While many people have mixed views of Craigslist, many have found it to be very beneficial .  However, like most things on the internet, there can be some downsides to using Craigslist.  As long as you are educated on how the laws work in the Republic of Korea, you can avoid many of the pitfalls people go through.  However, if you’re not careful, you can lose out on a lot by using Craigslist.  If I am to sum up why Craigslist can be your worst enemy in one word, it would be the word scammers.  Not everyone on Craigslist is dishonest, there are plenty of liars and scammers out there.  We will look at job scammers and apartment scammers who can rob you via meeting them on Craigslist.

Job Scammers

The law states that you may enter the Republic of Korea via a passport or a visa.  Some make it seem that you can simply move to Korea and they will hire you on the spot.  However, doing this would mean entering Korea via a passport.  That means you would have to leave Korea within 90 days to avoid legal trouble.  While you can go to Korea and get hired for a job, you would have to fly back to your home country and get the visa via the South Korean consulate in your country.  This is key because a company that doesn’t make sure that you are legally able to work in Korea before hiring you will most likely lie about you if you get caught being in Korea illegally.  The last thing you want to do is to quit your job and sell all of your stuff, only to find out you don’t really have a job waiting for you in Korea.  If something sounds odd or strange, call the Korean consulate in your area to double check it before doing anything.

Apartment Scammers

If you find a job in Korea, and move there following all legal guidelines, you will then need a place to stay.  How you pay rent will be up to you, but be careful about what you find on Craigslist.  Some people offer you the option of paying via the 전세 system.  But some of these ads make mention of working out a deal without a realtor being involved.  The reason for this is due to realtor cost sometimes being high.  It would seem logical that people can work out a deal and not have a need for a realtor to save everyone involved money.  However, the person could disappear along with your money.  While it may cost more to deal with a realtor, realtors know the law and know how to protect you.  Even Koreans get scammed on apartment deals in Korea.  And sadly, some look for non-Koreans, #waygookins, to rent to because they feel it is easier to con them.  Before you give up your money, protect yourself the best way possible.

Not everyone on Craigslist is a scammer or out to get you.  But you must be careful about what you find, as it can cost you a lot in time and  money.  If you’re cautious about crossing the street, you should be cautious about crossing the ocean.  I hope this post was helpful to you.  And as always, if you have any questions, please feel free to #askthewaygookin.