As part of your contract, your school will be expected to provide you with either a shared apartment, or one of your own. This can vary in quality, depending on your school. Always make sure you are given a couple of photos of the apartment you will stay in before you sign your contract.

If you have any problems with your apartment, just let your manager know. Part of the bills you pay are for the upkeep of your apartment building--if anything goes wrong, the manager will have it fixed.

Korean money (Won) comes in denominations of 50,000W, 10,000W, 5,000W, 1,000W notes. There also coins which can be found for 500W, 100W, 50W, 10W. Most people relate 1,000W to US$1 but exact exchange rates can be found here (www.xe.com)

Fairly soon after arriving, your employer should set you up with a bank account, into which, your salary will be paid. If your employer doesn’t automatically deduct your bills from your salary (which they shouldn’t really) then this is also where you go to pay them.

It can take a while to get served in a Korean bank, especially at lunchtime when it’s busy. Take a ticket, sit down and wait.

Most teachers will try to send home a large amount of their pay each month. 1,000,000W (Roughly US$1,000) is a good benchmark for the minimum you can expect to save each month.

You should find a Korean Exchange Bank, which are usually easy to find. They will ask you to bring the following documents:

- Passport

- Alien Registration Card

- Bank Name and Address (Receiving bank in your home country)

- Bank Transit Number (Receiving bank in your home country)

- Your Bank Account Number (Receiving bank in your home country)

Once you’ve done this once, return trips should be quicker. The total cost of this transaction usually costs 30,000-40,000W.

You might think that shopping for food in Korea would be a lot harder than at home. However, every city has its large supermarkets in which to find most of your dietary needs.

Many foods in Korea are exactly the same as you’d find them at home, with only the packaging being different.

You will always find a section containing Western food which, while pricey, may well save your sanity on some occasions! There are always a number of foreign food shops dotted around large cities, so ask your co-workers and they’ll be more than happy to show you where they are.

A foreigner favorite is Costco. If you can make it into Seoul, you can find many of the foods you desire from home at Costco. Be warned though, it can get extremely busy on weekends. Some say that Costco has the best pizza in Korea.

Most major Western brands can be found in the larger cities, particularly sportswear manufacturers. There are numerous shopping malls, department stalls and markets all over the country where you can shed some of your hard earned cash!

Shopping areas of particular interest include:

Yongsan Electronics Market in Seoul – Asia’s largest electronics market

Dongdaemun Market in Seoul – Test out your haggling skills in Korea’s largest shopping market

Korea has the best IT infrastructure in the world and part of that includes the fastest internet you can find. Your employer can get this installed in your home, which only takes about two days. High speed access typically costs between 25,000 and 45,000 won per month. If you don’t have a computer don’t fret--you will never be more than fifty metres away from an Internet Café (PC Bang)!

Korea has some of the most advanced cell phone technology in the world. On any subway carriage, you will find people talking, playing games, listening to music or watching tv on their phones.

You can either opt for a pay as you go payment plan or sign up for a contract phone, depending on your usage.

Korea’s mail system is reliable and fairly cheap. If you’re planning on sending something home then it’s probably best to give it about ten working days to get there, although it’s usually a lot quicker.