Rainbow International School/Korea ? Cost of living ?

[missy]

Hi,
This school is located in Seoul.
Anyone know more accurate info. about this school ?
What about the cost of living in Seoul ?
I find the medical insurance and the way the plane tickets are paid to be of great concern ?
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Salary:
Starting: 35,000 USD Up to: 45,000 USD (Tax Free Salary)
Benefits:
Severance pay for the completion of contract
In case of renewal of contract, increase in salary
Work Days: 192 work days (182 school days)
Work Hours: 08:30 a.m. – 16:30 p.m.
Insurance: 50% of Korean National Health Insurance is paid by school
Transportation: Reimbursement for Start/End round-trip airfare
Housing: 700 USD
For Single housing up to 700 USD
For Married Couple housing up to 900 USD
For Married Couple with children up to 1000 USD
Prof. Development: 400 USD / year
Lunch: Provided
Sick Leaves: Total 3 sick leaves a year
Unused sick leaves are reimbursed
Personal Days: 2 personal days (1 paid, 1 unpaid)
Faculty Support: Professional team supporting staff in both work and housing related issues

[micki0624]

I would be weary of the terms. The best part is that your salary is tax free, but I wouldn't say the best of packages. We save tons in Korea but we aren't paying for insurance, housing, or yearly airfare.

I think prices in Korea are very expensive. A bag of apples is about $9 USD, 1 apple is about $1.50 USD. Expect everything to be double or triple the price.

We make it work because our school takes care of everything so I can't comment on how much you'll save.

[PsyGuy]

Their being cheap on the bennefits, but the tax free salary makes up for it, assuming you keep your medical costs down and you find inexpensive housing. For anything decently western and modern $700 is minimum, and wont buy much. It really depends if your salary is closer to the $35K or the $45K.

Here are some average costs in USD:

Restaurants:
Meal, Inexpensive Restaurant 5.39 $
Meal for 2, Mid-range Restaurant, Three-course 33.23 $
Combo Meal at McDonalds or Similar 5.39 $
Domestic Beer (0.5 liter draught) 2.69 $
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle) 3.82 $
Cappuccino (regular) 3.95 $
Coke/Pepsi (0.33 liter bottle) 1.35 $
Water (0.33 liter bottle) 0.90 $

Markets:
Milk (regular), 1 liter 1.80 $
Loaf of Fresh White Bread (500g) 1.80 $
Rice (1kg) 2.69 $
Eggs (12) 2.69 $
Local Cheese (1kg) 11.55 $
Chicken Breasts (Boneless, Skinless), (1kg) 8.80 $
Apples (1kg) 2.83 $
Oranges (1kg) 3.59 $
Tomato (1kg) 5.05 $
Potato (1kg) 2.25 $
Lettuce (1 head) 1.80 $
Water (1.5 liter bottle) 1.26 $
Bottle of Wine (Mid-Range) 17.96 $
Domestic Beer (0.5 liter bottle) 1.80 $
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle) 3.12 $
Pack of Cigarettes (Marlboro) 2.42 $

Transportation:
One-way Ticket (Local Transport) 1.00$
Monthly Pass (Regular Price) 36 $
Taxi Start (Normal Tariff) 2.16 $
Taxi 1km (Normal Tariff) 0.99 $
Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff) 11.67 $
Gasoline (1 liter) 1.80 $

Utilities (Monthly):
Basic (Electricity, Heating, Water, Garbage) for 85m2 Apartment 161.65 $
1 min. of Prepaid Mobile Tariff Local (No Discounts or Plans) 0.09 $
Internet (6 Mbps, Unlimited Data, Cable/ADSL) 18.50 $

Sports And Leisure:
Fitness Club, Monthly Fee for 1 Adult 65.11 $
Tennis Court Rent (1 Hour on Weekend) 35.92 $
Cinema, International Release, 1 Seat 8.08 $

Clothing And Shoes:
1 Pair of Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar) 91.60 $
1 Summer Dress in a Chain Store (Zara, H&M, ...) 44.90 $
1 Pair of Nike Shoes 89.81 $
1 Pair of Men Leather Shoes 98.79 $

Rent Per Month:
Apartment (1 bedroom) in City Centre 898.07 $
Apartment (1 bedroom) Outside of Centre 538.84 $
Apartment (3 bedrooms) in City Centre 2,245.17 $
Apartment (3 bedrooms) Outside of Centre 1,347.10 $

[jbiersteker]

Hi Psyguy,

Interesting stats...just wondering where you found them?

Thanks!!

[goinggoinggone]

I know that although the school advertises its salary in USD in reality they pay in Korean Won. With fluctuating currency and exchange rates that means that you can end up making quite a bit less than the advertised rate. The salaries are amongst the lowest of international school salaries in Korea.

Also, the school expects teachers to find their own housing. They provide a monthly allowance of approximately 700,000 KRW. In order to find decent housing you either have to live a distance from the school, or you have to live in a very, very tiny studio apartment near the school. In both cases you will often end up paying more out of your salary to cover the difference between the actual cost of rent versus the housing allowance.

The medical insurance is Korean national health insurance so you will have absolutely no coverage if you travel outside Korea on vacations.

As for overall working conditions at the school, it's important to note that the school is run by a group of Turkish men with degrees in unrelated fields and no real training in western education. If you happen to be knowledgeable in your field and outspoken, you may run into difficulties with the school's administration. In the school's short history, a number of qualified and experienced teachers were fired, forced to resign, or resigned due to disagreements with the administration. Sometimes this occurred unexpectedly in the middle of the school year. The teachers that fair the best at the school tend to be those that are inexperienced, or those that are willing to pander to the administration.

The overall workload and teaching schedule is somewhat less than what you would expect at other international schools, but this is made up for in the fact that the salary and benefits package are also significantly less than what you would expect from other international schools in the area.

As a side note, the school does have ties to the religious Gulen movement. Some of their views on women and the Armenian genocide are worth investigating before you decide whether you would like to be affiliated with the school.

If you have any more specific questions, please feel free to ask!

[National]

@jbiersteker

I think PsyGuy got his stats from this site: http://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/

The stats he gives are the ones listed on this site. It's handy, but needs to be taken with a grain of salt. I've looked at a few places that I've lived using the site, and some things seem right on and some things seem too low or too high. It is based on user-supplied information.

One thing that is really nice about it is that you can compare two cities. When we were job hunting this year, we would compare our current location with the new location to see what our money would get us. Some times the pay was much better but the increased cost of living just cut into any savings potential.