Korean Job Discussion Forums

[pocariboy73]

Can someone please tell me about the suburb of Seoul called Bundang? What things are there to do there? What is it "famous" for if anything? Nice place for an American to dwell or a great place to stay clear of?

Thanks everyone

[BTM]

Bundang is a fair ways out from the centre, but is a little like Gangnam in that it's upscale and relatively wealthy. I guess that can be good or bad, depending on what you're looking for....

[morue]

I live south of Bundang and visit there often. It is a dream compared to where I am living. DO you know which area in Bundang? Some areas have more to do than others. Let me know and I can try to help.

[pocariboy73]

The area of Bundang which I'm wondering about is called Yatap...thanks for your help Morue and others.

[sickboy]

I don't know, I only lived there for 6 months. I didn't find anything to do there either.

Uh, always pay for your drinks up front, the one or two western bars will rip you off on your tab otherwise.

The subway has good service to Seoul.

Itaewon is at best, a bus ride, another bus ride and a taxi away.

Hongdae is two busses and a subway away.

Expect the journey, plus walking to take around an hour.

People are rich, so not only are the kids spolied rotten, but Sundays are an ideal day to go looking through peoples trash. You can find some sweet furniture in there... like posh shite. This for me was the highlite.

Samsung plaza sells a wide variety of greatly over priced goods, ie. light yellow or pink Polo shirts, if you need to blend in.

On a related note, the presents for teacher's day are pretty good. Lots of cologne/perfume. Is this another instace of subtle racism? Do Koreans think we smell?

The hogwans there make you appreciate your weekends so much more, when you are at school for roughly 9 hours a day.

Its crap, I quit, and moved to Seoul after 6 months. Just too boring. Anal retentive suburb, but hey, thats where the money is now!

-sick

Oh yeah.. but it is very quiet!

[morue]

Ok, Gumidong is right down the road from me. There isn't much here so I wouldn't reccommend it at all. If you are going to be in Bundang I would try for somewhere near Seohyeon Station. THere are lots of things to do there and many buses to Seoul. It really depends on what you like to do. Are you the party sort or what?

[Harpeau]

I love Bundang! It's very mellow and it's relaxing. Do a search of Bundang for lots of cool info. It looks like my new uni job is going to take us up to NE Seoul. That's all I need for my upcoming birthday- move way up closer to the DMZ! Don't cry for me!

Harpeau

[JackSarang]

Bundang is actually not part of Seoul. Just to nitpick. Bundang is a gu (region) of Seongnam City. But.. most people, even Koreans refer to Bundang as a seperate entity because the rest of Seongnam is a dirty hell-pit while Bundang is very middle-upper class, very new, clean, nice etc etc. Although, there are some seriously luxury condos about to open in the Seohyun-Sunae stretch.. but I digress.

If you were to come to Bundang, two areas to avoid are Gumi-dong and Bundang-dong. Only reason being is that they are fairly isolated from the rest, especially Bundang-dong. Gumi-dong is the very very last stop on the Subway line and while the area is "ok" you're just that much further from everything. Although it does have the regular array of restaurants the 10 screen CGV and a Carrefour (French Walmart).

Otherwise, Bundang is not crowded, its clean, the air is easier to breath, plenty of "leisure" activities, good restaurants, two very nice parks. Samsung Plaza (Seohyun Station) has everything including a grocery with a section of important foods, most importantly good cheese. The only thing its lacking is a reasonable nightlife. There are tons and tons of bars, but no "western style" nightclubs.. a few Korean nightclubs. Itaewon is a single 25 minute bus-ride away if you go in the evening (after 8pm) and Hongdae is a 30 minute bus-ride plus 5 minute subway ride. (again, after 8pm). Its all about the traffic. Gangnam is 15 minutes away using the same time scale.

Its a great place to live if you only like to party on the weekends, but during the week it can be a bit dull.

Korea Telecom has their headquarters in Bundang, its a new "planned city" and the population is largely affluent. That about sums up what its known for. Anymore questions feel free to ask.

[djmarcus]

Hi Jack,

You mentioned 2 places to avoid. Then what part of Bundang would you recommend?

[Curious George]

Bundang is also a great place to be if you enjoy bike riding or rollerblading. There is a very nice river park where you can ride all the way up to Seoul if you want. It is cool to hang out here in the evenings and perfect for picnics.

The park is also very nice. You can hike to the top of the hill and there is an outdoor gym up there. There is also a big lake you can ride your bike around.

But like said before, there is no western style clubs or bars, so if you want to party during the week you will be bored to death here.

[Poemer]

Actually there are two western style bars in Bundang that I know of, both are located in the Samsung Plaza area (Seohyun station).

Dublin is where you can get the tastiest and the cheapest tap of Guiness in the greater Seoul area. A favorite foreigner hangout, especially on Thursdays, which are open mic night.

Monkey Beach is the place for cheap beer and hip-hop music. Usually a nice crowd on any night of the week. Weekends especially busy and offer a good mix of foreigners and locals.

Anyone with other Bundang hangouts to post, please do.

[ttompatz]

[Hapkido-In]

I've been in Bundang for about 5 months now, right smack at Seohyeon station and I know the Yatap area a little bit. There's a Kim's Club, a Carrefour, (both good for shopping) and a CGV (movie theatre) right next to the subway station there. If you run down to Seohyeon station (2 stops away from Yatap) you can catch buses to all most anywhere, and find Samsung Plaza, a rather swank shopping complex (imagine chanel, prada, gucci, armani, ect. as well as a supermarket with a semi-decent import selection.)

Bundang is a little "cleaner" than Seoul. There's a few nice parks in the area and a river you can run/walk/rollerblade along.

The bars mentioned before, Dublin and Monkey Beach, are pretty good. Monkey Beach is actually pretty cheap price-wise. Both are located close to Seohyeon station.

Hope the info helps a bit.

[triplej]

Does anyone know if there is a music studio in the Bundang / Yatap area of Seoul ? If so, what is the name and where off the subway line is it located ?
Thanks

[Anne0]

Hey i've lived in Bundang for a year and 2 months now. So far the worst thing about Bundang is the "Church of God" people are EVERYWHERE! I can't walk through samsung plaza without being appraoched by then and getting rid of them is a pain in the a**.

I don't really like to party on workdays just weekends. So it's pretty cool. You can find some pretty cheap cloths and shoes if you stay AWAY from the actual building Samsung Plaza and just shop at the places that surround it. Plus you can bargin at those places. They have every kind of retaurant you can wish for. Jungja is actually the best place for eating but jungja is a tad on the expensive side so never go there alone. As for bars, I recommend to stay away from Monry Beach. It's small, cramped, everyone smokes and the ventalation is horrible after an hour your eyes may start to sting. The beer is cheap so the chances of you making an ass out of yourself is multiplied. If your a women the army guys will try to sleep with you. Posse is actually a much better western bar and at 12am the bartender's give a wicked performance.
The buses are really fast if you're travling to the northern part of seoul. There are buses that hit itaewon and the jongno area and gets there way faster than the train. On the flipside if you're traveling to any place below the river (like coex mall) the train is faster.