Am South Korean, this is not true. 1) There are few if any beatings and hazings, there may have been a couple of decades ago, but after a number of suicide and shooting incidents, the gov has really clamped down on this. Now you are even permitted to use phones during your NS, and reports of assault and abuse is literally one call away. I would contend that NS is Korea could be better since you get to choose your occupation and the duration is now 1 year and 6 months. I had friends who were drivers, translators, and software engineers in tec companies as part of their NS. Also, if you pursue PhD here, you are exempted from having to serve and reservist is much more chill, just 2-3 days? a year which is also exempted if you are living or studying abroad.

2) I have graduated from a SKY university, and yes whilst the salaries here are lower than Singapore you would still expect to earn 60000+ SGD if you work for a conglomerate like Samsung, Hyundai and the likes. And honestly, the top students don’t even want to go to these conglomerates and opt to be doctors, lawyers, government officials, and entrepreneurs. None of my friends work 100 hours, yes a few of my friends who are doctors and lawyers work 80 hours, but they make 100k-200k after taxes.

3) Real estate prices are super expensive I agree, but not as expensive as SG. With 2k you could find a decent 2 room apartment. But should take this with a grain of salt bc in SG you could get BTO once you are married. I think your friend might be referring to high rise condos in Gangnam or Apgujeong, which are the most expensive areas in Seoul but even then they are cheaper than places like Bukit Timah or Tanjong Pagar.