Korean Job Discussion Forums

[spilot101]

Trying to zero in for my EPIC location choices. (I've already got my first choice with one recruiter down) and this is a plan "B" for recruiter #2 (in an instance where the location choice would actually matter, haha). Which location would you prefer?

I would love to be coastal but there is always a chance I won't get Gangnueung, Donghae, or Samcheok.
Chungbuk, on the other hand, seems to have shorter routs to Seoul and is in the middle of it all geographically - easier to travel elsewhere.

What are these two like culturally (people warmer/colder etc)?
Gyeongbuk is another option but I keep coming back to the other two...

[flash viego]

Be careful. I have heard that EPIK disqualifies you if you use 2 recruiters for an EPIK position. I've seen it discussed here.

[spilot101]

Thanks for bringing this to my attention. I am aware of this stipulation. My first application is the "National EPIK" one. Another application is for a PS position as well, but is directly for a specific province (even though the application is the same as the EPIK one). I asked this recruiter if his provincial application would conflict with my other national EPIK application, and was told that since he doesn't work with EPIK, there would be no conflict. So I'm kind of taking his word for it on that one....

[ren546]

I lived in Gangwon-do for a year, but I was in Chuncheon (which is connected to Seoul by subway). I really liked Gangneung when I visited there, and I heard the teachers there like it as well (except for the fact that some of them tend to be on the younger side).

The general attitude in Chuncheon was very rural, contrary to what I expected, since it is a sizable city. Lots of staring, but the Koreans I encountered were very friendly. The foreign community is quite small (2 foreigner bars), which can be a good thing when you first arrive there, but a little annoying after a few months when you get to the point where you want to avoid the people you don't like.

ANYWAY, Gangwon-do is a beautiful province if you like spending time outside. If you're close to a major center like Chuncheon, it's also fairly easy to get to Seoul (under an hour now).

[spilot101]

Thanks.

[mayorhaggar]

I just started working in Chungbuk, in a smallish town about an hour's drive east of Cheongju.

Keep in mind provinces like Chungbuk and Gangwon are massive, and you have no choice where you go, so you could end up in a big city or you could end up in a small town. If you want to be somewhere more urban or more centrally located in terms of transit, maybe pick a provincial level city, like Daejeon, Daegu, etc. They are further from Seoul but you'd have access to the KTX. If you pick somewhere like Chungbuk you could end up in a big city like Cheongju (600,000 people) or somewhere small and more isolated like where I am.

My town is really pretty nice, people here are ridiculously sweet and kind and friendly even when they don't understand anything I'm saying, and the students and the schools I teach at are pretty great. And there's pretty much everything I need here, like a couple of good grocery stores and many other stores. But definitely I'm kind of in the middle of nowhere in many ways. I like it because it's quiet and the people are really nice, even though I'm a city boy at heart, but I could imagine a lot of people wouldn't like it here at all.