Money talk, straight up.
Today I calculated how much money I’ve ‘saved’ during my first contract in Korea. I should get my final pay soon (paycheck plus severance).
At the end of this month, I’ll have paid off a $9,000 student loan. Holy shit. It is not nearly as fun as saying I have that much money in a savings account but interest is NOT sexy.
I took two vacations this year and spent about $1,000 on each of them.
I had laser hair removal in four areas for $800.
I had LASEK for $900.
That is around $13k well spent or invested into my future/wellbeing.
In the next year, I hope to pay off the rest of my loans, buy a new computer (as my MBP is going to turn 6 years old this year, little bb), and save for a longer and more luxurious vacation. I think if I want to return home debt free and with a comfortable savings, then I’ll need to be in Korea for a 3rd year. I definitely want to return home with a big green positive number in my bank account. I don’t mean for this to come off as boasting, I didn’t even realize exactly what I accomplished until now.
Edit: Oops, student loan was not that high, 16k was my total debt.
I can’t maths.
How’s everyone else fairing?
How do bank transfers (international) work in Korea?
I booked a hostel for my friends and I in Taiwan.
My friends live in Japan and want to transfer money into my bank account to pay me back.
I’ve never done a transfer outside of Korea. Do I need to ask my bank (they speak zero English)? What information do I give to my friends for the transfer?
This kind of makes me sick…
Wait, is this actually for charity or does Eat Your Kimchi pocket the money?
What is this for?? I’ll research later…
Update: So, EYK is asking for $40k to help them afford to put down key money on a studio so that they can use it to work, interview, organize their business. They now have $58k donated in ONE DAY. I have no problem with that. They saw a niche market and they went for it. I envy Simon and Martina for make a living doing what they love. They are simply entrepreneurs who know that their biggest fan base consists of fanatic kpop fans (many of whom love EYK with the same dogmatic passion as their favorite Oppas), so they are asking for more their fans to support them in more tangible way.
I will openly admit that when I was researching living in Korea, I saw EYK’s videos I thought ‘Ok, there are cool people in Korea having fun and living a nice life style so I can do it too.’ So to say that they didn’t aid me in making my decision would be a lie. I think expats rightfully see EYK very differently than kpop fans who idolize the Hallyu Wave. But, to say that they haven’t worked hard is not fair.
Simon and Martina have a really unique position in bringing Korean culture to the table and discussing it. Sometimes I agree with them and sometimes I don’t. The videos I enjoy most are the ones that are NOT kpop related. I’m curious to see how they will take this money and what they will produce with it. Are they going to become kpop brown-nosers?
The video and the ‘perks’, however, REALLY disappointed me. It all came off as a little thoughtless and contrived. I do agree that the money and/or perks could have been used in a much more thoughtful way. Personally, I don’t ever desire to be famous and the whole internet celebrity status of these two makes me uncomfortable. I am sure it makes Simon and Martina even MORE uncomfortable.
No one likes asking for money. I hope they use the opportunity well.
