China vs. Japan vs. South Korea: Which Should You Live In?

Since late 2012, I’ve had the privilege of living in China, Japan, and South Korea, and during this time, I’ve been able to truly immerse myself into each of their unique cultures. China, Japan, and South Korea are three countries that often come to mind to foreigners (mainly western) when seeking employment abroad, but the differences among the three are not widely understood. Below, I’ll highlight their key differences and help you better decide which country is best for you. 

Food: 

China: 

Chinese is my least favorite among the three, as much of it is pork based and very oily, which concerns me as a very health conscious person. With China being a massive country full of different cultures, you do see the largest variety of foods, but truthfully speaking, much of it is not to my liking, unless we’re talking about Xinjiang (China’s western Muslim province) food. From my experience, many foreigners, regardless of their nationality, do not have a taste for Chinese food, which makes eating here difficult. Outside of the major international influenced cities like Beijing and Shanghai, you will not find too many foreign restaurants. Furthermore, the overall sanitation in the Chinese food industry turns many away. It isn’t uncommon to find restaurants (estimated at 10%) using gutter oil, which is black market oil that is recycled from garbage, in their cooking.

Don’t get me wrong; this isn’t to say the food is absolutely horrible. I enjoy Chinese from time to time, but it’s not a cuisine I believe most can eat on a daily basis. 

Japan (winner)

I may be a bit biased being of Japanese descent myself, but I do find Japanese cuisine as the most appetizing. Japanese food is quite healthy with its abundance of sea vegetables, low fat, and nutrient rich dishes. The sanitation in Japanese restaurants is excellent, even those small hole in the wall spots, which I find worthy of praise. Japanese do eat a lot of fish, which I understand many foreigners do not like, but that is not a problem, as many dishes can be substituted without fish . The downside to Japanese food is that the portions are probably just a little too small, leaving many still hungry after. Like China, Japan has many foreign restaurants in larger cities, but very few in small ones; however, this is not a problem for many, as Japanese food is often seen as desirable. 

 South Korea: 

Korean food is also good, but not as good as Japanese. Many complain that Korean food lacks variety and is too spicy, which I could see. Korean food is either a hit or miss with foreigners, but generally speaking, I found that most enjoy it, especially BBQ. If you’re a vegan, Korean food will probably be difficult, as most dishes contain some type of meat. Korean food is cheap, filling, and most the westernized. In South Korea, you’ll find that many dishes are simply western fusion, so the average person will be familiar with what they’re eating. 

Language

Chinese (winner)

From just listening to Chinese (Mandarin) as a non-Chinese speaker, you would probably think it’s the most difficult among the three, which I agree. Mandarin consists of four tones and these tones, if spoken incorrectly could significantly alter the meaning of your words, depending on what you’re trying to say. Learning to read is also a bit of a task (no surprise there). On the bright side, Chinese grammar is pretty simple and the closest to English…you don’t even conjugate verbs! If a foreigner lived in China, Japan, and Korea for 10 years in a small city, I’d bet that the one in China would progress the fastest in the language. 

Outside of the younger population in large cities, many do not speak English, and this will be frustrating for many. You will need to develop some understanding of Chinese if you choose to move here, but that should be the case for any country you move to. 

Japanese: 

Japanese is the easiest to pronounce and sounds the easiest to pick up to the untrained ear. However, Japanese has complex grammatical rules. In Japan, you’ll find a decent number of foreigners that are able to speak Japanese, but most of this, I believe, is due to their love for Japanese culture, which makes learning any language easy. Japanese people probably have the lowest English proficiency in East Asia, so don’t expect English to bail you out, unless you’re in Tokyo maybe. What makes Japanese difficult are the different forms of speech (regular vs. honorific) and knowing when to use what. I speak Japanese and it still confuses me sometimes.

Korean: 

Korean is the easiest to read and write by far, I learned the entire system in about 2 weeks and despite not using Korean often, and I can still read and write after all these years. It’s rare to find foreigners that speak Korean well, which makes sense. If you think the grammar in Japanese is tough, try Korean! Learning Korean will leave you scratching your head at times, but it’s not impossible to learn. If you have an understanding of Japanese, then Korean will be a lot easier. On the bright side, Koreans have the best English proficiency compared to the Chinese and Japanese, even in the smaller cities. If I had to pick one country where not knowing the language could get you furthest, it’s definitely South Korea. 

Opportunity 

China (winner)

Many, if not the majority of the western foreigners living in China, Japan, and or South Korea will likely be employed as English teachers, which I don’t think most see as a sustainable career. In Shanghai and Beijing, it is pretty common to see foreigners holding positions non-teaching related. If I had to guess, maybe 10-20% work outside of teaching. Despite what many think, it is definitely possible to find jobs without Chinese skills, jobs ranging from marketing to finance to admissions consulting. Of course, knowing Chinese will increase your chances of finding employment.

Chinese companies are not highly regarded by foreigners and the pay will be significantly lower than foreign companies. Expect way less perks and vacation time. 

Starting a business in China is possible and I’ve seen many foreigners do it. If I had to pick a country among the three to start a business in, it would be China due to the ease of doing business and likelihood of success. 

Japan: 

Landing a non-teaching job in Japan without a working knowledge of Japanese is nearly impossible, you’ll see it from time to time, but more than often, it doesn’t happen. If you do speak Japanese, it’s a lot easier to land a job, but beware that Japanese companies are notorious for overworking their employees. The Japanese even have a term for “Death from overworking.” 

South Korea: 

South Korea is similar to Japan; however, it is very rare to find a foreigner employed in anything other than teaching or by the U.S military. You might find a few foreigners in Seoul working for foreign companies, but those individuals are often sent from their home countries. Like Japan, South Korea is a society ruled by hierarchy, so to find a foreigner work his/her way up a company to become the top dog is also rare.

Cost of Living

China: 

China is pretty cheap. A typical 30 minute metro ride will cost you about 55 cents (U.S). Taxis are cheap too. A meal can be as low as $4.00 depending on how local you eat. In major cities such as Beijing and Shanghai, rent is a bit on the expensive side, with single room apartments costing at least ($750-1400), but many foreigners live with roommates and go for larger apartments to offset the cost.

Utilities are extremely low. My gas, electric, and water in my single room apartment comes out to less than $25 TOTAL per month. 

In China, I find that I am able to save more than per month compared to Japan and South Korea. On a good month, I can probably save nearly $1800 after paying for rent, food, and other bills. 

Japan:

Japan is a bit expensive given the average salary for foreigners. A 30-minute metro ride is about $2.60 in the city! That’s nearly 5x the price in China. The cheapest decent meal in Japan will cost around $4.40, which isn’t too bad to be honest. An apartment in the city will cost as low as $500, but a more reasonable average is around $660 for something nice. Utilities will be a lot more, especially gas and electric. My gas bill for my tiny apartment was more than all my utility bills in Shanghai combined. Traveling around Japan is also pricey. A one-way ticket from Tokyo to Osaka via Shinkansen is $120 and the ride is only 2 hours and 30 minutes. In China, you can go double the distance on the best train and still pay less. 

South Korea (winner)

I found Korea to be pretty affordable. I’d argue it’s the cheapest among the 3. A ticket on the high speed KTX train from Busan to Seoul (2.5 hours roughly) costs about $50 and the train comes with Wi-Fi.

Food costs around the same as China, but utilities are a bit more expensive. If you’re a foreigner living in South Korea, it is likely you will be teaching English. The benefit of this is that you live rent free, as your apartment is provided to you by your employer, so you can save a good chunk of your cash. 

Quality of Life

China: 

Life in China (at least for me) is pretty simple. Living here is convenient once you get the hang of it. One of the things I like is Wechat/Alipay. Through these mobile apps, you can pay for almost anything. Simply let the vendor scan your phone or you scan them and the money comes straight from your bank account. You can even do the same thing with your utility bills. The best feature of these apps is the ability to send money to your friends instantly.

The downside to China is the strong government control. In China, the government bans anything that is western. This includes, YouTube, Facebook, Netflix, some news sources, Reddit, and so forth. To gain access to these sites, you’ll need to purchase a VPN, but this makes your Internet slower. And unfortunately, the government can and will shut down these VPNs during certain times of the year. I find this incredibly annoying.

Also, the pollution in China is a bit of an issue. In most countries, people just check the weather report, but in China, it is necessary to check the pollution index. If you have young children, it can be hazardous to have them outside during certain times. 

Sanitation in China is also of concern. The bathrooms outside of department stores are in horrible condition and often without toilet paper. It’s also not uncommon to see a grandmother or grandmother place their grandchild over the trashcan as a toilet substitute.

Japan: 

Japan provides a comfortable life, but many foreigners complain about the cramped living conditions in Japanese apartments, as they are not often spacious. Foreigners also complain about Japan being a cash based society. You’ll find your credit and or debit card will not serve you as well as it does back home. This can be a bit annoying to hold cash all the time, not to mention, 500 yen (roughly $5) is a coin. 

Aside from this, Japan is the most organized society you’ll probably find. Things work in order and on time. The overall happiness of the foreign community in Japan seems to be quite well. If I had one complaint, I would say that the cost of living can come at the expense of your quality of life here. 

South Korea (winner)

I found my quality of life in South Korea to be the best among the three and I was generally at my happiest there. One advantage to Korea is the ease of connectivity; there is free Wi-Fi almost everywhere you go. Getting around in Korea is also simple and cheap. In Korea, I found that it was the easiest place to make local friends. Sometimes, Koreans would come up and talk to my friends and I and invite us to play basketball with them, go for karaoke, or even just go to the club with them. There are a lot of cheap activities for foreigners to partake in. Zip lining, snowboarding, cultural tours, wine tasting, etc. There was never a dull moment when I lived in Korea.

Domestic Travel

China (winner)

China is an incredible country to travel in, which is no surprise given the enormous landmass. Despite what most people believe, China isn’t as homogenous as you think, as it has 56 minority groups stretched across 23 provinces. In China alone, you can go west and feel like you’re in the Middle East, then go south and feel like you’re in Southeast Asia. China is a country full of history and diversity that should be on any traveler’s bucket list.

Japan:

Japan is amazingly scenic and one of those countries that take your breath away. In Japan you have a variety of cities you can visit that are unique in their own way. Even in a small rural country town, you can find a lot of peace and beauty. While Japan is a great place to travel domestically in, it doesn’t nearly have as much diversity as China.

South Korea:

Don’t let the small size fool you, Korea has some cities that are pretty neat outside of Seoul and Busan. While these cities aren’t as historically rich as the ones in China and Japan, they are still worth visiting. Overall, you would be able to see much of Korea in a year if you lived there, so you’d likely be yearning for a trip overseas if you lived here for too long. 

Verdict

If I somehow hit the lottery and had to pick which one of these three countries to live in forever, I’d probably live in Busan, South Korea, with Osaka, Japan coming in a close second. 

If you’re strictly about your career and overall progression in life, go for China, as it is ripe for opportunity.

Just looking for a nice two year get away while you’re young? Any of these three would do, but China would offer the greatest adventure and most interesting experience. 

At the end of the day, it’s all subjective. I’ve met individuals that loved and hated each of these places. Your experience is ultimately what you make of it…