I'm going to be teaching English in Taiwan or Korea for one year, but I can't decide between the two. Taiwan is cheaper, seems more alluring culturally and it's easier to access other parts of Asia, but Korea offers free flight and accomodation.

Any advice?

8/8/2007 11:20:15 AM

would you rather be killed by chinese or koreans?

8/8/2007 11:26:16 AM

Is it Taiwan or Thailand that is the tranny capital of the world?

8/8/2007 11:31:06 AM

Thailand

and the plane tickets there are SO CHEAP, let me tell you...

8/8/2007 11:32:08 AM

I would be concerned about the food and polution in Taiwan, but that's me.

8/8/2007 1:03:53 PM

Korea is an awesome country to visit, I plan on visiting again sometime and would highly suggest going there. The food and everything is cheap there (even in Seoul) and public transportation is ace.

8/8/2007 1:06:02 PM

Korea hands down unless you want to be in Taiwan when the nukes start raining in from china

8/8/2007 1:08:50 PM

china isn't going to nuke taiwan

8/8/2007 1:14:05 PM

for food, go to taiwan

8/8/2007 1:25:13 PM

Wherever you will make the most money for the year. I've never been to Taiwan, but Korea is pretty cool. Korea also has a lot more to offer in terms of tourism I would imagine. (Historic sites, cultural cites , the DMZ, etc)

Korean food is awesome btw.

8/8/2007 1:30:32 PM

Both countries are cool. Depends on what you are looking for though. PM me if you have any questions. My family is from Taiwan but I give unbiased suggestions...promise!

8/8/2007 1:40:32 PM

for the most part, taiwanese are probably:

better at english
aren't as stuck up
dumpier
less hot
nicer
less alienating

but in Korea, you can choose between scenic countryside or bustling city which you probably couldn't do as easily in Taiwan. Chinese is a more useful language to know unless you just love watching Korean dramas

8/8/2007 4:40:54 PM

Anybody read the GQ article a few months back about the American kid who spent 5 years in a South Korean prison for possession of pot?

That sucked.

8/8/2007 4:42:40 PM

Taiwan seems interesting but the free flight is good.

they both hate china and japan so should be fun either way.

8/8/2007 5:12:57 PM

If you want to learn their language .. do chinese .. its easier to learn, and more useful.

If you want to go for the culture and food and quality of living, go to korea.

8/8/2007 5:45:21 PM

i have friends at Handong University in Seoul that would probably be more than happy to show you around if you go to Korea.

i'd go there.

8/8/2007 5:48:01 PM

Id go to Korea to visit Seoul, but then my judgment is bias because of my connections. I know people who've gone overseas to teach English, it doesnt pay well so I wouldnt expect to make money, but rather gain experience in markets which are actually growing... it will help you build reputation for future employers.

8/8/2007 6:19:24 PM

I'm teaching in Japan right now and have some friends in Korea, so far they have:

Gone on vacation, to come back and find out that their job fired them for no reason.

Been kicked out of an apartment because they went on vacation

Have had contract disputes and visa troubles

In Korea, a company has to sponsor your visa, just like Japan, but if you terminate employment in Japan, you get to keep your visa, in Korea, you can't. Plus their laws are strict in terms of seeking reemployment.

I'd go Taiwan if I were you.

I don't know about the racism thing, but I get it alot in Japan, maybe it's better in Taiwan

8/8/2007 6:53:09 PM

Don't know about Korea, but most Taiwanese actually love americans (yes still).
where exactly in Taiwan? That'll be a big deciding factor. It's going to be hard to get around if you're not in a big city like Taipei. They are not very good at speaking English so you'll need to pick up some Mandarin quickly. However, they are very patient with foreigners who can't speak the language. If you end up in a small town in the south then it'll help to learn their mother language (which is very very difficult and pretty much useless). Not saying you can't use mandarin, but the older generation won't understand you.

As far as what you can get out of it, learning chinese and chinese culture will probably be more useful. Hell even Koreans are trying to learn Chinese more now. From what I have read the parents have shifted their focus from the US to china as a way for their kids to succeed.

8/8/2007 7:22:22 PM

i heard the government in taiwan always fights each other(saw it on some show)...korea currently has tourism commercials on cnn all the time...i'd go with korea

8/8/2007 7:25:52 PM

Chinese culture and attitudes are probably more American than Korean ones. That can be a plus or minus, depending on what you want.

8/8/2007 7:27:04 PM

Quote :

"I'm teaching in Japan right now and have some friends in Korea, so far they have: Gone on vacation, to come back and find out that their job fired them for no reason. Been kicked out of an apartment because they went on vacation Have had contract disputes and visa troubles In Korea, a company has to sponsor your visa, just like Japan, but if you terminate employment in Japan, you get to keep your visa, in Korea, you can't. Plus their laws are strict in terms of seeking reemployment. I'd go Taiwan if I were you. I don't know about the racism thing, but I get it alot in Japan, maybe it's better in Taiwan"

this is the truth. unless you get in with a good program, you're gonna get screwed. korea really doesn't care about you. this is coming from someone who's been through the process. they'll try to screw you any way possible. the government could care less.

also with the job firing them for no reason, it's b/c the contract states that if you are terminated for any reason, they don't have to pay you. hell, they probably won't pay you anyway.

if you do decide against all advice to go, remember not to sign anything you can't read. too many dumb kids do that. they also get their passports taken/stolen, return airfare not paid, money confiscated, etc... make sure you have EVERYTHING they promise given to you upfront.

if an apartment is offered, it's probably a hellhole and you would be better off renting a place close by for a bit more cash, b/c you have to pay for it all anyway. might as well be comfortable.

[Edited on August 8, 2007 at 10:12 PM. Reason : btw i didn't get screwed, but i saw a lot of people that did.]

8/8/2007 10:06:29 PM

/message_topic.aspx?topic=489565

Quote :

"ok the "hell, [insert words here]" thing has got to stop...u are not the only one...i've noticed you do it like 3 times in the past week or so...noticed j_hova even do it the other day...and about 5 other users in the past week....its getting anoying"

8/9/2007 7:39:52 AM

Quote :

"for food, go to taiwan"

ummm, have you even heard of Korean BBQ?

8/11/2007 12:19:50 AM

People come to america for the hamburgers, yo!!!

8/11/2007 12:29:34 AM

A friend of mine did 1 year in Seoul, Korea. She was given her own place to stay in the trendy (quite western) Gangnam/Kangnam district of Seoul. If you want an easy transition from America to Asia...I'd try a big city like Seoul. I don't know who she did it through but if you're interested I can find out.

8/11/2007 12:33:34 AM

bttt

9/6/2007 10:48:46 AM

^^ i would recommend a program in that area also.

9/6/2007 10:53:09 AM

As the internet will often do, I've just wasted half an hour looking at photos of Taiwan mostly at Taipei. I liked that google hybrid maps zooms almost all the way in. You could see the airport and city and everything really. Luckily google maps didn't work on Korea otherwise I would have spiraled off looking for pictures of the places I was seeing there. It looks like Taipei has one fairly obvious landmark building, so learning your way around and getting lost wouldn’t be that big of an issue. After seeing pictures, I want to go now.







"

9/6/2007 12:06:59 PM

not really a ldywhoknows are we now?

9/6/2007 12:22:05 PM

korea

Quote :

"it doesnt pay well so I wouldnt expect to make money,"

my friend who taught conversation skills in korea last year made $3,000 a month and had living expenses paid.

that's decent - pretty well to me

[Edited on September 6, 2007 at 12:51 PM. Reason : .]

9/6/2007 12:41:38 PM

If you like video games, especially blizzard....go to korea then come back here and teach 'RTS skills' to americans.

9/6/2007 1:44:12 PM

^^^^ Been to all those places. Def' recommend going but if you don't go with a Taiwanese friend go with a tour --you'll need a personal translator.

9/6/2007 1:48:39 PM

I've had this conversation with several different people & every time, Korea has been preferred. I have a good friend in Seoul right now -- he's been teaching English for about 8 months now & loves it. PM me if you want his contact information.

9/7/2007 12:33:57 AM

Quote :

"but in Korea, you can choose between scenic countryside or bustling city which you probably couldn't do as easily in Taiwan."

You do realize that the entire center part of island of Taiwan is a mountain range, right? Since the island is fairly small, you can go from the city to the mountains very quickly in Taiwan.

My wife and I were planning on going to Taiwan to teach English as well but due to a lot of reasons I won't go into we didn't. I did a lot of reading on it and would recommend it based on what I read. Also a good friend of ours is Taiwanese so we have learned a lot through her. The only issue I would really be concerned with there is if you are in Taipei, the air pollution can be really bad at certain times due to the topography of the land. I've heard it can bother people with asthma but if you don't have any breathing problems you should be ok.

9/7/2007 10:11:03 AM