Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Snowkr]

Hi

I have lived in Wonju. I spent some time in Seoul and I've traveled a little... (precious little) in Korea. I'm thinking of returning this fall to take a job in Daegu. I know nothing about the city except that it is very hot 3 months out of the year.

Any other comments? Is the place crawling with military? One reason I'd like to avoid Seoul is because there are simply too many Americans.

Daegu seems pretty affluent but not altogether special. I'd love some feedback from anyone who has lived or is currently living there!

[la belle fille]

hey! my husband and i lived in daegu and yes it is HOT! this is coming from a texan too! lol it's extremely humid and hot so if you have to be outside for 5 minutes or more you're drenched! literally dripping! but if you like that sorta thing it's fine lol

it's 2.5 million people so it's still pretty crowded and yes there are a lot of american soldiers there- i think there are 4 bases or something. but we didn't see soldiers all the time or anything. never even spoke to one actually (nor did they speak to us). we'd just always see them in the american chinese restaurant and downtown doing to the clubs on the weekends.

it's a good place to live if you want to be in a fairly large city, don't mind crowds or heat and want to live somewhere that has some western food and goods (like at costco and friday's).

good luck!

[Snowkr]

How about the winter? Is it also extreme?

I'm coming from San Diego where it is very mild year round. I'm afraid I've been quite spoiled.

I am not looking to live in a major city but Daegu may suit me better than Seoul. I'm guessing there are many churches to choose from with services in English as well?

[Bagpipes11]

Hey there,
I have lived in both Seoul and Daegu. I enjoyed Seoul and still have many good friends there, but that city was just too big for me. I moved to Daegu three years ago and I would never go back to Seoul. Although Daegu is painfully hot and humid in the summertime, there are beaches that are no more than an hour or so away.

The Winters are cold but the Fall and Spring are comfortable.

There is a large expat community in Daegu and it seems to be closely knit. There is something for everybody. Whether you are into music, sports, clubbing, hiking or whatever...I am sure that you will find your niche.

Good luck and hopefully you enjoy your time here.

[Butterfly]

It's bleak.

[cbclark4]

Daegu is not Seoul.

If you want Seoul go to Seoul.

If you want something a little slower and a little smaller, Daegu.
They have a Costco and a subway.

[Dev]

You'll like it for about a year and then you'll be bored.
Enough to do during that time period, but that's about it.

[waynehead]

In my experience there's nothing really to distinguish daegu...it's pretty much like the rest of korea...

[Snowkr]

Can anyone give the name or names of a good local church in Daegu?

This would really help me out a lot!

[Dev]

[Rock]

Despite your American bias, I'll make a positive comment. I lived there for six months-was great. Sooseong-gu is the best place to be-lovely riverside park that stretches for miles, nearby swimming pools, not far from Dayan Park(if I'm not mistaken,) and near the movie theaters. Just great.

"Crawling with military?" Are you off, man. Went and had a great Thanksgiving dinner at Camp Henry, where there were friendly folk and a nice taste of home.

But if you want to be anti-American maybe go to Jeju-do.

[la belle fille]

i know there's a presbyterian (sp?) church in daegu that has an english service, which i visited once and it was pretty cool. i'm sure there are more. good luck!

[annabel]

There are a few churches in Daegu that offer english services. I can't remember the names of them all or where they are, but if you do an internet search you should be able to find them. Also I think there are some threads here on Dave's or on Koreabridge.com that had some info too. Just do a search.

I've liked Daegu for a long time. I'm just leaving now after 3 1/2 years. It is grossly hot and humid in the summer, but at least in July it rains most of the time. Gives me skin and some minor health problems combined with the pollution. The city is ringed by mountains so air tends to get trapped in here. In winter it can be really cold- a weird cold that goes right through you. But I can handle that a lot easier than the summers so it didn't bother me too much.

It does have a fairly closely knit expat community. Pretty much everyone knows everyone somehow. I've noticed a bit of an expat demographic change recently; most of the newbies coming in are a bit younger than I was when I first got to Korea.

Daegu's definitely opening up to more variety of restaurants and imported goods. I've noticed a lot of change over the past few years. Seoul and Busan are still much better that way, of course.

Personally though, overall I prefer Busan. I wish I could've lived there. It's so nice to be by the sea. The air is a bit cleaner and cooler. And it seems more open to foreign cultures. I don't know anything about the expat community there though.

[Snowkr]

Thanks everyone for your input.

And I'm not anti-American. I love my country. My grandfather was in the army (in Korea) and my dad was in the navy. I'm in San Diego about to celebrate the 4th of July (my first in the U.S. since I can't remember when) and I'm feeling very patriotic. My apologies if my comment came off sounding so distasteful.

I LOVE THE USA!! I just don't want to spend a year in Korea surrounded by military. Then again, I suppose this is my choice wherever I go...

Back to Daegu now...

Does anyone work in any of the public schools in the city? I've been encouraged to take a position with a primary or secondary school there. I really don't want to work with kids younger than high school but perhaps public schools should be avoided completely.

Can anyone offer some more advice on this?

[jaganath69]

Can someone give me the 101 on the nightlife scene there? I'm thinking of spending a few days in various cities I have yet to visit before I wrap up my Korean sojourn.