Moving to South Korea can pave the way for opportunity. But will this be an easy move? Read about the pros and cons to moving here.
Is South Korea a good country for expats to live in, or is it a bad country for expats to move to? Of course, it’s a mix of both and there are pros and cons when living in any foreign country. It’s important to consider these advantages and disadvantages before moving to somewhere new. Will the pull of the good outweigh the force of the bad, or are there some cons that seem nonnegotiable? Remember, what might be a deal-breaker for one person can be easily shrugged off by another person. After all, one person’s trash is another person’s treasure. Moving to South Korea won’t work for everyone. However, for some it’s the best decision they could ever make (including me!). So without further ado, here are the four biggest pros and four largest cons of living in South Korea.
Pros:
Big expat community
Relative to the population of Korea, this country has a big expat community from a range of countries. The Korea Times stated that expats made up 4.4% of the population in 2023. This is higher than other nearby countries like Japan and Vietnam. Not only is this a large number of immigrants within the country, but this population could continue to rise in the future. If this number continues to increase like previous years, there is truly no better time than now to move to Korea.
People move and live in Korea for a range of reasons, making the expat community vibrant and welcoming. Many students move to South Korea to learn at incredible institutions like Seoul National University or Yonsei University. Here, students get the opportunity to study their interests while refining their Korean skills and experiencing Korea’s unique and beautiful culture. Other expats move to Korea to work, sectors like manufacturing being particularly popular. Some are like me and came to the country to teach on an E-2 Visa. Many apply to government programmes, like EPIK (English Programme in Korea), or private institutions, such as a hagwon. The ease of getting a teaching position in Korea creates a nationwide community. Other expats are never too far away. Immigration is also popular due to marriage. A huge benefit of living in Korea is that you’re likely to meet expats from a range of places, with a range of different experiences and covering many ages. I’m sure you’ll find your number-one bestie in no time!
Range of Visas and government contracts
As already mentioned, students move to Korea using a D-2 Visa for their period of study. The E-2 Visa is also available to foreign language instructors at both public and private schools. With a handful of documents, these visas are widely available to expats-to-be, making Korea a very accessible place to live. One such document that the E-2 Visa requires is a contract, which the government’s EPIK programme can provide. A benefit of this contract is that it offers job security for a year. It also has benefits like rent-free living and travel pay. Moving to South Korea, with the support of the Korean government behind you, offers a sense of peace in an already stressful expat life.
South Korea is also at the forefront of making new visas. The Korean Herald explored these new goodies, detailing the promise of a workcation visa for digital nomads. Using this document, expats can live in Korea while working remotely. Similarly, a very exciting new entry permit, dubbed the K-culture Visa, may appeal to music and drama lovers. This visa is great if you are itching to move to the country for its entertainment scene. Although the details about these visas are a little fuzzy, it goes to show that if you can imagine it, Korea likely has a visa for it. If that doesn’t convince you that moving to South Korea is easy, I’m not sure what will.
Good transportation
Much of Korea is connected by the national railway, run by KORAIL. Now don’t be afraid – there are no zombies onboard, contrary to what Train to Busan will have you believe. There are several different trains to choose from, with different price ranges. At the top end, for a pleasant and comfortable ride, the KTX offers speedy journeys. Going from one end of the country to the other takes just 2 hours and 40 minutes. The Mugunghwa-ho (무궁화호) stands at the other end of the price scale and is great for short trips between cities. The great transportation and ease of buying train tickets using the KORAIL app make Korea very accessible to expats. This is particularly true if you don’t have access to a car.
If the train isn’t your jam, or you plan to live in a more rural area of South Korea, don’t worry! Korea has a very strong bus system that can help you get around the country. Local buses are easy to use with a Tmoney card and are very affordable. My commute to school cost no more than 1300 won. Intercity buses also offer a good alternative to the train. In fact, I’ve often found the bus a more comfortable experience, offering more privacy onboard. More locally, taxis in Korea are frequent and easy to call using the KakaoTaxi app. I’ve never felt stranded in Korea with all these modes of transport available to me. Plus, I’ve had no problem exploring the country, managing to cover almost every province in my time here. The good transportation in Korea facilitates a jam-packed expat lifestyle.
Lots to do!
My Korea bucket list has never run out! Seoul alone has tons to explore. Visit Hongdae for nightlife, or Gangnam for some beauty advise. If you want some variation in your to-do list, consider Busan with its stunning beaches and traditional markets. Korea has something for everyone, meaning no expat can be bored here. As well as the stunning places you can see, the wealth of activities in the country is also astounding. Wear hanbok one day, or visit a themed cafe the next. Personally, I loved visiting an art cafe while in Seoul. Here, I enjoyed delicious souffle pancakes and doodled my favourite K-pop artist. Even with the end of my time in Korea in sight, I still want to visit Nami Island and try going to a Jimjilbang (traditional sauna) for the first time. This goes to show, you’ll never have a dreary weekend when you’re living as an expat in Korea.
Not only is there a lot to do within Korea, but there’s a lot to do around Korea. With its numerous airports throughout the country (another reason Korea has terrific transportation), it’s easy to book a plane ticket out of the peninsula to a nearby country. While living here, I’ve visited no less than five countries. Thailand, Vietnam and Japan were three places that took no time at all to fly to and could be visited at a relatively low cost. By living in Korea, expats can take the opportunity to visit nearby countries. Even if you feel as though you’ve accomplished everything on your Korea bucket list, there is a whole world just outside your front door.
Cons:
Life without Korean
If you’re fluent in Korean already, you can skip this and move on with your life. If your Korean skill leaves something to be desired, you might struggle in South Korea. Although there are useful apps like Papago to help you along, living life without being able to talk to those around you can be difficult at times. Learning at least the basics can improve your life exponentially, allowing you to order at a restaurant with ease or greet your colleagues. But without having a deeper knowledge of the language, your life can be very challenging here. On numerous occasions, I’ve happily spouted out my order at a cafe and been faced with a complicated reply (likely asking me if I wanted to get a loyalty card or something). Without being able to speak and listen to Korean in these situations, you are often left floundering.
Life without Korean is not impossible. Hell! I did it! But I found that when I first came to Korea I would spend many hours studying the language to reach a level where I could cope with day-to-day life. If you think you can dedicate this time to language lessons, moving to South Korea can be a fun experience. If you think that this sounds like a lot of work, then you might want to think twice about living here. Also, if you know that not being able to communicate well will easily frustrate you, maybe you should reconsider moving. There are only so many times I can put off taking a phone call to the dentist because my language ability isn’t good enough. This hassle can be a little off-putting.
There is no anti-discrimination law
In the UK, the government established the Equality Act 2010 to lawfully protect people within the country from unfair and prejudiced treatment, including discrimination against a person’s sex, race or sexuality. Similar laws exist in other countries, like Australia, Canada and the US. Unfortunately, these laws don’t eliminate hateful acts within a country, but they do offer a safety net for citizens, particularly in relation to public establishments and the workplace. This type of safety net is not as strong in Korea. For example, there is nothing to stop a bar from denying you entry because you’re not Korean. This very thing has happened a number of times during my time here. And without this law, there is less to protect you in a legal system that is already confusing to most expats.
Sadly, I’m doubtful that anything will change imminently. Nonetheless, during my time in Korea as a teacher, it was promising to educate future generations about the world and create acceptance in the classroom. Hopefully, there will be a change to the law in the not-so-distant future to protect expats. That being said, take this point into serious consideration when deciding whether to move to Korea or not.
Culture shocks
Culture shock is a pretty universal problem for all expats around the globe. Even moving between cities or states can surprise you. Moving to a new country can expose you to a culture very different from your own, meaning you have to learn to adapt. One important cultural norm in Korea that may shock you might be the relationship between respect and age. Coming from the UK, I was surprised when I first came to my school and was asked my age out of the blue. Although you should never ask a lady her age in my home culture, this question is normal in Korea. The curiosity largely links to levels of formality within the language itself. Obviously, this small culture shock didn’t send me packing. However, understanding that many similar culture shocks like this exist is important before deciding whether you can live in Korea.
Having an awareness of the culture before coming to a new country can help lessen this shock. Plus being open-minded can help you accept how vastly wide the world is. However, no matter how much you integrate within a new culture, sometimes you just miss home and the culture you grew up in. This can lead to acute homesickness. Before becoming an expat, I researched Korean culture diligently. Therefore, I was quickly able to understand the way of life here, but I did still miss my own culture. Special holidays like Christmas and Fireworks Night are celebrated differently or not at all within Korea, which made adjusting to expat life more difficult. In the end, it’s a question of whether you can balance missing familiarity with accepting the new. If you think you can strike this balance, then by all means, come and live in Korea.
Life isn’t a K-drama
Now I loooooove K-dramas. Give me a cute romance like True Beauty, or something a bit more gritty like The Glory, and I can bet you I’ve seen it. And while these K-dramas do give a fun and interesting insight into Korean life, it’s not always the whole truth. I will admit that I did have an ‘umbrella moment’ where I walked along damp streets with a potential crush. Yet the feeling of wonder was quickly lost when I had to say a damp goodbye. Like living anywhere in the world, life is not always full of main-character moments. Falling asleep at the bus stop after a company dinner, doesn’t necessarily lead to your dream man coming and putting your head on his shoulder. Not only is this a tad creepy, but you’re more likely to be met with looks of confusion if you decide to take a nap there.
Many of the K-dramas you watch allude to real issues in Korea, like school bullying or discussions on mental health. However, they are often overshadowed by romantic cliches and light-hearted comedy. While it’s useful to watch these shows to get an idea of Korean life and culture before arriving (and to learn the language), there are some topics that are rarely covered – expat life being one of them! Hopefully, this downside doesn’t put you off of Korea, but instead helps you to go into it with an open mind.
Should I move to South Korea?
There you have it! These are my biggest pros and cons. Does moving to South Korea look easy? I would recommend at least visiting the country as it is a truly beautiful place with an exciting culture. However, if you can’t look past some parts of this list, perhaps you should put your big move on pause. Life in Korea was not exactly what I expected. Yet each of these advantages and disadvantages opened my eyes to the world and helped me to grow during my time here. With this list, you can at least make the move to Korea with a bit more certainty and knowledge.
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