JayJay,
I'm on the outskirts of Zhengzhou. The changes here in five years have been phenomenal - construction, construction, construction!
Comparing Korea to China is is sort of an 'apples & oranges' thing. I taught middle school in K-land, I teach university in C-land.
The students aren't that much different but the job is, in that:
- in Korea, 22 teaching hours a week... but I had to be there 8 hours a day for a 40-hour week; in China, 16 teaching hours a week... period (no office time);
- in Korea, I got 4 weeks of paid holidays; in China, 20 weeks.
- in China, I'm completely autonomous in the classroom (no co-teachers);
- in China, no 'desk warming', no English camps;
- in China, my gross pay is less, but I have almost no expenses except for food... so, end up with about the same money in my pocket (I'm personally responsible for global warming due to my exorbitant consumption of electricity to heat/cool my apartment
i.e. I have no utility bills);
- in Korea, I lived in a tiny 'one room' and had to take a bus to work; in China, I have a proper one bedroom apartment on campus (more than twice the size) with 2-minute (walking) commute to work;
But, the biggest 'plus' of all is in China, there's no effin': kimchi, marinated grass clippings and something that used to live under a rock on the beach (covered in gochujang)
served everyday in the dining hall.