Korean Job Discussion Forums

[stephensessions]

Hello everyone!

This will be my first post to Daves Esl but I've been reading quite a few posts over the last couple weeks, preparing for my move to Korea this coming January.

I have a million questions, but we'll keep it simple to start off.

I'm hoping to live in a mid-sized Korean city with the following characteristics:

Universities
At least one bar that serves dark beer.
The possibility of taking runs, either in city parks or in the forest.
No more than 2 hours from either Seoul or Busan

Anyone have any ideas? If you've lived in any of these towns, could I get some opinions about them:
Changwon, Gyeongju, Chuncheon, Gangneung

I'm a young, outdoors-y guy that enjoys a nice pint of beer on the weekend. I've been teaching in Bangkok for the past few months and I'm tired of this big city life.

So let me know friends! If you talk up your town enough I might just end up there and will owe you a beer.

Thanks.

[ajuma]

Check out Daejeon. Might be a little larger than you want, but it has everything you're looking for.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daejeon

[Qinella]

Abandon all hope of quality beer. Korea is where beer goes to die.

You'll have to search far and wide for it if you don't live in Seoul, and when you do find it it will be about 7-12,000 won a bottle.

[GoldMember]

Such places only exist on Arirang TV, and Korean Tourism Marketing.
Both Liars.

[Cohiba]

Remember "Cohiba's Rule":

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 homogeneous Korean
culture. I don't mean this in a bad way, but you will never
find things like: French, Greek, Indian or any other ethnic
foods. Markets that sell sherry, pate, pastrami, ricotta cheese.
Specialty shops that sell dart accessories, cuban cigars or
cowboy boots.

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 Incheon where the FFF factor
is almost in the negative range. I know!

[mrsquirrel]

Manguri - really nice area to live. Mountain to run up, 1 hour subway to Itaewon.

I highly recommend living there.

[Dugsby]

Ulsan has all that . . . well, university, not universities.

[jindodog]

[stephensessions]

Thanks guys for all your replies.

I understand living a good distance from Seoul will decrease my options for Western foods, late night partying, and just things to do in general, but that's actually what I'm looking for!

I'm living in Bangkok at the moment, which has anything and everything I can want, but frankly I don't feel like I'm living in Thailand. So my goal for Korea is a slightly smaller city, one that I get to know and feel apart of, in some way. Keep those replies coming!

Sven

[chris_J2]

I rather liked Andong, but it may not have a uni.

[Njord]

Wonju might be what you're looking for. Has universities, is about 2 hours from Seoul by bus, a friendly foreigner community, and is next to Chiaksan National Park - and some other mountains to go hiking.

[wo buxihuan hanguoren]

Seoul. Seriously, every other place here sucks.

Seoul.

[ajuma]

You might want to think about Cheonan (may also be spelled Chunan) which is north of Daejon. It's 1 hour 15 minutes by train to Seoul, has all of (well, most of!) the western-style foods that you crave, loads of unis and an active expat night-life.

http://www.cheonancommunity.blogspot.com/

edit: I just noticed that the site hasn't been updated for a few months, but it will still give you an idea of what's available.