Korean Job Discussion Forums

[karenology]

I think I am close to taking a public school position in Toechon Myeon, Gyeonggi-do, out in the sticks. The closest city is Gwangju Gyeonggi-do.

It seems pretty rural (the teacher I spoke to said the population is about 10,000), but near a lake and some nature, and I'm not much of a city person anyways so that might be okay. According to Google Maps it seems like Seoul is just a 1.5 hour bus ride away.

The teacher mentioned problems keeping foreigners in the area due to its ruralness. Should that make me uneasy about taking this job? Is rural life really that awful? For the record I'm from Kansas originally, so perhaps I'd have an easier time adjusting than someone who is accustomed to living in, say, NYC.

Any feedback from people who have lived in or visited this area would be super appreciated! Thanks!

[ChilgokBlackHole]

If I remember correctly, Myun is the smallest size of incorporated area in Korea.

I loved my little rural hagwon (I was in a -eup). If you like cooking your own food and having everyone know where you live, limited shopping options, and it being a pain to get anywhere, go there.

Seoul sucks. It smells bad. It takes forever to get anywhere. It's full of drunk idiots and lunatics. Everyone here says GO TO SEOUL!! (especially Cohiba, before he got banned). Now read all these stories about grown men getting drunk, fighting, puking in the streets, pushy ajummas throwing elbows, and getting screwed by the shopkeepers, and you tell me how much "fun" Seoul can possibly be.

[BreakfastInBed]

I like the Toechon area but I don't think I'd recommend living there without your own transportation. It is very pretty but your social life will likely be pretty bleak and your shopping/entertainment options extremely limited. I live about a half hour away in Yangpyeong and visit every few months. There are some great restaurants nearby, a huge spa worth checking out, an annual tomato festival, and lots of places to pick fruit (even blueberries, a rarity here).

I don't imagine there are many foreigners in Toechon itself, so you could be looking at 10,000 won (or more) cab fare each way every time you want to meet up with people at the nearest hangout. Buses are considerably cheaper, but aren't an option if you want to stay out later than ten or eleven. This is all speculative, of course.

The good news is, if it's anything like my rural area, you will probably meet a very welcoming and agreeable close-knit group of foreigners not too far away, and a whole bunch of delightful Koreans eager to make your acquaintance, show off their country, and share their culture with you.

If you are fine with small town life, and the prospect of spending days on end without having a proper face-to-face conversation with another native speaker doesn't bother you, then give it a try. It will certainly be an experience.

[karenology]

Thanks for the tips!

I think I'm fine with small town life, but the whole going for days on end without talking to anyone might drive me crazy. I think I'm going to sign on for this job; after all I was looking for an adventure, and this seems like I'd get to experience a lot more "Korea" than just hanging out in Seoul and getting drunk in bars every night.

Do either of you (or anyone else, for that matter) know how bikeable the area is? Sounds kind of hilly...

[stuey11]

I recently cycled from Seoul to Yang Pyeong to do some wakeboarding and passed through Toechon on the way. It seemed pretty rural with not much going on, but the surrounding area is very pleasant to cycle around. Leaving Toechon on the way to Yang Pyeong there is one pretty tough climb but a great downhill on the way to Yang Pyoeng, riding the other way Paldang Dam is nice and there are several nice looking restaurants and coffee shops located near the dam. A forty-fifty minute ride from Toechon bring you to the outskirts of Seoul. Overall a great place to cycle around, close enough to ride to Seoul and some wakeboarding/water sports places in the other direction. Not sure about cycling in winter though as is does get pretty cold.

Hope this helps

[karenology]

Thanks stuey11! A 45 minute bike ride doesn't sound too bad...obviously I wouldn't be doing this every day, but for a weekend ride that is definitely doable, as long as I'm not scaling steep mountains that way. Did you feel safe cycling on the roads outside Seoul?

[stuey11]

The roads around toechon are pretty quiet and safe, when riding into Seoul after reaching paldang dam there is a cycle path along the northern part of the river Han which if you follow it will take you all the way into Seoul without having to brave any of the busy roads! I'll try and post a google map link so you can see the route.

When I said a forty-fifty minute ride to Seoul I mean the real outskirts of Seoul, it's probably double that to get to anything of interest in seoul

[stephencreech]

Karenology,

I was wondering if you got your documents back from AT or if they found you a position?

Stephen

[karenology]

Stephen - haven't heard a peep from AT. I've already gathered backup copies of my documents, because luckily my state only charges $7.50 per apostille (and they even gave me additional background check copies for free, whoop!). I found this job through another recruiter.

Have you heard anything from AT? I wonder if they are just ignoring me and my boyfriend in particular, hehe...

[stephencreech]

Well, Scot email my gf the other day and said he would check into our status. We haven't heard anything since then, that being about a week ago. I guess we might have to look into a new recruiter, they seem to lack communication and follow-up. Which recruiter did you end up using?

Did your boyfriend get a position? If so, are you in the same town/school? I saw that your are teaching public, why did you choose public over private?

-Stephen

[karenology]

We're going through Korvia (who are awesome, by the way! Super nice, helpful and communicative), and really, we're just trying to get any job that comes our way. Though I am a bit nervous about taking a public school job as my first real teaching gig! I think Korvia mostly does recruiting for GEPIK positions, which are public school positions in the area surrounding Seoul.

I've also contacted Brad Brennan from TEIK, who has also been good about keeping in touch. Otherwise, most recruiters I've contacted only send me mass messages with lots of job postings, yet never respond when I reply back saying "hey I'm interested in x and x job..." it's really quite frustrating!

Have you and your gf had any offers yet? You're not just working with AT, are you? The advice seems to be to work with as many recruiters as you can find, especially with the job market the way it is.

The only slight issue with that is you can't apply for public school jobs through more than one recruiter (apparently your application is then either thrown out or not taken seriously, for some reason), but I believe it is okay to look for these public school postings using multiple recruiting agencies. When it comes time to submit your formal application to EPIK or GEPIK, however, you can only do that once.

[erone]

Hi karenology,

Did you end up taking the job in Toechon-myeon? Because I was offered a public school position there and I'm considering taking it. Perhaps it's the same school? (Dosu Elementary / Chowell Elementary).

How was the experience? How is the school? Classroom size?

I visited there yesterday. It's a really small place, but Gwangju city is only 30mins away so that's a relief. And Seoul is about 1.5-2 hours away.

Any feedback would be great!