Hello from sunny Phuket ( at least, it was sunny yesterday
)
I've returned to Thailand after spending a few years in South Korea, mostly for a change of pace. Here are my thoughts on teaching in both countries:
Let's start with Korea. Korea gets a bad rap on the internet forums in general. You will rarely see posts like " I love it here." or " So glad I discovered this place." More often than not you will see posts like " "Screwed over by my boss". You may however, start to notice a trend amongst all this. Often times these posters have been living in Korea long after their first (one year) contract expires and are well into a second or third contract. In real life I met so many people working there who were genuinely enjoying life, many have made true and lasting friendships both Korean and not. All were enjoying financial freedom, paying off debts, saving money and spending quite freely. There was little more than a passing joke amongst friends about a quirky/frustrating/amusing thing that happened that day. We complained about things sure, but no more so than we would have done in our own countries. There was a true sense of community. Don't get me wrong, it was a struggle at times, just not quite as bad as all the stuff I read.
Now on to Thailand. Most Farang ( foreigners) seem to love Thailand. Many come here to teach and only stay a year. They do it for the exotic experience, some run out of money, some move on to better paying places. Those that have stuck around have "waited it out" for a better paying job have married Thais and wouldn't think of moving back home, have found a foreigner friendly society which is relaxed to the point of comatose in some cases
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You’ll hear glowing reports of how friendly Thais are (true) how great the food is (true) and how bad the pay is for English teachers (generally quite true). I have found that it's getting more and more expensive to live here and the wages seem to have remained the same over the last few years. TEFL schools are providing placements for fresh grads but are skimming off an hourly fee from employers, therefore creating a gap between productivity and compensation. Non native speakers are being hired at a cheaper rate too. This is a "poor" country. A beautiful country. A great place to retire to or settle for a while.
I know of a few people who went to Korea and stayed for several years, saved money and have found their way back to Thailand for some r and r. I would bet that most will be headed back to Korea again in the future though.