3 Reasons Why I Left Korea

Photo by Clark Gu on Unsplash

After staying in Korea for almost four years, I decided to leave Korea and go back to the Philippines. At the moment, I'm still uncertain whether I will go back or not. If I do decide to return to Korea, I need to do so within a year, or else my visa would be revoked. But some of you might be asking why I even decided to leave Korea in the first place. It wasn't an easy decision since undoubtedly my life in Korea was more exciting and more pleasant than in the Philippines. Nevertheless, I felt the need to take a break and return to my home country, at least for the time being.

Here are three reasons why I decided to leave Korea:

1. Lack of employment opportunities and career advancement

Now, don't get me wrong, I was able to find several jobs while I stayed in Korea. However, the kind of jobs that I had didn't align with the career path I wanted to take. In the first place, I decided to go to Korea because I wanted to pursue a career in the IT industry. I was a business major in my undergrad days, and when I was looking up scholarships and degrees offered by universities in Korea, I found this degree which I thought could lead me to the direction I wanted.

However, one of the major difficulties I had was that the courses I wanted to take related to the career path I desired were all offered in Korean. I could have taken those courses nonetheless, but it wouldn't have benefited me at all since I would have struggled trying to understand the lectures. I thought it would be much easier if I just found online courses in those areas, then I could simply take them in the comfort of my own home. That wasn't what happened, so I was forced to take courses which were informative and helpful in a general sense, but not with regard to my chosen career path.

After graduating, I had the chance to stay longer by applying for a residence visa, and with the help of my scholarship, I was granted three years on an F-2 long-term residency visa. By that time, I was able to find a job at a financial services company catering to foreigners living in Korea. However, I only stayed at the job to sustain myself while living in Korea. It was not my dream job nor was it related to my career goals. Moreover, it didn't offer any possibility for future advancement in the corporate ladder unless you have a highly technical skill that nobody else could do and be very proficient in the language.

I found two other different jobs after that, both ending up the same way. As I said, there are employment opportunities in Korea for foreigners. However, you won't get far into your career unless you have a high-level of fluency in the Korean language, a highly technical skill that only a handful of people may possess, and a wide network of connections with people who can help you get to where you want to go. For someone who was struggling to just sustain my daily living, I found it impossible for me to move forward without spending time to improve my skills first.

2. High cost of living

Naturally, getting jobs that only pay minimum wage would make life harder, and with Korea's high cost of living, it was only a matter of time before it became unsustainable. To be fair, I could have lived at a goshiwon after graduating so that I could save up on rent. But I wanted to live comfortably so I found a place which had relatively higher rent, in exchange for a lower deposit.

Apart from rent, one of the things you have to consider is food which took up most of my monthly salary. You can also cut on a lot by just cooking food at home which I did, but there were several occasions when I had cravings, so I had food delivered. Lastly, utilities are also quite variable especially during the summers and winters. Winters saw a higher gas bill while summers had a higher electricity bill. Of course, since seasons change in Korea, clothes change too. And winter clothes are not cheap, although you can find some cheap places to buy padded jackets or coats.

3. Health condition

I worked in Korea for a little over a year, and that was the most brutal year I have ever experienced. I felt like I had been working ten years in the span of just a year. It was exhausting not just physically but also mentally and emotionally. It was taking a toll on my body and I felt like I was dragging my feet out of my bed each day. I found no rest or contentment in my living situation. I wanted to take a break to recuperate and refocus.

Sure, I was making more money in Korea than I would have after working several years in the Philippines. But the trade-off was more stress and possibly the deterioration of my overall health. Moreover, it's also been four years since I had been away from home. I never took a vacation or visited my family throughout my whole stay in Korea. So, I decided to leave Korea and go back home for at least six months.

What comes after?

As I said, if I decide to go back, I have the option to do so, but I have to do it within a year so that my visa doesn't get revoked. For now, I want to work on my skillset and on my physical fitness because I learned that you really need to increase your physical stamina and fortitude in order to face the challenges of working in Korea. It's a completely different culture, mindset, and ethic. It's definitely not for the faint-hearted, and if I want to make strides in Korea, I have to prepare myself.

When I went to Korea, I had no idea what I was getting myself into, and I also didn't have any plans originally to work there. However, things changed and I decided to take the opportunity. After giving it a go, I now have a better grasp of the situation and what I must do in order to survive. I do wish to go back though, even if it were just for a short vacation. But if I were to stay longer, I need to upgrade myself, so I can go guns blazing.