc

[Shiver]

Never been there, but was talking to a person passing through here last night who lived there for 4 years. He had mixed reactions:

Plusses:

Very friendly people

Community spirit and easy to integrate with (eg. just sit down with a bunch of people eating and you suddenly have 10 new friends) - he misses them a lot.

Easy to get work as a foreigner, they're very supportive of bringing in outside talent, and salary is excellent.

Minusses:

People live miserable grey lives, and rely on their community spirit to keep their sanity.

Food is good, though he prefers Thai style (he's based in CM).

False ideas:

That N.Korea is a threat, they're not concerned in the least about what the kiddy who executes several of his hair cut barbers per day, and killing people who annoy him is mostly for show and is not any real threat to those outside his borders. They do not believe what the TV tells them.

The suggestion of the guy I met (from USA), said much the same as Craig3365 - go and spend a week or two there first and see how you feel about the place.

Said guy has now moved to Thailand after 4 years just for some different experiences, where salaries can be tough to get by on and you're in a constant struggle with the authorities for paperwork, but he wants to explore many countries, so here he is for the time being, though he doesn't intend Thailand to be a permanent place for him (34 years old btw).

Edited April 9, 2016 by Shiver

[mesterm]

Why would you never be truly happy in Thailand?

[robertson468]

too close to north korea. Move to Indonesia. Stunning beaches and many tourist options / variety.

Move to Indonesia and the stunning beaches? I think the first thing that springs to mind with that Country is the choking smoke haze that's killing off half the Asian population! It even managed to reach Koh Samui for a couple of weeks - unbelievable.

[Rhys]

Kimchee a better diversion.

[jaytaylor84]

Tired of the weather in Thailand, the dishonesty and corruption, the insecurity and jealousy of most Thais, and the attempts at scamming me I have to dodge on a daily basis

I don't really care too much for that s.e. asian look and much prefer n.e asian women too, just being around good honest people will be a welcome change

[ozyjon]

In Sydney i had a Korean girlfriend, her friends would

come over and cook and make kimchee, you need to

experience this delight to know the real culture, they

eat raw garlic a lot, and drink soju like lemonade,

Korea is really depressing, i feel like the people are

fake, trying to be what they're not.

[bkkrooftop]

In Sydney i had a Korean girlfriend, her friends would

come over and cook and make kimchee, you need to

experience this delight to know the real culture, they

eat raw garlic a lot, and drink soju like lemonade,

Korea is really depressing, i feel like the people are

fake, trying to be what they're not.

I agree, u have to like kimchee, and the smell of it.. Soju is like water and seems most likely drink to cope with the life there.

this is only my opinion, and take it as such.. i felt it really depressing too. its not communist but the people are nice, but seem to not be very expressive, and it has this communist feel to it. again, my only perspective..

as well as, i moved from hawaii to middle of the winter.. i felt it to be the coldest place i had ever been, and drank way too much soju and heit.. to each his own..

i think u should def check it out b4 the plunge.. there are dishonest people everywhere in the world.. i cant imagine korea being better than thai other than salary if u are teaching, and maybe paperwork.

although u expressed u liked korean women better.. this might be ur motivation..

[akentryan]

Korean women will never be in the same class as Thai women. At least the ones i've known were not. If you already have a wife or lean left this is not a factor. If I were forced to relocate from Thailand I would first take a look at Danang in Viet Nam. Hearing good things about livng there.

[denby45]

too close to north korea. Move to Indonesia. Stunning beaches and many tourist options / variety.

Yes I agree. The threat of bombs going off around you is much worse than actual bombs going off all around you. Must be something to do with uncertainty of the situation with N. Korea. Indonesian bombs get rid of that uncertainty. You know exactly where you stand.

Den

[1FinickyOne]

Tired of the weather in Thailand, the dishonesty and corruption, the insecurity and jealousy of most Thais, and the attempts at scamming me I have to dodge on a daily basis

I don't really care too much for that s.e. asian look and much prefer n.e asian women too, just being around good honest people will be a welcome change

Where do you live in Thailand? Patong or some tourist haven? I am really curious as I see none of that behaviour in Central Thailand, far from the tourist haunts...

As to Korea, I had a friend teaching English there - he found the culture a bit difficult - said that nobody looks you in the eye. The money was much better than teaching English here in Thailand...

hope that helps in some way... but best is the suggestion above - give it a try... not much to lose really.

[Bear0Mack]

I also considered moving to Korea to work at one stage.

The good:

* What attracted me is how welcoming they seem to be policy-wise, at integrating foreigners into Korea. From what I understand, on an F5 skilled worker visa, you can become a citizen in 5 years, and they also support dual citizenship. So ultimately you can become a local with a reasonable investment of time.

* Government bureaucracy doesn't seem too bad for foreigners, in my experience processing things like visa and driving licenses is really easy and straight forward. All forms I encountered were available in English.

* Korea has beautifully maintained infrastructure, and THEY EVEN HAVE FOOTPATHS! I never saw a motorbike riding on one, or had one unreasonable blocked. The safety of commuting is alot better when you can actually walk.

* They also have many beautiful mountainous and luscious green parks in the midst of their cities.

* Public transport is ubiquitous, but incredibly slow. Expect a 20KM commute to take at least an hour.

* The food is amazingly delicious, and can be cheap too if you know where to look.

* Alcohol is also incredibly cheap, with a bottle of soju costing a mere 20 baht.

* The youth of Korea are more accepting of foreign cultures and you can expect to make some amazing good friends in Korea.

The bad:

* Very smoggy city at the best of times, despite their efforts to reduce this effect. I believe this is partly due to the mountainous landscape, and proximity to the toxic hazard of China. From what I've read, it can be just as hazardous as it is in China at times.

* Drunk people acting indecent towards you at any time of day. In one week while I was in Seoul, I had some drunk man assault me and pull my ear during the early afternoon while I was walking through a market minding my own business. Another occasion in the morning I ran into three drunk men, who were a nuisance, but not problematic like the other incident.

* Adjusting to the culture is intense. I found that most young people were easy to get along with and a blessing.

* I hear so many terrible stories about the work life balance in Korea, and literally everyone I spoke to complained of the crazy hours, especially the after hours mandatory work parties and excessive drinking. These stories put me off working in Korea.

* Your company owns your life. From the LG apartment you live in to the LG toothpaste your brush your teeth with. Go there and look around, you will see that five companies own the vast majority of Korea.

Does this help? Really, go to Korea and see it for yourself. Ask yourself, what am I hoping to be different here? What do I need to be happy, and what can I accept as being different?

[Global Guy]

This is just my experience of having move from Bangkok to Seoul some 15 years ago. Again, just my experience and nothing more. No judgments, just observations.

Overall, even if you put a gun to my head, I would never step foot in South Korea again, let alone live there.

I researched South Korea online extensively. I'd say at that time, I found the responses about 90% negative for having moved there. I thought, well, everyone has one negative story about traveling and I'm just reading everyone's one negative story. I was wrong.

I experienced pretty much everything I read online and then some.

I moved there because I got a job at a private school before hand. It paid quite well. Early on, I made some Korean friends at a local gym and they took me under their wing. I also met the general manager at worldwide restaurant/bar chain who was from Singapore and he took me under his wing too. He took me to places I'm sure I'd never get to go to on my own.

The people at the gym fixed me up with a nice Korean girl and we were dating. Between my Korean friends and new Korean girlfriend, I was going to all sorts of places, doing all sorts of things.

I also got a part-time job doing voice over work and educational videos which paid well. My employer paid for my apartment. So, financially and socially I was doing great. All of this happened in the first three months I was there.

All sounds wonderful right?

Wrong!

I initially wrote out a long email about all the problems I experienced but deleted it. All I will say is I'm sure times have changed there but still, I would never go there or live there again. Despite everything I had going for me early on that I wrote about above, I still hated it. So that tells you how bad it was there for me to give it all up after six months (of a one year contract). I'm a very adaptable person with simple needs but it didn't matter. The more I bent, the more I got taken advantage of and treated like dirt.

My Korean friends were great, but the treatment I got from Koreans who didn't know me was pretty horrible. There were incidents where people hassled me at restaurants, on the streets, in the subway, pretty much anywhere. And I studied the language so I could talk to locals in their language. It didn't matter.

My Korean friends confirmed my stories and my interpretations of them.

Again, I'm sure it's not as rude and racist now as it was back then but even if only a fraction of it, it's still too much for me. At least in Thailand, the people are generally nicer. I've had problems here too, but not to the extent or severity as there.

No where is perfect, but South Korea doesn't rely that much on tourism dollars so I don't think they care if foreigners come there or not.

[Bear0Mack]

Global Guy, I appreciate your story and you do a good job of illustrating it except what I still don't understand is what was it exactly that made you hate it so much? Being taken advantage of as being the nice guy? Was that the one thing?

[jaytaylor84]

thanks for all the replies guys.. helped me immensely in making a decision

honestly i just think korean women are the most beautiful asian girls.. im 31 and was hoping to settle down at some point but ive been burned by thai women.. being seen for the most part as a status accessory and as a supporter did something to my self worth in this country..

ive interacted with other asian women mainly

japanese and chinese in bkk and they just seem so much more educated, down to earth, and less manipulative which is a breath of fresh air..

considering everything thailand and more specifically bkk seems to be the place where my dollar will go the farthest and ill just try sukumvit 33-39 to meet a nice japanese or asiateque for a chinese girl and maybe move to a more farang oriented soi

i think the best advice in thailand is to just date and make friends with those at or above your own income level.. less problems

[AloisAmrein]

Korea: the best food in all Asia. Koreans: workoholics, like the Japanese, but friendly, not like the Chinese.

[Gulfsailor]

thanks for all the replies guys.. helped me immensely in making a decision

honestly i just think korean women are the most beautiful asian girls.. im 31 and was hoping to settle down at some point but ive been burned by thai women.. being seen for the most part as a status accessory and as a supporter did something to my self worth in this country..

ive interacted with other asian women mainly

japanese and chinese in bkk and they just seem so much more educated, down to earth, and less manipulative which is a breath of fresh air..

considering everything thailand and more specifically bkk seems to be the place where my dollar will go the farthest and ill just try sukumvit 33-39 to meet a nice japanese or asiateque for a chinese girl and maybe move to a more farang oriented soi

i think the best advice in thailand is to just date and make friends with those at or above your own income level.. less problems

Have you ever been in Korea? Women in Korea are generally not pretty at all! Nearly all the pretty ones you see on TV have had a complete 'face of' surgery. Walk in Seoul, or worse, the country side, and most girls/women you see have short limbs, an egg shaped head, pimply skin, thick straw like hair and tiny eyes.

[mrfaroukh]

If I was you I would check if I can afford it first.

[rubyjuan]

Dont go to Korea. Koreans are the most ethnocentric people I've ever known. I teach Koreans and I look forward to the day of never having to deal with them, again. Come to Vietnam...it's great here!

[jaytaylor84]

well i have 40k a year maybe i should just stay in bkk for

the quality of life and try find a japanese chinese or korean here...

damn is it really that bad in korea..

is vietnam better than bangkok? how are vietnam women?

[rubyjuan]

Hanoi is really great. High quality. Very affordable. Very high quality. The people are very friendly, kind, and not phony, like Thais. The women... The women. Exquisite and very normal. Educated and not only focused on your wallet. I've been here two years, after two years in Thailand and one in Beijing. To live...its best here.

[craigt3365]

well i have 40k a year maybe i should just stay in bkk for

the quality of life and try find a japanese chinese or korean here...

damn is it really that bad in korea..

is vietnam better than bangkok? how are vietnam women?

Maybe try someplace else here in Thailand. I love Bangkok and lived there several years ago. But after a bit, it drives me crazy. Though a lot to do in the city. Just a thought...

[Bear0Mack]

Vietnam is extraordinary. I can certainly see myself living there as a base for holidaying, but not sure if I would because I'm not sure about the visa cost. Although I don't think I'd want to work there. Not enough money to make it worth my while same like Thailand.

[rubyjuan]

Vietnam is extraordinary. I can certainly see myself living there as a base for holidaying, but not sure if I would because I'm not sure about the visa cost. Although I don't think I'd want to work there. Not enough money to make it worth my while same like Thailand.

Much more opportunity and money to be made here in VN. Not even close.

[Berkshire]

Tired of the weather in Thailand, the dishonesty and corruption, the insecurity and jealousy of most Thais, and the attempts at scamming me I have to dodge on a daily basis

I don't really care too much for that s.e. asian look and much prefer n.e asian women too, just being around good honest people will be a welcome change

The vast majority of Thais that I come across are decent, honest people. So why is it that you only know the dishonest ones? You should go to S. Korea, but if you follow the same MO, you'll end up surrounding yourself with dishonest Koreans. I really don't get people like you.