Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Undercover Brother]

Hi all

'm new to this site and was hoping to get some advice.I have an interview with a public high school in Pyeontaek on Sunday morning. I'm confident enough about the interview, I was just wondering if anyone knew anything about the area. I've looked it up on google, it looks nice enough, city of about 400,000 and its on the Seoul subway line although I think its quite a long way from Seoul. The recruiter said its about 30 mins from Suwon but I suppose he's giving a best case scenario. I've never been in Korea before, and while I've done quite a bit of research on different locations, public/private schools etc, I'd never heard of Pyeongtaek before yesterday. Any advice or comments on the area would be appreciated, thanks.

[earthquakez]

There's an American base there which means you get better food selection because there are restaurants and shops selling foreign food there. It's not great to look at but most places in Korea look the same - few house, same concrete block apartments, many of which look like the cheap council flats for the underprivileged in the UK. Same chain stores etc.

You'll have good, cheap transportation to get you to Suwon and Seoul. Suwon is nice, there's things to do there and you can go to Seoul on your weekends. Seoul has everything you need for a social life. I can't believe it when people gripe about not living in Seoul itself. Korea can be proud of its transportation system, it is truly democratic, allowing mobility for the masses and cheaply.

[sojusucks]

There are rapid trains on the #1 subway line that can shorten distances between Cheonan, Pyeongtaek, Suwon, Anyang, and Seoul.

[Joshea8]

Near the US base, Pyeongtaek is very American. There's almost more English than Korean in the area around the base. They even accept dollars in some stores. Lots of Western food, dvds, and Western stores.

[northway]

[sojusucks]

[Kimchifart]

[sojusucks]

I have known several teachers that have worked in that town. All have left in under a year. There is one good school by the Osan exit (the teacher stayed at that public school for a few years without any problems).

[Undercover Brother]

Thanks for the comments guys. Its my first interview and I hadnt heard of the place so I was just trying to get a general impression of it. I'll hopefully get some more interviews lined up in the next couple of weeks. My preference would be Seoul itself but for a first time teacher it seems to be difficult to get placed there. Does anyone know if there are many foreign teachers in Pyeongtaek at the minute? Just wondering what the social life is like. I'll have to find out exactly where the school is during the interview, would be better if it was close to the downtown area,at the minute I have no idea where its located

[lemak]

There's hundreds of foreign teachers in Pyeongtaek. Many have been living there for years.
Not to mention a sizeable contingent of US military dudes, related contractors and foreign factory workers.
You're within a couple of subway stops of great Korean, Indian, Nepali, Filippino, Italian, Vietnamese, Chinese, Indonesian, Western, Turkish, Brazilian BBQ, Peruvian, Russian, Thai, Mexican etc. restaurants you could hope for courtesy of a couple of US bases. Perhaps the best variety of non-Korean food in the country outside Seoul. Loads of western bars.
The old part of town (around the train station) gives a really bad impression of the place. It's rundown, contains one of the biggest red light districts in the country and is riddled with crazies, religious nuts and drunk old farts. Get out of this area to where you're 90% likely to be staying and working and it's a relatively nice city. Like others said appearance-wise it's pretty similar to everywhere else in the country.
It'll take you around 50 minutes to get to Seoul but they are building a direct KTX line that will go to Gangnam via Bundang which is due to be completed in a couple of years and will halve the travel time.
It's basically just an outer satellite city of Seoul with decent food and a little more English than elsewhere. Do a search of facebook groups. There's a couple for Pyeongers.

[Undercover Brother]

Well I just had the interview for the public school in Pyeongtaek. I think it went alright but there were a few communication problems mainly due to the Skype connection. The guy taking it did say the job would involve working every first and second Saturday from 10-12, I know its only 2 hours but I don't think its normal for public schools, and is not in any of the sample contracts I've seen, would this be regular enough for public schools? Anyway, the guy said he had another few people to interview so I presume the job will go to someone with experience over me anyway, but you never know. I think he also said that teachers would be expected to start around 7 am although the school doesn't officially open until 8.40. He said the school have always had foreign teachers so are used to dealing with them. How does the job sound to you guys?

[dongjak]

you work saturdays and have to start at 7am? what time do you finish?

[Undercover Brother]

4 he said. Altho the schools official opening times are 8.40 to 4.40. He also said I would not always have a co teacher all the time. The Saturdy work doesn't actually bother me, its only 2 hours and I'll get extra pay. I might have picked up some of it wrong, the Skype connection was quite bad, so I've emailed the recruiter to try and confirm some things. I'm hoping to have some more interviews lined up in the next couple of weeks, that was my first one, if I get any more I'll have a better idea of what to ask of the interviewer

[jrwhite82]

Well if it is a PS job, the Saturday work would be OT pay. 7:00am start time is damn early for a school that starts at 8:40. We start at 9:00 at my school so I am required to be there at 8:40, if you want to hear of an example.

[PeterDragon]

I lived in or near Pyeongtaek for three years. On the surface, it's a very very dull town in many ways. It's gotta be the only town in Korea that doesn't really have coast or mountains. The central "old" part is more polluted than the rest of Seoul-- always reeks of rotting garbage and mildew.

Having said that, the expat scene there is vibrant. And because Pyeongtaek has been a major allied forces/u.s. forces area since immediately after WWII, the locals are very used to interacting with foreigners. When I lived there, I met a lot of white collar engineers from all over the world too--- they hire engineers from Europe, India, and the states to build and maintain the equipment at their many factories. Then there's the Jehova's Witnesses (mostly from New Zealand and Australia), the Mormons (mostly from America), the Fillipino factory workers and hookers, the U.S. army and air force soldiers and contractors, the English teachers, the recruiters, etc... etc...

Also, it's in a good location in terms of transportation. The train station there is a major hub, I suspect at the behest of the U.S. military. You can get to Boryeong (much nicer when it's not mudfest) in under 2 hours, and you can get to Haeundae beach in 4 1/2 hours. You can get to Seoul in under an hour. it takes an hour and ten minutes to get to the train station right next to the Daejeon Costco, a better option convenience wise than any of the Seoul Costcos. Suwon takes twenty minutes, but really, Suwon is BO-RING.

Closer to home is the tiny Pyeongtaek harbor (on the city's half kilometer of actual coast). The harbor is industrial and smelly, but it does have
a commuter boat to China, which is kind of cool. And in nearby Anseong--- 30 minutes away by metro bus--- are some nice mountain trails, and some vinyards and pear orchards with amazing and very cheap fruit during the harvest season. Finally, there's a surprisingly good Mexican/Korean fusion food restaurant near the train station, and a strip of ethnic restaurants including a great Brazilian Fogo place and a British diner near Songtan station.

I'd definitely be willing to live there again if I moved back to Korea. But this time I definitely wouldn't live right on top of "old downtown". Christ, what an hideous dive. Good if you like hookers, though, I guess.