Korean Job Discussion Forums

the noodles · Joined: 27 Oct 2006

No one has yet mentioned Busan.... It's a big city, but is it fun, vibrant, cosmopolitan. Should I expect a fair amount of hustle and bustle?

Lostone7 · Joined: 08 Jun 2006 Location: SE Asia

hang10 · Posted: Sat Jan 12, 2008 7:53 am Post subject:

Small towns! simple answer dont do it! Think about it, you will be bored to death just like me! Plus if you wana do some privates and your in a Hagwon thats got a hard policy you'll buggered.

Seoul is the way to go, big city. Easy to make cash there!!!

If your looking for a challenge and want to go for a small town, DONT it just anit worth it! Not for a year anyhow! Crying or Very sad

hang10 · Posted: Sat Jan 12, 2008 7:57 am Post subject:

charleschiliang · Joined: 22 Jul 2010 Location: Cheonan

r small korean towns really that bad?
they seem to have a really bad reputation from what i've read on the board.
As a city-dweller all my life, i've never once been to the countryside and i just thought living in a small korean town/village for the first time would be a refreshing change from the mundane cities.
i'm not sure if everyone is being sarcastic so i'll appreciate it if someone could verify this

Louis VI · Joined: 05 Jul 2010 Location: In my Kingdom

I've lived only in Korean towns ranging in size from 50,000 to 80,000 for going on eight years, never anything bigger, places with as few as three red light intersections: one an always quiet farming town, one a noisy coastal nightlife community for shipyard workers in a bigger city close by and one a touristy seaside town that closes down by 9pm. I LOVE IT! Cheap frequent buses connect smaller towns with the bigger cities, especially Busan and Seoul. Foreigners are friendly and easy to meet, even if only a dozen of them in town. Locals may stare but they sure warm up to you quickly if you smile and introduce yourself. I can't imagine being anything but miserable living in the crowded big cities with their subways, hustle bustle, pushy pushy, impersonal, status-judging zombie walkers. Really, not for me. But I grew up in a town of 5,000 back home. If you come from a city of a million-plus then you should probably stick to a city of a million-plus. Rural life ain't for city folk unless you've got Michael J. Fox and a pig.

oldtactics · Joined: 18 Oct 2008

I love small towns in Korea - unless you're really in the country, i.e. somewhere with 5,000 people, any town in Korea will still be densely populated with a main drag and bars, restaurants (Korean) and shops. That said, you really, really need to be the kind of person who can motivate themselves to be productive - If you can focus on learning languages, writing, photography, reading textbooks, getting into shape, riding & repairing bikes, researching, etc etc etc, then you'll be fine. If you're someone who judges your self-worth by how many nights a week you party with friends, then it's maybe not the best choice for you.

For a first-timer who has 'never once been in the countryside' then I'd say maybe stick with a bigger city this time around. Korean cities aren't the same as back home. Try a city with 500k - 1mil. - the foreigners tend to still have a few special bars that they spend time at, so it's easy to meet people, but it's also 'city' enough that you don't feel isolated.

Good luck!

karenology · Joined: 20 Jul 2010 Location: Gwangju City, Gyeonggi-do

^^What about a town with, say, 10,000? Would it be likely that there would be any other foreigners in town? I asked this in another thread...specifically the town I am about to take a job in is Toechon-Myeon, and other posters said it was beautiful but very isolated. But when I look up transit directions by Google Maps, it only looks to be an hour to the eastern edge of Seoul by bus. Is it really that difficult to catch a bus in the rural areas of Gyeonggi-do?

The job seems great; it's a GEPIK job and I don't want to deal with the stress of a hagwon. I don't need to party every night, especially since I'm going to be a public school teacher! But my boyfriend hasn't found a teaching job yet, and I am not sure how likely it is he'll be placed near me!

sojusucks · Joined: 31 May 2008

My first job was in a small town. If you can learn to cook Korean food and a little of the Korean language then you will do fine. If not, then skip moving to a small town because you will hate traveling at least an hour to find food that you know how to prepare and you will feel lonely/depressed because you won't be able to communicate with others. Keep this in mind when you make the decision.

DingleBerryLarry · Joined: 06 Jul 2010

My town has about 1,000 people. It has 3 restaurants, no pcbang, no norebang, 2 grocery stores, and 1 atm. Many people here are extremely poor, literally living in shacks. I don't think many of the children at my school bathe very often. I live next to the church and every morning at 4 am the bell rings 10 times. It's quite a big bell. Then at about 7 am someone comes on the loud speaker for about 2 minutes. I am the only waygook in town. The nearest city is about 1 hour away by bus, which only comes 2 times a day. I have no AC and the temp in my apartment is about 37 lately. There are no other people my age in the town, just ajommas and ajoshis. I occupy my time by exercising, reading, writing, hiking, and watching downloaded movies or tv shows from piratebay. So far, I've endured this for 6 months.

There are some benefits. I've been able to save most of money since there isn't much to buy. I don't have any summer/winter camps since my school only has about 30 students. Also, the teaching is very relaxed and no one really seems to care much about what I do. The people in the town are very nice and down to earth. The children are not spoiled at all. Many of the kids have no parents and live with other relatives. I can walk all the streets in the town (3) within 10 minutes.

I do leave about once a month to visit friends elsewhere, this helps me regain some sanity. The last teacher at my school lived about an hour away in a larger city (140k people). She commuted by bus everyday. My coteacher decided that he didn't want to look that hard for a place for me there so I ended up living here. I view this year as a prison sentence. I cross each day off on my calendar.

I often think of pulling a runner. However there are a few reasons I don't. First, I wouldn't be able to respect myself afterwards. Second, I really only have to work another 4 months once school starts back on Aug. 23rd, then I have a 6 week vacation, then I work 20 more days, then I'm done. Third, there is a huge financial incentive for me to work till the end. So, I'll just keep crossing the days off my calendar.

karenology · Joined: 20 Jul 2010 Location: Gwangju City, Gyeonggi-do

Yikes, thanks everybody for their input. I think. Smile

Here's one question that could make or break this for me.

Is it really THAT hard to travel by bus in the rural areas? From what I can piece together online courtesy of Google Maps, Google Translate and Naver, it seems like there's a bus that leaves for Seoul every 20 minutes from my little rural town. The bus stops running at about 11:40 p.m. It only appears to be an hour away from where my friends live in Seoul, and an additional 30 - 45 minutes to the downtown area.

From what I've read, it seems like people gripe a lot about being at least an hour away from Western food, stores, bars, etc. but is an hour commute in Korea really that awful? Even here in the U.S. people sometimes commute twice as long as that to get to work.

I figure if I do get lonely or homesick, Seoul itself is just a bus ride away. What do y'all think?

edit: just saw the bit about the bus only coming twice a day to your town, Larry. That sucks! have you thought about getting a car?

DingleBerryLarry · Joined: 06 Jul 2010

I never considered getting a car. One of my friends tried to get one but gave up because of all the red tape. If you live near Seoul then it won't be so bad at all. I live very far from Seoul, in fact, there are no direct buses from my town to Seoul. If I want to go anywhere, I have to go through another city first. And the last bus to my town leaves at 7:30pm from that city. Also, don't forget that Seoul is huge. Once you make your commute to the actual city you'll probably have to travel further to get to your desired district, could take you another 40 minutes or so.

oldtactics · Joined: 18 Oct 2008

The buses are nice and the commute really isn't that big a deal - the main problem that occurs is that usually the last bus home is around 7pm so you usually have to stay over at a love motel. Not the end of the world, but it can get pricey if you're doing it Friday & Saturday of every weekend.

Here's the link to the bus information for the whole country - no schedules, but it has times/distances and how often they run every day:
http://www.visitkorea.or.kr/enu/TR/TR_EN_5_1_3_1_1.jsp