Korean Job Discussion Forums

[waterbaby]

I just mentioned Ding Ding Dang and I worked at one in Pohang and my director was real *beep* and I know a job is coming up there about now and I'd hate for someone to have to battle with him the way my co-workers and I did. A heads up, that's all.

[thegadfly]

Again, thank you for specifics...having a list of things to see and places to check out will help.

I was not one for the Itaewon scene in Seoul, because there was a lot of "ugly foreigner" stuff going on. The worst attitudes seemed to gravitate there and fester...but then, my impressions were formed back when Hollywood was the OLD Hollywood of song and story, a veritable Gomorrah...the new offensiveness pales in comparison, I am told.... It sounds like the expat bars in Pohang are not similar to the "Itaewon scene," so that is another plus....

OK, HERE is a specific question -- is there somewhere to get a proper pint of Guinness on tap in Pohang? Maybe somewhere that is isn't 12,000 won a glass? I know, that is asking a lot...but a fella can dream, right?

[rockr1]

[waterbaby]

[thegadfly]

Woo hoo rockr1! I may well take you up on that offer if it still stands by the time I arrive....

I didn't actually think there would be such a place...but since I have heard that the restaurants seem to serve tastier food than in Seoul...I will console myself with that....and the fact that there are beaches nearby...places to hear waves instead of traffic....

Thanks again to all those taking the time to respond.

[svenska]

looks like you got plenty of responses already...but i'll add my pohang thoughts anyway. i've been here 10 months--first ESL experience abroad and we're going back home after this. we've liked it pretty well here, but we never planned on staying longer than a year.

here's an anecdote for you.

my husband and i caught a bus to wolpo beach...about 45 minutes north of pohang. there were a lot of people there, but no one was wearing a bathing suit except me. the girls were wearing shorts and t-shirts. okay-there were a few guys wearing swimming trunks. but, most of them were wearing t-shirts, too. i ignored the stares from all directions, and got in the water. the water temperature was comfortable and the waves weren't bad. most everyone was on innertubes (maybe because they didn't want to get covered in seaweed). everyone was very close together; in the water and on the sand. we seemed to be the only ones swimming. we tried to swim a bit further out to get some space from the other people but were motioned by some guy on a jetski to cease and desist. we weren't sure who he was or what authority he had but by that time we had had enough of wolpo anyway. there seemed to be more seaweed than water where we were swimming...so after 10 minutes at wolpo we were ready to leave.

not an exciting story, but it illustrates the kind of beach experience you might have in the vicinity of pohang...you can enjoy hearing the waves, but i wouldn't recommend swimming in them! seriously, though, we've liked that aspect of pohang...being near the sea.

there is, in fact, a place to study korean. i took a korean class at POSTECH-Pohang University of Science and Technology, funded by POSCO (?). they offer the course free to students at the university, but they will make exceptions. it's offered each semester. they'll probably be starting a class soon coinciding with fall semester. good way to meet some diverse people; french, indian, chinese, vietnamese, american, canadian, etc.

like rockr1 said, there is a new cinema in town. i can't express how happy i was to find that out. the other theaters were really lacking in every way. megaline is the name and i think it has 8 screens.

something i really like about pohang is the hiking trails. i don't know if they are all over pohang or just in our dong, but i have enjoyed hiking here immensely. i have met so many friendly koreans on my daily hikes. from my apt. it takes 5 minutes to get to a trailhead. so, if you're into that, ask your co-workers if there is hiking nearby.

and last but not least...there is real cheddar cheese at E-mart (near POSCO).

[thegadfly]

Woo hoo! The sounds of the sea, someplace to study Korean, AND cheddar cheese! You, Svenska, are the good news fairy, here to make me happy about heading to Pohang again thanks a lot for the anecdote and information!

[inexhile]

Yeah I've been out to wolpo the last 3 weekends, its cool, warm water, on beach noribangs, and even surfable waves one day. Good luck in Pohang brother, and if you meet a guy called G Funk dunc: watch out, He's a Pimp

[Dan]

I don't really have anything more to add, except if you do end up going to pohang, please go check out Ul Lung Do

[thegadfly]

Yep, it looks like heading to Pohang is a done deal...just waiting on the confirmation letter to get my visa, then waiting on my tickets...should be there by mid September...so I'll be taking folks up on their kind offers....

[bignate]

Jo-ged-da

[whatthefunk]

A Saturday in Pohang...

I woke up at eight when the navy started doing their exercises. I live under the airport's flight path, so on days when the navy is active, I get about 50 helicopters, bombers, and jets an hour. The sound of the upcoming war finally subsided, and so I went back to sleep around 9:30.

The phone rang at 11:30. Decided to answer it and spoke to a buddy who had planned to come out to my little hamlet to visit the beach. It was a sh*t day though, so we nixed the beach plan, and decided to go for a few beers in my area instead. The plan was for him and a few other guys to come around at about 2:30.

Took a shower.

Ate a banana and an ice cream cone for breakfast, then headed to the PC bang to get my fix of Dave's and Yahoo Literati.

I was back at the apartment a little after two. I cleaned the house a bit and then settled down to watch a bad movie on TV while I waited. Got a call around 3:00...change of plans...inevitable women problems...won't be around until 4:00.

The guys finally show around 4:30, and we went to a pool hall to drink a couple beers and what not. One of the guys had recently had a falling out with his girl, and on the way out to my place, got passed up by a bus and then got the finger from a little girl, so he wasn't in the best of moods. But he made the best of it and joined us for pool and beer. A little later, another buddy and his girl friend joined us.

We played pool for about an hour and then decided to head back downtown to grab a bite to eat and meet the new guy in town. It strange in Pohang because within three days of this new guy being in town, everyone new of his existence and he had probably made the local news. We had to meet him, just to ogle the new waygook and stare at his arm hair.

We left the pool hall and went down to wait for the bus. While we were waiting, one of the guys got a call from his girlfriend and apparently she was in my town looking for him. She had taken the bus out to meet us, but missed the stop and so went all the way out to the end of the line and then back again. She was extremely pissed off and so slugged him in the bus in order to relieve some stress because it was obviously his fault...it always is. I don't understand women at all and I don't know if I want to.

On the bus to downtown, you get to pass what many call the worst red light district in Korea. Its a major tourist attraction and its the real reason why anyone ever comes out to see me.
'Lets go see the worst red light district in Kor.....uh....lets go see Whatthefunk!'
Its not that they want to get serviced by these women, they just want to ogle them and stare at their under-arm hair.
But its all just a matter of perspective. If you're looking for extremely cheap 60 year old wh*res, then it just might be the best red light district in Korea...its all perspective. Everything is perspective.

Well, the guys were all very excited to see my red light district, but it was a little to early for the women, so it ended up being a big dissapointment. They have already made plans to come see me next weekend.

We got downtown, and met the new guy. He had exquisite arm hair, but he wouldn't let us stroke it. It was his first night out in Korea, so we took him to a dak-gal-bi resturant. There were nine of us by this point. We spent the next few hours eating gal-bi, drinking soju, and discussing such things as the current trends on Wall Street, the new fall fashions, and then made plans to make a trip to Wetsworth's condo in the Hamptons next weekend.

'I do say, old chap. I believe that my chin may be bigger than yours.'
'Oh no. That's quite impossible.'
'Why's that?'
'Because I went to Yale and everybody knows that Yale men have the bigger chins then you Harvard men. Isn't that right, Clydesdale?'
'Oh, you Yale men and your chins!'
'Whahaha' hearty burst of laughter.
'Whahahahah' more hearty bursts of laughter.
'Wetsworth, be a good fellow and pass the caviar.'
'Whahahaha' still more hearty bursts of laughter.

Anyway, we were quite drunk by this point, and so went to the Giantstep, a Western bar down the street. It was only 8:30 when we got there. I was overflowing with gal-bi and was having a hard time getting the beer down, so made the switch to c o c k t a i l s by 9:30...a huge mistake.

Pohang is currently overrun with marines because every few months, a whole ship full of them come in from Okinawa for exercises and wh*res. So, there are 2,000 marines in our little town and it really sucks. The bars are constantly packed with uneducated, wanna-be g-funks who don't have a clue about the real world and only know what uncle sam has told them. I know alot of good guys in the marines and Im not categorizing them all as being dumb, but you have to admit that there is a strong vain of stupidity that runs throught the united states marine core. Fortunatly, they have a curfew, so they were all gone by 12:00.

By 2:00, I was a stumbbling, slobbering mess. I was flirting with all the wrong bar maids for all the right reasons, pissing on my shoes etc., so decided to get out while I still could. I said my goodbyes and left the bar.

I decided to take a walk over to see if the Chicken Man had resurfaced. Now some of you may not understand this, but the Chicken Man sells the best chicken in the free world. There are many chicken people, but there is only one Chicken Man. But lately, he has been missing. I think the Chicken Wench, his biggest competitor, had the mob bump him off. He's been gone for two months now, and Im getting a little worried. We are in the process of making missing posters to hang in major public areas, and we are offering a reward for his safe return. Last night, I was once again devistated when the Chicken Man wasn't at his usual spot. I broke down and cried, questioning the existence of god and of myself.

After I composed myself, I went and got a taxi. Lady taxi driver...very unusual. She was incredibly annoying. At every light we stopped at, she would roll down my window in order to talk to other drivers. It was raining, so when the window was down, I would get soaked. I tried to explain this to her, but I doubt it was any good considering my inebriated state. I passed out soon after this.

I awoke to find her rubbing my leg, which was nice of her. We got to my little village, and I noticed that the meter was really high. Its usually a 7,000 ride home, but the meter read 10,000. I didn't argue though...maybe the extra won was for the leg rub. I paid up, fell out of the taxi and made my up to my apartment. Don't remember getting home, but i have vauge memories of barfing.

[waterbaby]

Wow... minus the leg stroking the overhead planes (I had a really quiet apartment in a pretty quiet village) & the barfing... sounds like the same weekends I had in Pohang

[matko]

[waterbaby]

It's unavoidable... drove right through it on the way home and the way there Sometimes out of curiousty's sake we'd stroll through the alley's for a better look, but the "window dressing" is right along one of the main roads!