working in korea

Many U.S. individuals living abroad are either unaware that they have the same tax filing requirements as those living at home, or believe that they do not need to file a return if their foreign income is below the foreign earned income exclusion amount. All U.S. individuals, regardless of the geographical location or the amount of tax liability (even if no tax is owed), must file a return each year.

U.S. expats who are out of the country are usually given extra 2-month automatic extension to file their tax returns without requesting an extension, which makes the due date June 30th of the following year. However, if there is a balance due, interest will be assessed on it starting after April 15th. There is no penalty for being late if you owe no tax.

As unfortunate as it may be, I need to control my fingers as they type these blog posts nowadays. I find myself in certain, how do I say, abnormal situations, bordering on the ridiculous, but for my own sake, I cannot disclose certain features about my life. In this world there are indeed eyes and ears everywhere. That being said, I would like to take a moment to comment upon the working culture here in South Korea, as always, from my own personal experience.

Korea’s job market is expected to report sluggish growth next year due to the prolonged economic slowdown, market watchers said Monday. According to the LG Economic Research Institute (LGERI), a total of 280,000 jobs are expected to be added to the local employment market next year, decreasing 34 percent from this year’s estimated 430,000 jobs.

The weaker outlook comes as the central bank slashed its 2013 economic growth estimate by 0.6 percentage points to 3.2 percent following the protracted eurozone debt crisis and uncertainty over the fiscal cliff in the U.S.

According to a survey released by Saramin, a local online recruitment website, the average annual salary requirement of Korean jobseekers is 27.56 million won.

The survey of 1,062 Korean jobseekers showed that they preferred 27.56 million won ($24,254) on average as their annual salary requirement. The survey also revealed that 29.4 percent of the total respondents preferred working for major conglomerates while only 17 percent wanted small and medium-sized companies.

More than half of the respondents preferred jobs in or near the the capital area: 46.1 percent of respondents answered that they want to work in Seoul and 18.2 percent said they are looking for jobs in Incheon or Gyeonggi Province.

Check the books below, if you are planning to work or do business in S Korea. These books will help you get insight on the Corporate Culture in S Korea and at the same time educate you about the Business Etiquette you need to follow while working in Korea.

Sony vs Samsung: The Inside Story of the Electronics Giants’ Battle For Global Supremacy
by Sea-Jin Chang