Living and working in Korea - 1

One thing that should be tapped out here early is my experiences regarding living in Korea. I have set myself up here and earn a pretty good living but the one thing that you cannot have while living here is job security. A long time ago in college a professor (my major adviser) told me something like 'In Asia, doors will open but they can shut on you with no explanation as to why'. What that translates to for me is that with one email, or none at all, my business can go to zero, or I can lose one or both jobs with no warning and no recourse. I know people who lost their teaching jobs for getting into a car accident! In this very homogeneous society, non-Koreans are held to a different standard and are definitely held to be 'outside looking in'.

Of course, this has great bearing on how we spend our money. It also means that, despite the fact that my earnings and savings are relatively high, I cannot think about things like a 30-year mortgage based on what I made in 2007. Thus, any use of leverage that I can't cover out of savings is out of the question. Also, planning for retirement is affected, as next month's pay packet can always be the last. It's impossible to really plan in this sense, as it's not a sure thing here until it's actually in the bank.