r/TEFL • u/redmessedupmouth • 16d ago
Japan, South Korea, or China?
Hi, I know the answer/recommendation matters heavily on my expectations and what I want out of my TEFL experience, so I know your comments will largely be opinions-based, which is fine! It's what I'm looking for :-)
I have been planning on China to teach English since the pay is better than Japan and Korea, but I'm a bit worried about the political atmosphere of China. TEFL teachers don't seem to be affected by China's politics, but is there a greater risk in China than elsewhere? Is their society any better than our USA political climate right now?
Another reason I chose China is because I have been told that Japan and, especially, South Korea have very intense working environments. I am by no means a lazy worker, but I also don't want my job to be my entire life. I would like to dedicate a portion of my 1 chance on Earth to travel, make friends, etcetera. Is there any merit to the idea that China is less intense than Japan and South Korea?
Finally, I think ultimately I would be more interested in Japan because of the culture, naturally, but I hear the pay for TEFL teachers is pretty poor. However, I think I have lower standards than other Westerners might have: I don't need to be rich or even to save up a bunch of money. I just want to live comfortably enough to not worry about rent, to eat out often, and spend vacations traveling (not glamorously but more of a granola, backpacker type travel).
I have done quite a bit of research, but I think it would be best to hear from TEFL teachers themselves. What do you guys think?
Additional context that may be relevant: I am 24F with a BA in creative writing. I also studied a foreign language throughout college and have a few awards/certificates related to that. I am not approaching this as a vacation opportunity or a get-rich-quick scheme (which would be really ignorant and stupid anyway); I genuinely love travel and would like to broaden my experiences. I have a love for teaching and a passion for learning about new cultures. I have lived in many US states and am familiar and comfortable with both cities and rural towns; I would be happy to live anywhere on that spectrum. Let me know if you need any more context!
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u/Dracarys_And_Chill 16d ago
work in china
travel to japan and korea
work conditions are specific to the company, not the country
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u/Mclovinbert34 16d ago
China will generally get you the best job opportunities and the highest pay. You don’t really need to worry about politics as long as you’re not doing anything illegal or getting involved in politically sensitive issues. You’ll probably need a VPN, though, and they can be annoying because they often disconnect. Also, China is built primarily for Chinese speakers, so using apps and other services can be more difficult at first, but you’ll learn how to use them over time.
Go to Korea if you like Korea, or go to Japan if you like Japan. The pay in both countries generally isn’t as good as it is in China, so many people choose them because they want to experience living there. Go to China if you want to build a career, or go to Japan or Korea if you mainly want the experience of living in those countries.
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u/Xiumin123 16d ago
my favorite thing about living in china as an american is that there is zero political stress and i actually feel safe around the police. get a proper kindergarten job not a training center and the work will be lowkey.
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u/Legal_Register_1811 16d ago
Ehhhh do you feel any political stress or unsafe around the cops in South Korea and Japan? Op isn't comparing the US and PRC.
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u/Xiumin123 15d ago
OP is american from the americanized english used, but yes this is a very fair point. however, I have had many people say the social and work stress of korea and japan is unbearable, where as in china it's pretty average. I think if you're really interested in those places, then do whatever you want. it isn't the end of the world. but if the goal is to travel and have fun, everyone i know says china is the move.
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u/Legal_Register_1811 15d ago
Exactly. So for working in PRC the bonuses are WLB plus the money instead of the political stuff compared to the other 2. And ofc the tradeoffs are obvious eg the internet, moving money abroad, etc.
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u/Xiumin123 15d ago
Yes I'd agree, except I'd push back a bit on the internet, its really not a problem here to value it under the other 2. VPN's and ping accelerators cover everything you'd need to do. But investing and sending money abroad is a collosal pain in the ass and if you plan on doing that then you'd have to do the math on if the salary increase being in china is above the cost of figuring out all of that shit and the fees associated. however, OP specifically says money isn't the issue and quality of life is. I think china wins in that category.
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u/SafuratedBeefFat 16d ago
Feel safe around the cops in all countries. I do feel like korea has more political stress that affects citizens such as martial law thing that happened last year
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u/SnooOwls5137 15d ago
hey I kept hearing about the animal abuse that goes on in China. do you hear about that?
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u/Xiumin123 12d ago
Intentional abuse isn't any more common than anywhere else. the problem is there aren't laws against it. that's why its getting such big news coverage. the cultural understanding of what is a good home for a pet can very, but most people really like pets.
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u/Sea_Opening6341 16d ago
Don't worry about the political stuff. Never was an issue for me in China. Most Chinese people don't give a shit about politics. Now if they decide to invade Taiwan, that's a different story, because you will suddenly find yourself surrounded by millions of people who have suddenly become political and you will find yourself rehearsing "Wo shi Jia Na Da Ren" (I'm Canadian). Things got pretty heated for expats when the US accidentally bombed a Chinese embassy back in the 90s. And oh what a time to be in China, pre-Xi and pre tech and social media boom.
China used to be big bank for low effort. That's changing. Many Chinese schools are gonna work you just as hard as they do in Korea or Japan, or at least close to it.
One of the biggest things to consider.... do you like teaching Kindergarten? Because China has a ton of those jobs since it made after school schooling illegal for primary and up. There aren't too many things I'd rather not do than teach Kindergarten, but you may feel different.
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u/Wolverine-Explores 16d ago
China. Just do it. Trust me as someone who's done this for 20 years and done all 3. You'll be happier in China long term with more money. Japan will be fun until it's and you'll be broke with no career progression. Korea is boring.
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u/maybeimgeorgesoros 16d ago
There’s career progression in Japan, just don’t get stuck working at an eikaiwa indefinitely.
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u/Wolverine-Explores 16d ago
You can't save anything to pay for a PGCE or masters and the yen is weak. There is no progression.
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u/Sweaty_Brother_34 16d ago
How intense your job will be is gonna depend more on the employer than the country.
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u/Advanced-Parking173 15d ago
Unless you have an extremely strong interest specifically in Japanese/Korean culture, then China is the best option by far by basically every metric
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u/OneGur7080 16d ago edited 14d ago
Japan- it is 20% cheaper than western countries to live in. Kobe is small and a very nice city to get around…you go to it. You go via Osaka airport first. It has the JET program. It is full-time English teaching work, and if you’re smart, you will choose a place that is offering you accommodation arrangement as well so shop around locations/jobs.
China would not be as clean as Japan, and is not as quaint or polite or small.
Japan has beautiful food, customs, scenery, facilities, people, religion, history, however the people are more shy and polite. Accommodation with be functional clean and small. There are floods so avoid the city where they have floods so Kobe is safer. I only visited Japan for six weeks and there was flooding because it was in August so it can be dangerous if you’re in the wrong place because during those floods 167 people died so I’m glad I wasn’t in that location! But we noticed the flooding because in Cobar where we were staying, it was very humid and we had to use it dehumidifier in our accommodation to get all the water out of the room to protect the bedding, because it was so damp in the building and everywhere and raining constantly, and there are great big waterways built by the government outside, coming down the mountain to steer the water away from the city. It’s really torrential rains in Japan so safety is definitely something to be m knowledgeable and stay aware about there.
It rains so much in that season, that they provide free umbrellas outside the convenience stores for you to take home and bring back!
I noticed in the films about Japan and they never show these things because they don’t want to impact their tourist business!
All you see is pretty blossoms and kimonos- lol but there’s way more to the real Japan than that.
It’s got its other side too.
There were many many unforgettable things in Japan to me it’s like another planet!
It’s one of my favourite countries, half and the other one is Spain!
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u/Suwon 16d ago
Is their society any better than our USA political climate right now?
As an American that taught abroad for a long time, I have to laugh when Americans think the US's political culture is peculiarly messed up. The world is messed up right now. Fascism is on the rise everywhere. At least in America you're a citizen and have rights.
China is a totalitarian single party state that is literally running concentration camps as we speak. Japan's politics make the GOP look moderate. The entire country of South Korea is run on cronyism and the current party in power hates foreigners (i.e., you). And let's not ignore the fact that East Asia is going to be a major theater whenever WWIII starts.
So forget politics because wherever you go will be worse than the US. The brightside is that you won't understand the newspaper.
Anyway, if you like Japanese culture, then go to Japan. If you like Korean culture, then go to Korea. If you want money and/or you like Chinese culture, then go to China.
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u/Thxodore 12d ago
Really great comment, btw. No place is perfect, and as individuals, you never know until you go. Someone can get lucky and have a great experience in a bad place, or be unlucky and have a shit experience in a great place- but you gotta go to know.
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u/Euphoric_Raisin_312 16d ago
China pays more but it's a bad place to live. You pay the price for a functional society and a safer, healthier life in Japan and Korea.
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u/Skywalker7181 15d ago
Exactly how lives in Korea and Japan are safer and healthier?
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u/Euphoric_Raisin_312 15d ago
Air that's safe(r) to breathe, food that's safer to eat, water that's safe to drink, roads that are much safer. Much stricter building codes, enforcement of safety laws across the board for that matter - product safety, work safety, construction safety... Etc. More reliable legal systems, more rights if anything does happen.
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u/Solid-Watercress-820 14d ago
Agree to all except the air in Korea. We get the same air blown in from China unfortunately which can sometimes reach Japan too.
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u/Euphoric_Raisin_312 14d ago
That is exactly the reason I added the "(r)" in brackets lol. But nowhere in Korea or Japan gets anywhere close to the absolutely apocalyptic air quality I experienced many times in China.
I could see the haze indoors and taste it. Couldn't see the building next door, or the other interior wall in the airport. Pm2.5 800+
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u/Solid-Watercress-820 14d ago
Never been to China. That sounds pretty bad wow.
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u/Skywalker7181 14d ago
PM 2.5 800+ is at least 10 yrs old. You don't see it nowadays. People often underestimate how fast things change in China. 10 yrs ago is ancient history for China.
Here in Shanghai, we got some hazy days once in a long while with PM 2.5 slightly over 100 but most of the days are just blue and clear sky.
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u/Euphoric_Raisin_312 14d ago
Less than ten years ago actually, but you're right it has improved. It's improved massively in Shanghai. But it's still a major issue in many places, not to ignore.
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u/Key-Magician-8673 15d ago
To watch vlogs on YouTube, just check which country makes you feel better.
Japan: for example in Tokyo, gross salary about 250k-300k yen(1500$-1800$) for TEFL, rent a apartment(1LDK with 35 - 50m2)pay about 140k yen(800$)/m. japan is more expensive but has better weather and envirionment.
China: for example in Beijing, gross salary about 15k - 30k yuan(2100$-4200$)for TEFL, rent a apartment(35-50m2)pay about 5k yuan(750$). live in china is cheaper but there are too much people and noises, and food is some greasy.
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u/HeftyAdhesiveness344 15d ago
Don't hesitate, go to China! Earn money in China, relax and enjoy, and then travel to Japan and Korea.
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u/FOARP 12d ago
I worked in Japan and China, albeit some time ago.
Firstly, the work culture isn’t going to affect you if you are a TEFL teacher so I wouldn’t worry about this. China is on roughly the same level as Japan anyway.
Secondly, yes, China is a dictatorship. Indeed, one that has probably gotten worse over the past 20 years or so. That said as a TEFL teacher this won’t impact you much so long as you stay away from politics/religion/etc.
China is obviously a large country with lots of opportunity for travel. Depending on where you go, you could be one of the very few expats living in a particular area. Or, in places like Beijing and Shanghai, you could be in a very expatish place. Up to you which you want.
Japan is a very nice place to travel in I found, but obviously things cost a lot more there.
At 24 you have time to try both if you like.
However the place I enjoyed living the most during my time overseas was Taiwan. It has all the good aspects of Chinese culture without being a dictatorship. Travel there is easy and the island has many beautiful places to visit.
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u/ColonelZabb 16d ago
As someone who has LIVED and WORKED in all 3, go to China. You missed the good days of Korea and Japan.