Happier Abroad Forum Community

I’m back from Japan! which means I now have been to the three major East Asian countries, Japan Korea and China. Which means I can do a fair comparison between all three.

Cost of living
Japan is the costliest for sure. Not only is it about 20-30% more expensive than Korea on everything, but a lot of places are cash only! Electronics, Food, Housing, services etc everything is the most expensive in Japan. China has probably the cheapest cost of living in general, unless you are staying in Beijing or Shanghai. Aside from those two cities, other cities are much cheaper to live in. Korea is somewhere in between.

Winner: China

Food
Japan has a lot of good seafood and noodles. Of course I don’t eat much seafood, so I mostly ate Soba, Ramen and Udon, and YakiniQ and Shabu shabu. If you like seafood, Japan’s the place to go. Korea has mostly spicy food, pork or chicken is common. They don’t have that many vegetables aside from Kimchi in their dishes, so if you like spicy meat, Korea is the best. China is big and has so many different cuisines that I can’t generalize it. Just I’m gonna say if you don’t like oily foods then don’t go to China, else China has a lot of tasty foods as well.

Winner: depends on what you like but China has the most variety

Technology
Japan has the best technology by far. For example they have machines that scan your face, determine your mood and recommend you a drink based on that. That’s incredible. Korea has great technology too especially fast internet but overall its a step below Japan. China, outside of Beijing/Shanghai, still lags behind Japan/Korea in tech (they just recently got LTE for example, and China never had 3G penetration). In addition a lot of websites are banned in China and you need a VPN to access them so yeah… beware of that.

Winner: Japan

Natural Scenery
Japan has great natural scenery, Okinawa, Kyoto, lots of temples and shrines. And Korea has Jeju, Gyeongju, Gangwon-do, lots of great places as well. However, neither really compares to China, as its the biggest and is the clear winner here with every place from the mountains of Tibet to the lush mountains of Southern China, the historic capitals of Beijing, Xi'an and Nanjing, Yunnan, Guizhou, Huangshan, the canals of Suzhou and Wuzhen, the West Lake of Hangzhou, I mean Southern China by itself is its own category for beauty, mainland China wins here by virtue of having the most land, so no offense to Japan and Korea, but China clearly wins here.

Winner: China

English
Korea uses the most English out of the three, which means its the most friendly to foreigners. A lot of Korean words sound just like English anyways (Konglish), and Koreans in general speak the best English out of the three. Japan has a bit of English but not much and most places will have Japanese only. China, good luck there’s no English to be found pretty much anywhere and Chinese generally cannot speak a lick of English.

Winner: Korea

Nightlife
Korea has the most 24 hour establishments out of the three, and Seoul is The place to go for all night drinking and clubbing, so if you’re into that, Korea is the place. Japan has 24 hour places too, but less so than Korea, and not so much drinking either. China didn’t even have clubs until very recently thanks to Communism, and its still developing. That said, Shanghai has nightlife on par with any big Asian city.

Winner: Korea (Seoul in particular)

Women
Ah, the girls. As for absolute beauty, if you don’t care natural or unnatural, Korea takes the cake here. Korean girls love to dress up, wear short skirts and lots of makeup and in general you won’t find many ugly Korean girls at all.
Japanese girls are more conservative, tend to cover their legs more by wearing pants, long dresses or knee length dresses, and while they do makeup, not as much as Korean girls do.
Chinese girls, I’ve mentioned before, prefer not to do anything to their appearance, and don’t do makeup nor dress up that much. They are the most conservative out of the three (again thanks to Communism). I’m not going to get into “natural beauty” as Chinese girls often like to brag about, since all races have “natural beauty” its how much extra attention you put into your appearance, and Korean girls win by a landslide here. You’ll also find that the rate of glasses-wearing girls is correlated as well, with about 60%~ of Chinese girls wearing glasses, 30%~ of Japanese girls wearing glasses, and 10%~ of Korean girls wearing glasses.

Behavior wise, Japanese girls are extremely kind and polite, my Japanese friend paid for everything from food, spa, even my train ticket to Kyoto! I’ve never had a woman pay that much for me before. Japanese girls are more indirect when they are talking to you, and very shy. Chinese girls are opposite, very direct and blunt when talking and not as shy as other Asian girls. Their manners are not as good as Koreans or Japanese, as many people who have seen Chinese tourists can attest to. Korean girls are somewhere in the middle in behavior, the perfect balance if you ask me.

Winner: Korea on absolute beauty, Japanese on the most well mannered

Some people might say I have a Korean bias, so I will add a video later to show the differences and you can judge for yourself. I will also visit Taiwan after, so I can do a comparison of Taiwanese girls too, though I expect somewhat of a cross between Chinese and Japanese.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OOnoMti2Lxg

^ Seoul vs Tokyo walking video. judge for yourself

I've never been to South Korea, and only spent lengthy periods in Japan as a teenager, but I'm in China now, and I've spent a fair bit of time here over the years. So bear that in mind; I'm mostly commenting on China.

Girls: Chinese girls are conservative in rural areas and smaller cities, but in the big cities less so. I've been in Shenzhen less than 2 weeks, and I've had women hitting on me several times. Mind you, these were women in their mid 20's to early 30's, fairly attractive. Certainly cute enough to date. Note that I''m in my mid 30's, somewhat potato-shaped and nerdy looking. I'm like a live action Dilbert. I'm assuming it's because I got a boost for being a white guy. Still, a nice ego boost. If I spoke even marginal Chinese, I'd do even better I think. I have a girlfriend, so I didn't bite on any offers, but if I was single, I'm confident I'd have some dates already.

Working: I think this is a big thing for people on this board that needs to be included. While all 3 countries have some jobs, mostly English teaching, I think China wins hands down. There is so much demand that you can easily find a place that will provide an apartment and visa sponsorship. If you have an undergrad degree in anything, it's cake. Even if you don't, there are places that will hire you. *Alternatively*... now, I'm not one to suggest doing something against the rules, but... lots of places will hire you under the table, especially part time. And because you don't depend on them for a visa, you have more leverage, and thus a higher pay rate. Native English speakers in any but the smallest towns should be asking for at least 200 yuan/hr, and maybe closer to 250/hr in big cities. (Currently, 200 yuan = $30.75 USD, 250 yuan = $38.40 USD). Bear in mind China's currency controls mean it can be hard to get the money you've saved up out, though it can be done.

gofishus wrote:I’m back from Japan! which means I now have been to the three major East Asian countries, Japan Korea and China. Which means I can do a fair comparison between all three.

Cost of living
Japan is the costliest for sure. Not only is it about 20-30% more expensive than Korea on everything, but a lot of places are cash only! Electronics, Food, Housing, services etc everything is the most expensive in Japan. China has probably the cheapest cost of living in general, unless you are staying in Beijing or Shanghai. Aside from those two cities, other cities are much cheaper to live in. Korea is somewhere in between.

Winner: China

Food
Japan has a lot of good seafood and noodles. Of course I don’t eat much seafood, so I mostly ate Soba, Ramen and Udon, and YakiniQ and Shabu shabu. If you like seafood, Japan’s the place to go. Korea has mostly spicy food, pork or chicken is common. They don’t have that many vegetables aside from Kimchi in their dishes, so if you like spicy meat, Korea is the best. China is big and has so many different cuisines that I can’t generalize it. Just I’m gonna say if you don’t like oily foods then don’t go to China, else China has a lot of tasty foods as well.

Winner: depends on what you like but China has the most variety

Technology
Japan has the best technology by far. For example they have machines that scan your face, determine your mood and recommend you a drink based on that. That’s incredible. Korea has great technology too especially fast internet but overall its a step below Japan. China, outside of Beijing/Shanghai, still lags behind Japan/Korea in tech (they just recently got LTE for example, and China never had 3G penetration). In addition a lot of websites are banned in China and you need a VPN to access them so yeah… beware of that.

Winner: Japan

English
Korea uses the most English out of the three, which means its the most friendly to foreigners. A lot of Korean words sound just like English anyways (Konglish), and Koreans in general speak the best English out of the three. Japan has a bit of English but not much and most places will have Japanese only. China, good luck there’s no English to be found pretty much anywhere and Chinese generally cannot speak a lick of English.

Winner: Korea

Nightlife
Korea has the most 24 hour establishments out of the three, and Seoul is The place to go for all night drinking and clubbing, so if you’re into that, Korea is the place. Japan has 24 hour places too, but less so than Korea, and not so much drinking either. China didn’t even have clubs until very recently thanks to Communism, and its still developing. That said, Shanghai has nightlife on par with any big Asian city.

Winner: Korea (Seoul in particular)

Women
Ah, the girls. As for absolute beauty, if you don’t care natural or unnatural, Korea takes the cake here. Korean girls love to dress up, wear short skirts and lots of makeup and in general you won’t find many ugly Korean girls at all.
Japanese girls are more conservative, tend to cover their legs more by wearing pants, long dresses or knee length dresses, and while they do makeup, not as much as Korean girls do.
Chinese girls, I’ve mentioned before, prefer not to do anything to their appearance, and don’t do makeup nor dress up that much. They are the most conservative out of the three (again thanks to Communism). I’m not going to get into “natural beauty” as Chinese girls often like to brag about, since all races have “natural beauty” its how much extra attention you put into your appearance, and Korean girls win by a landslide here. You’ll also find that the rate of glasses-wearing girls is correlated as well, with about 60%~ of Chinese girls wearing glasses, 30%~ of Japanese girls wearing glasses, and 10%~ of Korean girls wearing glasses.

Behavior wise, Japanese girls are extremely kind and polite, my Japanese friend paid for everything from food, spa, even my train ticket to Kyoto! I’ve never had a woman pay that much for me before. Japanese girls are more indirect when they are talking to you, and very shy. Chinese girls are opposite, very direct and blunt when talking and not as shy as other Asian girls. Their manners are not as good as Koreans or Japanese, as many people who have seen Chinese tourists can attest to. Korean girls are somewhere in the middle in behavior, the perfect balance if you ask me.

Winner: Korea on absolute beauty, Japanese on the most well mannered

Some people might say I have a Korean bias, so I will add a video later to show the differences and you can judge for yourself. I will also visit Taiwan after, so I can do a comparison of Taiwanese girls too, though I expect somewhat of a cross between Chinese and Japanese.

Hey Gofishus, I happen to agree with you that Korean women are the most beautiful and desirable compared to the other two east Asian nations.

Balmung wrote:I've never been to South Korea, and only spent lengthy periods in Japan as a teenager, but I'm in China now, and I've spent a fair bit of time here over the years. So bear that in mind; I'm mostly commenting on China.

Girls: Chinese girls are conservative in rural areas and smaller cities, but in the big cities less so. I've been in Shenzhen less than 2 weeks, and I've had women hitting on me several times. Mind you, these were women in their mid 20's to early 30's, fairly attractive. Certainly cute enough to date. Note that I''m in my mid 30's, somewhat potato-shaped and nerdy looking. I'm like a live action Dilbert. I'm assuming it's because I got a boost for being a white guy. Still, a nice ego boost. If I spoke even marginal Chinese, I'd do even better I think. I have a girlfriend, so I didn't bite on any offers, but if I was single, I'm confident I'd have some dates already.

Working: I think this is a big thing for people on this board that needs to be included. While all 3 countries have some jobs, mostly English teaching, I think China wins hands down. There is so much demand that you can easily find a place that will provide an apartment and visa sponsorship. If you have an undergrad degree in anything, it's cake. Even if you don't, there are places that will hire you. *Alternatively*... now, I'm not one to suggest doing something against the rules, but... lots of places will hire you under the table, especially part time. And because you don't depend on them for a visa, you have more leverage, and thus a higher pay rate. Native English speakers in any but the smallest towns should be asking for at least 200 yuan/hr, and maybe closer to 250/hr in big cities. (Currently, 200 yuan = $30.75 USD, 250 yuan = $38.40 USD). Bear in mind China's currency controls mean it can be hard to get the money you've saved up out, though it can be done.

If you are white and not totally the ugliest thing on earth, you can get laid in pretty much any Asian country.

gofishus,

You a student there or working there?
Why not add the working environment? Many posters here want to relocate.
At one time it was easy to get ESL job in South Korea but because of over saturation of teacher it got harder so it seems like China is the place to go but the pay is better in South Korea from what I hear but the standard of living is higher.

If I remember your CHinese American..do you notice a difference in racial treatment in South Korea, Japan or China?

I think regarding white guys getting laid...I think it depends and some of it is over stated. Yes there is those Asian girls who do want to be with foreign men and most of the time it's usually white guys(blame it on the brain washing of HollyWood) but I notice when I was in South Korea it depends. The higher level Korean girls wouldn't date a white guy at least from what I saw.

when I was in South Korea years ago I tried to hang out with some of the white guys expats. I found many of them to be dicks with this entitlement attitude . They assume just because they are white they are better than the natives and all girls want them. I don't know if you encounter or do you consider yourself to play second fiddle to white guys in Asia? And I mean this as no offense.

I can't comment on the working environment, I'm not an English teacher but there's plenty of English jobs in Korea since they are crazy about studying English. Racial treatment - as a person with Chinese background - of course I am treated the best in China since thats my mother country. In Japan they have bad blood with Chinese dating back in history so thats the place would be the most racist to Chinese. Korea... somewhere in between I guess. Not love not hate. Its definitely easier for white guys to get laid than me, Korean girls just like other Asian girls are influenced by Hollywood so they have a huge advantage, they don't need to speak Korean well or anything and if they do, then the girl gets really impressed. I speak Korean fairly well, and never had a Korean girl praise me or anything, they just expect it since I'm Asian... Korean girls are pretty exclusive and like to date within their own race plus the language barrier thats why the really pretty girls wouldn't date white guys.

I taught English in one of the southern provinces in Korea. In Gyeongsang, the people tend to be loud, aggressive, and confrontational and you may get stared at a lot if you don't look Asian. I noticed a totally different vibe when I went to cities like Seoul and Incheon which seem a lot more cosmopolitan and the people there seem more polite and refined. However, I did hear about foreigners getting violently attacked by groups of young, drunk Korean guys in Hongdae (a nightlife area for university students in Seoul). I guess when they are intoxicated they lose their inhibitions and the racism comes out. I thought South Koreans' attitude towards the US military was unfair. They tend to complain a lot about US soldiers misbehaving in Korea (although I think it's only a tiny percentage of US soldiers who do). They never show any gratitude to the US military for saving them from Japan and later North Korea. Now they are panicking because Trump keeps talking about withdrawing US troops from South Korea. I say good riddance, and I don't think US taxpayers should be burdened with providing for South Korea's national defense.

No mention of staggering pollution levels. Even in the south of China some more sensitive people report problems from relatively short term stays.
People on the Formosa forum complain about pollution there. I hear some of it blows over from China to South Korea and even parts of Japan although it doesn't seem to be a topic of complaint.

I'd like Japan but it seems to be a lonely depressing place, hard to make friends. Maybe there are enough "weirdos" that one can make progress.
In China they seem more outgoing and less passive aggressive OTOH they seem more prone to use you for free English lessons or connections which some people find wearing after a few years pass.
Japan is the sort of country that drives people who have the option to leave after 5 to 7 years max because of social weirdness.
China seems to be the sort of country that drives people out after 5 to 7 years because it is just a crappy place to live.
I am not sure what would be better. Some Chinese women are fashion pigs like elsewhere, but my preference is for those who are not so shallow.


There is also the language issue.
One argitinian who my father met when he was in Japan who lived there and in China said he was in China for a few years and just could not learn the language, yet was able to get much further in Japanese. Tones both speaking and understanding them is brutal if you did not grow up with them. There are also sounds in the Pinyin system that sound a LOT alike. Lots of people thought they learned Chinese only to discover they could not understand or be understood. I've heard of others who could get nowhere with the language even living in a Chinese place. I want to learn Chinese but I fear putting in a huge amount of effort only to find it is a waste. You might take to it well, or not. Who knows. There is the Hanzi but the book Remembering the Hanzi and an SRS system like Anki or Pleco makes it pretty easy... that and a 300 or so hour commitment.

Japanese is easy up front [there is a remembering the Kanji book and one for Kana]. Easy to pronounce. As I understand it the grammar gets brutal as you get further into it.

Korean as all the grammar rape of Japanese but only one alphabet which isn't so bad. IIRC there are some overlapping sounds but not too many. They also have the best Dramas.

Having lived in all 3 places, I might disagree on the technology thing. Of course, it may just be a case of technology that is important to me, as I do internet and media business. I would put Korea as the winner.

Then again, I never even thought about a machine that scans your face, determines your mood and recommends a drink. Japan is also further in robots, and will probably be first to create a fully walking robot that really looks like a person.

Traveler,

You seem to bash South Korea allot. I get it you got a bad experience.

Regarding the US military stationed in South Korea. There has been number of crimes committed by US service men station in South Korea(Also in Japan and even in the Philippines ) Until to 2000 a US service mean more or less could get away with anything . However, the law changes that if a US service men commit a crime they can get punish by SOuth Korean law.

In 2004 I was at Yonsei Korean Language school which is very close to Sinchon. There was a number of drunk American GIs that attack and stab Korean people and it made big news. I seen US GI hang out around the hongdae area and Sinchon area. It's different from the ESL teachers who work along with Korean people. The GI's have this attitude that Korean people are beneath them it;'s like this racist attitude.

Rgarding hongdae...Hongdae is the second or maybe the first place that lots of Expats hang out. You mentioned that drunk Korean guys attack foreigners. I hear the other way around. This is going back I remember when I was in one of those hong dae clubs you had expats hitting on Korean girls not knowing that these girls are with their Korean boy friends. Guess what happens? Fight does happen. No different in any other places.

What do you expect that because your non-Asian that Asian people should bow down to you and worship your ass?

I can tell you as an Asian American guy growing up in USA. I got beat up , yelled at, chased , ignored because of my race. You say in the country side Koreans are loud..shoot I could tell you all the obnoxious arrogant Americans I had to deal with.

What happened traveler..did some Korean girl reject you or some Korean guy beat you up?

Or maybe he had a girl he liked that a Korean guy stole from him who knows..

Chanta76 is self-centered and insensitive (maybe that's because he hasn't experienced being a minority in Korea). There are really three Koreas: Seoul (and surrounding cities), redneck South Korea, and North Korea. I have no plans to go to North Korea, but the I've been to the other two Koreas. One interesting thing I noticed about South Korea is that you're most likely to encounter nasty, racist people in the less populated areas. In the US, it is the opposite: you're most likely to encounter those kind of people in the big cities. If you really want to meet genuinely nice people in the US then visit rural areas or small towns where most of the residents are white. Check out Roosh's impressions of the American Midwest:
http://www.rooshv.com/10-things-i-learn ... an-midwest

Traveler,

I'm self-centered and insensitive? f**k you man!! I been a minority all my life . Funny you never mentioned anything about the racism that Asian American face. Rural america maybe nice if your white. If it's so nice why not move there and be there instead of bellyaching about South Korea all the time.

I had a Asian fiend who traveled around rural America . He told me one town was a Ku Klux Klan town with their white power flags hang around. He got so scared he drove out of that town as a fast as possible thinking they would chase after him and hang him.

Yes there are Koreans who are racist. I never denied that . However, even as a kyopo I experience prejudice in South Korea. I think gofishus might understand that as an Asian American in South Korea.

In Korea they expect a kyopo to speak fluent Korean and if you don't they don't see you as a full Korean and sometimes don't accept you. It's like here in USA in some hick towns if you don't speak fluent English they see you as some stupid illegal immigrant. Guess what Japan does this too and maybe China to Asian people but white people can get away with this. Even if a white guy speaks bad Korean . Korean people compliment the white person. As white people you have the advantage to get away with language and culture and still be treated OK. In the USA if you don't speak English and your not white ..you don't get treated Ok instead they see the Asian guy as some stupid Chinese food delivery guy stereotype.

Jobs..most ESL school in South Korea prefer white people..thinking only white people can teach English. Kyopos or color people even if they are fluent in English have a racial barrier in South Korea in the ESL industry. I have never met a conscientious white person who thought this was wrong. Instead they take advantage of it . In matter of fact this is where I realize many white people have racist belief .

You mentioned about red neck South Korea...How about the red necks here in the states? Again what you wanted was to be worship as a white man in South Korea but once you couldn't get the full treatment your bitter and complaining about it.

Speak about having that entitlement attitude and superiority belief. Your the type of white guys that I have a problem with. You expect every Korean girl to spread her legs just because your white and if she doesn't you call her racist.

I just shot over 2 hours of footage in Seoul and Tokyo and edited it to show the side by side.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OOnoMti2Lxg

Feel free to take a look.