Seoul, South Korea: Stuck in Customs (Flickr)

Last week I wrote a post on the weakened state of the US Dollar, and made a list of international destinations where the dollar is still relatively strong.

In general, however, the dollar just isn’t worth as much as it used to be across the globe. While this makes spending dollars more costly internationally, it’s important not to forget the flip side of the equation. It also makes dollars easier to earn internationally.

1996 South Korea:

Take teaching English in South Korea for example. The first half of the 1990’s are often considered the “Golden Age” for teaching English in Asia (ESL). Asian tiger economies like South Korea were emerging as global contenders, the general population (like today) was very interested in learning English, and they had money to burn. Recent graduates from the US, Canada, UK, and Australia routinely made their way to countries like South Korea to teach English for a couple of years, and were rewarded with an international work experience and significant savings from solid wages and a low cost of living. Unfortunately, however, the party did not last and in the Fall of 1997, the Asian economies crashed.

Even after the crash there was still significant demand for ESL teachers in Asia, the problem was that Asian currencies were weakened considerably, making the previously solid wages much less valuable when converted back into USD, Pounds, Euros, etc.

2007 South Korea:

Ten years later, the global economic map has again changed. Most Asian currencies and economies are still struggling through a period of economic stagnation. However, many have regained considerable ground, and have done so as the US Dollar has steadily weakened.

This means that the relative strength of some Asian currencies (including South Korea’s Won) when compared to the US Dollar, now closely resemble the “Golden Age” of the early 1990’s. Coupled with the fact that ESL salaries have risen as Asian currencies weakened, means that for US Dollar holders/users, teaching English in some Asian countries is again becoming quite lucrative.

Let’s say the average ESL instructor’s salary in South Korea from 1996-2002 was 1.8 million won/month (a high estimate) and from 2003-2007 is 2.0 million won/month (a low estimate). This would mean that from 1996-2002 the monthly salary in USD decreased by 36%! It would also mean that from 2003-2007, the average monthly salary in USD has increased by 27%.

Obviously I’m not considering factors such as inflation and increased cost of living, but a 27% increase in 5 years is very significant, and something to pay attention to. In general, I don’t believe that the conditions are as favorable as they were in the 1990’s, but it’s getting close.

The Bad News:

Unfortunately the increased earning potential for ESL instructors in Asia is largely dependent on the the weakened US Dollar. This means that if your local currency is NOT the US Dollar, but rather the Pound, Euro, Australian Dollar, or even the Canadian Dollar, you will not see significant wage increases after conversion.

The other piece of bad news is that not all Asian currencies have strengthened relative to the US Dollar. While you can now find increased earnings after conversion in South Korea, Thailand, China, Malaysia, and the Philippines, you will find that post-conversion earnings have stayed roughly the same in many other Asian countries such as Japan, Vietnam, Laos, and Indonesia.

Enjoy this post?

Subscribe to more great free content from Go Budget Travel through my RSS Feed or by Email!