Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Maas]

Hey just a general question: do you, or do you know of someone who teaches or lives near the ImHak Station in Incheon. I'm considering moving there just wondering if anyone has any thoughts on the area>?

Cheers

[/b]

[Maas]

No replies yet, not looking too good!?

[Cohiba]

People haven't answered because posts about Incheon
have been everywhere lately. Try doing a search first.

1/
I have lived in Incheon
for years and I agree that it is a city with almost
no redeeming qualities. The people who live here
have to be the most cultureless, boring hive drones
in all of Korea. And yes, garbage everywhere.
No decent foreign restaurants, no good bars. Its
one saving grace is the islands of the coast. They
are great for camping.

2/
Think twice before you live outside of Seoul. "In Seoul" and
"outside of Seoul" are like two different countries. Seoul
is an interesting place with variety and venues for most
tastes. Outside of Seoul you will find a homogenous Korean
culture. I don't mean this in a bad way, but you will never
find things like: brown bread, good beer, bars with good
tunes, English book stores etc.

Remember the FFF RULE. FFF=Fun For Foreigners.

If FFF in Seoul = 100, then FFF decreases at
1/distance. So 2km from Seoul FFF=1/2(100)=50;
10km from Seoul FFF=1/10(100)=10. This rule is
a rule for nightlife, food and foreign products only.
Nature etc. is on a different scale altogether.

This means you will be wasting a lot of time commuting
to Seoul. This is especially a drag if you have been
boozing on a Friday night and there are no buses or
trains.

I, unfortunately, live in Inchon where the FFF factor
is almost in the negative range. I know!

[crazylemongirl]

I taught close by imhak station in 2003 (about 10-15 minutes). The area is really residential there is a carrefour and walmart close by. There is also an express bus into seoul that leaves from grandmart.

Umm it's your basic seoul satilite community.

[Maas]

Thanks for the info, yeah I'm well aware that anything outside of seoul is not nearly as good as seoul. I'm here for a short time and in seoul its difficult to get a position like that.

Thanks a lot for the info Crazy Lemon

[Son Deureo!]

I lived right next to Imhak station for a year. It's not a bad area at all. As CLG mentioned, with a Carrefour and a Walmart in the neighborhood, it's good for foreign groceries. Skylark pseudodiner and McD's are all there is for foreign dining in the neighborhood. Lots of great Korean restaurants, though. The closest thing to a foreigner bar is the No. 10 near Grandmart, a lot of the time English teachers from the neighborhood hang out there on Friday nights because of the free pool table and really friendly barstaff.

In addition to the express bus to Seoul, you're only 20 minutes by subway from Bupyeong which has a decent nightlife district, a Starbucks, and Goose Goose, Oof Bird and Scores (watering holes for English teachers), and a whole cornucopoeia of Korean restaurants and nightlife.

Another nice little extra of the Gyesan-Imhak area is Gyeyangsan mountain park. It's a nice little mountain with a lot of trails, and a lot of exercise equipment including a free outdoor freeweights gym. The community center also has a swimming pool (3000/visit or 40000/month). Also, since it's pretty much the edge of civilization for Incheon, there is some nice semi-rural scenery (rice paddies, cows, I even spotted an ostrich farm, and.... dog farms).

There are a few dodgy hogwons in that area (heck, aren't there everywhere?). Do you have a particular hogwon in mind? If so, PM me, I know of a few to avoid.

[Maas]

I've been out of Korea for a while now, and was revisiting my old post and thought I'd give it a conclusion, in-case someone else is thinking about moving there.

I have to say that the Imhak area isn't all that bad. Super convenient for groceries, with Carefour and Wal-Mart close by. Also its only about 30 mins away from Hongdae by bus so that�s great and cab rides home go for about 20 -30, 000. So all in all, the place is all right but definitely way more mundane then Seoul. A big plus is the mountian park, which is nice to go for hikes - it feels as though you're miles away from Seoul. Like any place there's positives and negatives but if you don't mind being a bit away from the hustle and bustle of Seoul then this might be a good place. Although, if you love going out you might run into an expensive situation with cab rides to and from the city... or you could do what I did, stay over with friends in the city or wait till 6am and hop on the train/bus.

Having said that: I was only there for four months

Cheers!

[leebumlik69]

[stumptown]

[hentaigaijin]

how long does it take to get to central seoul from incheon?

[kprrok]

Incheon to Central Seoul on the Yongsan Express is about 30 minutes from Bupyeong. Imhak to Bupyeong is about 10 minutes.

there are also plenty of express buses to Seoul Station and elsewhere in Seoul from all around Incheon.

If you have any questions, feel free to ask. I currently live about a 10 minute walk from both Jakjeon and Imhak stations.

KPRROK

[hentaigaijin]

thanks a lot. it doesn't sound too bad you know, despite many posters slagging it off.

[PBRstreetgang21]

I live in Yonsu-dong which is ass-south in Incheon. There is F-all to do here unless you are korean. Although a group of coworkers and I are planning to go bar hopping in all the Korean bars to see what reaction that entails from our "fellow men".

In any event. Incheon is not that bad if you dont mind relegating Seoul to all-nighter weekends. If you are agenerally quite and relaxed person on the weeknights, and you dont mind eating nothing but Korean food except on the weekends in Seoul (or the Nepalese place in Bupyeong) then you should be fine. I dont need to go to the bookstore but once a every month or two, and Since Im in Seoul Every week or Two for some reason a side trip to Kyobo is never outta the question.

However, if you are the party type, or if you just need foreigners and foreign things Incheon is not for you. Of course, if you just need foreigners and foeign things why are you here to begin with?

[jackson7]

I live directly next to Imhak station. Life is good in Incheon, if you're more into the local life, and not so much the social life. There's a good foreign community here, but if you really want to get into the ex-pat mix of things, you're better off in Seoul (as I'm sure many will tell you).

Being close to the station lets you get into Seoul fairly quickly on the Yongsan rapid (in Bupyeong), but again, you will not be into the same social atmosphere at all.

I like my life in Incheon. I am busy with tae kwon do, some extra curricular teaching, and many Korean friends, so it's very comfortable for me to be outside Seoul, but I may relocate after another year here.

Seriously think about what you want out of your first years in Korea. If you want to save money, it's easy to do here because there is less to spend money on (less bar life). If you want to be FORCED to live the quiet cultural life, do it here, save some money, move to Seoul, and then live it up. You can always do the same in Seoul, but it seems more tempting You Seoulites always seem to have more fun!

[huffdaddy]