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Cost of living You'll hear that Seoul is the 4th most expensive city in the world to live in. Don't buy it. These numbers are the cost of living divided by average income. The average income of a Korean is about W9,000,000, so most Koreans cannot afford to live in Seoul. As an English teacher, however, you can make that in 4 months. An average restaurant meal costs W5,000. Shoes are W10,000. A pint in a bar is W2,500. A pitcher-size bottle of beer at 7-11 is W3,500. A pitcher of flavoured soju in a bar is W10,000. A bottle of straight soju at the 7-11 is W1,050. (prices as of early 2006)
Air quality Seoul has horrible, horrible air pollution. All the foreigners I've met have had some kind of lung problem, ranging from asthma to persistent coughs to chronic bronchitis. I had all of the above, including bronchitis for nine months straight. Within two weeks of leaving Korea, it was gone except for a tickle in my throat. Doc says that'll go away too within a couple years. While everyone seeems to be affected by the air somewhat, my condition was the worst I heard of in Korea. Most people can get by, and don't mind having a two weeks of coughing every couple months. --Atkinson 20:26, 13 September 2006 (CEST)
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