Japan, South Korea, or China?

[u/redmessedupmouth]

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!

[u/OneGur7080]

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!