Korean Job Discussion Forums

[i_am_brandon]

i was offered a a job in ilsan, but i was all excited about seoul. now i feel bad. based on my priorities, someone tell me if they think i should go to ilsan instead of seoul.

here are my city priorities.

a place where i can go to parties, clubs, etc.

an urban place.

a fun place.

a place where people speak enough english that i can get by.

a place where there are really cool nightlife-things to do, every weekend.

questions:

if i go for a night out in Seoul, and get done at 4 in the morning, is there any way i can get back to ilsan?

from what i gather, a taxi is the only option.

from what i understand, ilsan is a suburb. however, i do not know what korean suburbs are like. are they bleak, desolate places that have absolutely no culture at all?

is ilsan one of these bleak places? read: master planned communities, etc.

i wonder whether i should turn this down or not.

i do not mind transiting.

someone tell me something about ilsan.

thank you.

[DCJames]

It's a very boring place for a single person.

I'd rather live in Seoul.

[howie2424]

I've been in Ilsan or Goyang City as it's sometimes called for four years now. I like it but for all the reasons you'd probably hate it. I'm not much of a party guy since I got married. It's about 50 minutes from Seoul and yes you would need a taxi to get back here at 4 am. Check out this link for more info.

http://www.goyang.go.kr/fl/index_eng.html

[darkhorse_NZ]

sup man? i've lived in ilsan for about 2 and a half months now and I'm finding it pretty good.

talking bout nightlife, there's a few clubs where foreigners hang out and stuff mostly on a Friday, but Saturday's sort of dead as everybody goes to Seoul.

Yeh, downtown Seoul is about an hour fifteen/ hour and a half away by subway, but once you're there it's all good. If you walk out of the club at 4:00am, yeh you're gonna have to catch a cab unfortunately but it should only cost between 20-25,000 to get back to Ilsan. You could, like me, sleep in the subway station for an hour and a bit 'til they open it back up again. or failing that, just walk out of the club at 6 or 7 instead.

actually this weekend i'm changing tactics and hiring a love motel room for the night, 40,000. I'll have a shower, cosy bed and a place to get my jollies if i'm lucky out. save me from having to worry about transport and $hit when I'm stumbling in the gutters.

Ilsan itself is one of the nicer suburbs on the outskirts of Seoul, culturallly? uuuurrrggghh, i dunno, then again i've hardly made an effort to look.

but nah man in summary there are definitely worse places in the Land of Morning Calm to live. So I'd recommend it.

[albazalba]

ilsan is not that bad a place, although i have only visited. It has a downtown with a pedestrian area, and rows of galbi restaurants all next to each other in some kinda meat street. A pretty happening place on the weekends.
If you go to Seoul on the weekend and want to come back at 4, then your only option is a taxi, but the buses start running around 5-5:30.


P.S. I hope you're not working at St. Andrew's hakwon

[i_am_brandon]

DC and Howie: thank you for that information.

darkhorse: yo. let me ask you some questions.

do you go out till 4 am often?

do you find it a hassle to go to seoul all the time?

because of ilsan's proximity to seoul, do you find that you go there less often than you'd like?

i have slept in many a subway at 4am. and i have paid for many a cab at 4am.

my dilemna is, i wanted the big city amenities. i wanted to be able to find electro and techno, then walk there.

i don't want to surrounded by bleakness.

darkhorse, how often do you go out? do you always go out in seoul?

[i_am_brandon]

albazalba: ha, no saint andrews. CDI, if i take the position.

i don't need any comments on CDI.

thank you for your information.

[rawiri]

Dude, Soul Train is the only club in Ilsan. It's a hip hop place, i've been twice in one year and that was probably once too many.

[darkhorse_NZ]

oh man, ok. if i'm having a large one i wanna stay out as long as possible, but i'm questioning this thinking at the moment, out for a good time not a long time sort of thing. but yeh say 80 percent of my nights out end up with me walking out of a place with morning sun and birdsong.

yeh, to be honest, it is a hassle and i would spend more time in Seoul if i was closer. i hear the bus is faster than the subway from Ilsan to Seoul but I havent figured them out yet.

if you're looking for Electro and Techno, DO NOT come to Ilsan. There are three clubs that foreigners tend to congregate at to my knowledge. Torros, Bar Boom and Soul Train. Now the Friday nite DJ at Torro's may play you a mean track if you buy him a drink, but he loads up some wack $hit as well to be honest. The other two are pure hip hop, so if you're looking for some Electro you might have to go to Hongdae or Itaewon which are in central(ish) Seoul. I dont know much about either really as i've only stuck to a few pubs in Ilsan and Itaewon, but there mite be someone who can give you the lowdown for your musical tastes.

I myself go out every weeekend, Friday and saturday nite usually, cash dependent obviously, the last week before payday I usually stay at home and kick myself for having zero budgetting skills. but yeh personally I'm either out in La Festa (Ilsan) or Itaewon (Seoul). hoping to change that but and mix it up a little and see what else is out there...

[i_am_brandon]

darkhorse.

thank you for the information.

its been helpful.

the question for me is: do i want to commute to seoul every weekend.

it sounds like you do what i would do every weekend. be out when the sun comes up.

[venus]