Korean Job Discussion Forums

[thegadfly]

OK, something written in another thread has got me wondering, hence the thread title...I have heard folks bashing Pohang, but I really don't see what is wrong with it. I spent 3 years in Seoul, and I have spent 4 years and change in Pohang, and I can write a list of the good points and bad points of each place...and for some folks, the good in Seoul outweighs the bad in Seoul, and for some (like me) the good in Pohang outweighs the bad...so why all the hate?

I am seriously curious about what makes people single out Pohang as a bad city.

Before I came here, I was afraid the air quality would be bad, with the steel industry, but the air is much cleaner than Seoul...of course, I live across the river from POSCO and the airport, so maybe over there it is not so hot, but over here it fine. Not pristine or anything, but not as nasty as Kangnam or Mokdong, the two areas of Seoul I lived in....

So, Pohang bashers, what is it about this city that makes you hate it so?

[thegadfly]

Hmmm...a few views but no replies....

Seoul over Pohang:

Seoul has a much better nightlife -- lots to do after the sun goes down, while in Pohang, it can be difficult to find a place to eat after midnight. Dance clubs? Seoul has plenty, Pohang has darn few...like, 1 or 2 for the expats, and pretty much nothing for us near-40s....

Pohang over Seoul:

From my apartment, in the morning, I can see misty mountain tops and hear cuckoos calling -- like 5 am-ish, but still, pretty mystical and serene. 5 am-ish in Seoul all I heard were cars and hawkers...and maybe some drunk revelers still stumbling home.

Seoul over Pohang:

Lots and lots of foreigners, so you can meet all kinds of people. Seoul is a big draw for foreigners.

Pohang over Seoul:

The foreigners who come to Pohang are pretty serious about whatever it is they do. The teachers here tend to be more serious and mature (on average), the engineers and techs here for Posco are educated and traveled, the military folks you run into are decent and dedicated...it seems folks head to Seoul to debauch, and keep their game face on in Pohang...which makes for less insanity, which is nice.

[ilovebdt]

I lived in Pohang for 15 months and liked it very much.
It is a city which continues to grow and develop. I liked the fact that it was near Pusan, Daegu, Kyeongju and is served very well by the cross country buses. My only complaint would probably be the lack of good shopping.

ilovebdt

[itaewonguy]

if you do a search you will see the monumental thread.

LIFE IN POHANG!

go through that thread and that will answer all your questions..

[thegadfly]

Dear Itaewonguy,

actually, no it won't. If you look at that monumental thread, you will see I started it a few years ago....

The thread is about 30 pages of people extolling the various cool things going on in Pohang....

[cbclark4]

I think the OP is talking about the newer thread in the Job Related Forum.

I was called an A-hole for referring to Pohang as a pearl.

Exact quote "It's a pearl".

Gems can be so negative.

[thegadfly]

Thanks, CB, found the thread, read the quote....

Ya know, I don't CARE that folks who have never been to Pohang think it is horrible -- folks that repeat rumors and gossip as truth are folks I would not mind not meeting at the bar.

I guess if you live right next to Posco, the air quality is bad...and if you live right next to the airport, the noise level is pretty bad...and if you live in Seoul right next to a nightclub, you get a lot of drunks around your apartment, and if you live next to the bus station, there is a lot of bus traffic...so I guess location within the town is everything.

I had a Walmart right next to my apartment complex for the last year or so, 'til it was bought up by E-mart...so for me, convenient shopping is not a problem, though I do need to hit Seoul to get stuff tailor-made...then again, I don't need to get stuff tailor-made every week....

[bluelake]

I live just outside Pohang and I like the area a lot. Where I am, it is quiet and the air is clean, and yet I am just twenty minutes from the downtown area.

[nateium]

Pohang vs Seoul
-my subjective and admittedly limited experience of 14months in Pohang, and 10 months in Seoul
(I don�t even know why I took the time to do this.)

Pollution

Pollution in central Seoul sucks. There�s no doubt about it. It�s probably the worst in Korea. On the periphery however, I think it�s better, or comparable to Pohang. Relative to what I was accustomed to in North America, both situations are smelly and full of exhaust. The air quality in Pohang depends on the season, and if there is an offshore on onshore breeze. There are air quality monitor stations and alerts in Pohang for chrissake! The only cuckoo�s I heard were those annoying JangSa guys at 6am peddling their wares with loud speakers, or my SoJu retarded neighbor stumbling and banging on his own door at 4am.

Entertainment

There is no contest on this one�..It�s painful for me to even go into it. Basically, In Pohang you can go to the beach (I briefly covered this in the other thread), or you can go to one of the two or three foreign bars. There are annoying marines, and a motley assortment of weirdo English teachers slumped over the bar with their heads in beers(I don�t mean you-the reader necessarily-it�s just an overall impression), complaining about jobs or participating in some cliquish reality TV style drama resulting from never being able to get away from one another. It�s really depressing and pathetic. There are a handful of superstar Koreans to hang out with- that seem to spend all their time with foreigners, but the majority of regular Koreans there don�t seem to want to have anything to do with us.
There�s an English Club where maybe one can make some good Korean friends, but I doubt it. Most likely. the locals will just ask you �Do you rike KimChi?� over and over again, and then appear shocked to hear the answer. And �NO< I�M NOT MARRIED!� I realize many married men don�t wear a wedding ring for some dubious reason, but give a break. With all consideration for the language barrier, there have got to be more interesting ways to make simple conversation. When I used one word of Korean, they reacted like a baby that just discovered how to play peek-a-boo. Ahh�.that shizzledizzle was mind numbing� How can one develop real friendships with innocent social slackers, who live with their mothers, have had nearly zero life experiences, and see me as some kind of alien visitor who just removed a space helmet? Yes they are very nice people, and I like them. It was nice meeting them, and I�m a bad person for always making fun of them for trying to be friendly with foreigners. I�m sorry. I need more for a real friendship
.
So do most teachers. That�s why they spend time segregated, and a significant number of weekends away from Pohang. When reading other posts about the cities they visit, I was nonplused. With the exception of GyeongJu (which is worth a few trip for it�s fascinating cultural and historical value) I can�t understand anymore the desire to go to Daegu, or Ulsan, or any cities like that. What�s the point? There is a lot to explore in Busan, but what can be found for entertainment in mid size Korean cities palls in comparison to what Seoul has to offer. I live in HyeHwa (DaeHangNo) now, an area most teachers who don�t live in Seoul have never even heard of, and I�ll wager there is more going on there than Daegu downtown, Ulsan, and Pohang combined. There are top quality restaurants, with international cuisine (and a quality classic recreation of a 1950�s American style dinner to every detail-a favorite of mine), theater troops, performance, artists, converts, promotional events, museums, art galleries, jazz bars. -All the insanity and creativity of a university area! I love it! This is only one relatively small area of Seoul. The only time I�ve ever been bored in Seoul was when I was sick and couldn�t leave my apartment. Nothing else anywhere in Korea can touch the potential for fun in Hongdae, Sinchon, Itaewon, Gangnam, Apgujeong, JongNo, Mokdong, etc�there are entire areas I haven't even ventured into yet. I have no desire for �foreign bars� anymore, but if one insisted on tmaking a strange hobby out of it, one could go to a different foreign bar every weekend night of the years and not hit them all. I wouldn�t be surprised if some new area is a hell of a lot more interesting than Daegu. Forget the same old teachers every weekend. Forget Mindy�s bar. You just need a few good friends, and the city is yours to conquer. The only reason I would leave Seoul now is to go Skiing, a nice beach or rock concert, or to someplace that is actually different; like JeJu Doh.

Money/Jobs

Maybe there is greater job satisfaction in a place like Pohang, I don�t know. I do know that I didn�t see it anywhere. My job in Pohang was a frustrating mess of push and pull between the director and I. I was always guilty until proven innocent�.If the copy machine broke, and I hadn�t even made any copies that entire week, I was still the first one they asked. Little things like that drove me crazy every day, and none of the other English teachers, or director could carry on a basic conversation in the English language. It was tedious and tiresome, just trying to get my point across about anything, and I was expressly forbidden from ever using any Korean while in the school.
I don�t have any of these problems in Seoul. In general the English level is much higher, and for some reason the teachers, managers, employees etc, are much easier to communicate with even when they don�t speak English so well. The people I work with now are not as slack jawed and amazed by outside-nation-humans, and seem much more willing to try and problem solve and interact normally. I even managed to get a legal second job after a surprisingly reasonable conversation with my visa sponsor. Everywhere I go, people seem to be throwing offers for private lessons in my face (although I don�t teach them of course because we all know that�s illegal ahem). All told, my take home salary is more than double what it was in Pohang for just a few more hours, with a lot less stress and aggravation.

It�s been said that it�s much more expensive to live in Seoul. I think this is something of a misunderstanding. Except for Gangnam real estate prices, everything in Seoul is basically the same price is it is in Pohang. Gimpbab is still 1,000. I can�t even think of what is actually more expensive in Seoul at the moment. I think the perception that Seoul is more expensive, comes from the fact that there is much more to do. There are so many more activities, that it�s just natural to spend more money. So, saving/spending money is more about lifestyle choices. I can add though, that living in Pohang and consequently taking bus trip to other cities every other weekend, staying in hotels, and using taxis really adds up. In Seoul there is much less reason to go anywhere else on the weekend, and there is a convenient and cheap mass transit system using a bus or subway from almost every location. The only reason to take a taxi, is if you�ve done some heavy shopping, or are wasted sometime in the morning before the Subway opens. In Pohang, you�ve got to take a taxi everywhere and it really adds up.

That�s all I have time for�..maybe later
Housing/Convenience
Foreigners/Koreans/Culture/Language
Women (or men)

[Fishead soup]

Very Surreal. People basking on a sandy beach with the view of three huge Blast furnaces and steel works.

[xingyiman]

I lived in Pohang for 1 1/2 years and I honestly couldn't sum it up better than Nateium already has. That poster hit the overall social scene right on. I will also add that it is nearly impossible to get a GF there because of the extreme social conservatism. Of course most women will readily flock to you but when the English lessons are over thats about the end of it. If I had it to do all over again it would be go directly to Seoul do not pass go collect your 2M Won.

[thegadfly]

Nateium,

Thank you for taking the time to reply to my post, and thank you for your detailed input. Even if you do not know why you took the time to reply, I am happy that you did.

You make a very reasoned comparison between the two cities, and I was not really intending this to be a comparison thread -- I know that almost everyone would choose Seoul over Pohang, if the job and apartment were the same. I wasn't really trying to say Pohang was better than Seoul -- I was trying to figure out what makes folks heap so much hate upon it...I mean, you are right, no subway sucks for getting around, but that isn't a reason to hate the city.

I have heard Pohang referred to as an "armpit." THAT is the kind of hate I do not understand. The point I was making by comparing Seoul to Pohang is that both places have good and bad, and the bad in Pohang hardly makes it an armpit....

Again, thank you for taking the time to reply to my post, and even though you prefer Seoul (as most people probably would), your post supports my position -- Pohang isn't nearly as bad as its reputation makes it out to be...the vocal Pohang-bashers haven't been here, at least not recently....

[itaewonguy]

[thegadfly]

Oh, as far as being more expensive -- I have not done a point-by-point comparison, but the few things I noticed were that buses in Seoul were 100 or 200 won more for a similar ride, taxis started their ticks sooner (or maybe just seemed to), restaurant prices for midrange meals (for me, sam kyup sal and taeji kalbi) were about 500 won more per portion. Again, to be honest, Seoul may just SEEM more expensive because there is more to buy, so one spends more money...I know, if I could get Haagen Dazs ice cream that hadn't gone all ice-crystally from being improperly handled (like I get in Pohang), I would be all over it...and THAT adds up wit' a quickness!

The girlfriend thing would be a big issue if I had seen it, but I haven't seen it here -- my dating history in Seoul was worse than Pohang -- mileage may vary.

Again, I am not trying to say Pohang is BETTER than Seoul -- *I* would prefer to live in Seoul if I could have my job, my apartment, and the view...and I would even give up the view to have this job and apartment in Seoul. I am trying to figure out why, when cbclark called Pohang "a pearl," someone called him an a-hole and said Pohang is $hiite.

[thegadfly]

Itaewonguy,

I am asking why is there so much hate, not what is wrong with the town -- every place has something wrong with it.

I have a job and an apartment I like a lot -- those two factors make this a great place for me.

I want to know, "why the hate." The thing is, people who have been here don't spit the hate -- that comes from folks that have "heard about it." I am wondering where these folks "heard about it," since everyone that has been here can list good and bad things, just like any other place.

...and no, I am only mid-range for time spent in Pohang. Another foreigner at my school has been here for over 10 years...I think 15 actually, but I lose track of some things, what with old age and all. 4 or 5 of the people I have met or hang out with were here for a year or two already when I arrived, so they have more time here too....

Plus, Pohang has the CHICKEN MAN, fabled in song and story!