Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Forbidden-Donut]

I'm currently in the US, haven't been to Korea before. I was just informed by someone of a position in Gwang Ju. This person works at the school and says it is a good school, which is appealing because thats one of my big fears is getting the ol' Hagwon screwjob. The hours are during the day, its 2.4 million/month, and not much prep.

I don't know much about Gwang Ju, though. How does it compare to Seoul or Busan? Is there alot to do there, strong expat scene, etc?
Things I would be looking to do in Korea on the side are start a band and join some kind of sports club/team, I'm sure starting a band won't be hard but how about sports?

Any info on the area would be appreciated, and if you lived there and can give your personal experience thatd be awesome

Thanks

[Smee]

Hi,
There have been a decent number of posts on Gwangju, and i was going to tell you to do a search. Then I searched for Gwangju and realized that, as some people have Gwangju in their username, there are 1,300 + matches. (We really should prohibit people from putting locations as their ID).

Anyway, two earlier threads are here:
http://forums.eslcafe.com/korea/viewtopic.php?t=94696&highlight=Gwangju

http://forums.eslcafe.com/korea/viewtopic.php?t=87024&highlight=Gwangju

I don't live in Gwangju, but I'm in the neighborhood and have been there countless times. It'a a good city. Pretty comparable to other cities in Korea (except Seoul). There are a few nice parks, several movie theaters, department stores, and some good restaurants. There's a subway---which is being expanded---an airport, and the KTX, the high-speed train. The Gwangju International Center organizes talks and field trips to other parts of the region. It's in the middle of Jeollanam-do, a very scenic region with lots of stuff to do (temples, islands, hiking, beaches, etc).

I don't know if the expat scene is strong or not, as I don't really participate, but the International Center seems pretty busy. They do trips, as I said, and have an English-language magazine and a book exchange. There are a few foreigner-friendly bars. The one is sort of owned by a white guy (I'd assume his Korean significant other is the actual owner), and he also runs an imported-foods store. There's another poster on Dave's who organized a soccer team. As for other sports, I don't know. There is a big Gwangju group on Facebook, and I'm sure you'd have no problems getting groups together. As for music, it seems like 1/2 of teachers here make an effort to be singer-songwriters---it's awful. You'll have no problems meeting other musicians. Mike and Dave's Speakeasy---the bar sort of owned by a white guy---has live music from foreigner bands all the time, so you could probably arrange something.

Some people complain about Gwangju, saying it's too small, it's boring, or that you have to make your own fun. I find those people maladjusted and cranky. I'll let others weigh in, though.

There's some more information and pictures here: http://wiki.galbijim.com/Gwangju

p.s. Just be sure you're taking the job in Gwangju, the city down south, and not Gwangju, a part of town outside of Seoul. Big difference.

[julian_w]

Haa.

What Smee said.

[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 Equation: 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!

[Milwaukiedave]

Cohiba,

Incheon isn't THAT bad. I lived there for year. It's interesting to hear people slame the city. It really depends on your lifestyle. If you like to go out and get *bleeped* up on the weekend and chase woman, then live in Seoul. Personally I'm married and don't do that anymore. We still made it into Seoul once a week on average.

The thing about the bigger cities, more people, harder to get around, more pollution. If there is anyone thing I'd say about Incheon the pollution can get bad depending on where you live (I wasn't close to any of the big factories thankgod).

[Milwaukiedave]

FD,

I've never been to Gwangju, but am moving there myself in about three weeks. I was in Korea for 3 1/2 years previous to coming back home for four months. If you end up there, I'll buy you a beer and we can try to find some good hangout places.

There is a Yahoo Group for people who live there which I joined. If you are interested, send me a PM and I'll make sure to point you in the right direction.

I've exchanged a few emails with people who have been there for 5 years or more and are perfectly happy there. I'm excited to learn my way around and hopefully learn the language more when I come back.

[Smee]

Cohiba, you basically copy and paste that message anytime somebody asks a question about an area outside of Seoul. There's more to Korea than cowboy boots, sherry, and cuban cigars.

[as-ian]

[pest2]

They had a massacre there and a bunch of people got killed....

[Cohiba]

OK, I throw down the gauntlet to you brilliant mighty whities.

I will never post my rule again if you can tell me where to get
the following basic ingredients for lasagne (outside of Seoul, that
is):


1/2 lb dry lasagna noodles (requires 9 lasagna noodles - unbroken)
1 lb Ricotta cheese
3/4 lb freshly grated parmesan cheese
Italian Spice
Garlic Salt
Parsley diced (fresh flat leaf preferred)
White wine vinegar

These are simple, globally available, ingredients for lasagne.
Tell me exactly where you can get these things outside of Seoul
and not via the net.

PS: Have fun suckers
PPS: I won't read your replies for a while, I'm on my way to
Seoul for some Greek food.

[Paddycakes]

Okay, the Gwang...

Lived there are a few years...

Big city with well over a million people (several million?) but it feels like a Canadian city with a population of around 200 to 300,000.

It's much more "Korean" than Seoul. It's not very international.

Air is said to be cleaner.

It has kind of a run down look to it.

Never had any racial attacks or anything other than a couple very minor incidents. But then again I'm not into the 3am bar scene, and never was.

[jaganath69]

[Smee]

There's a Costco in Daejeon. That's the nearest one. You can buy turkeys there for Thanksgiving and Christmas. If you have an oven, you can bake them. I guess you can buy various spices there, too. I dunno, I had no problem finding a variety of spices at my neighborhood "Farmer's Market."

If you want cuban cigars, Greek food, cowboy boots, darts, a Mario Lemieux O-Pee-Chee Rookie Card, a bag of M&Ms with the blue ones removed, a pair of size 18 shoes, sherry, or other things like that, go to Seoul. Or better yet, stay home. Some people like Gwangju, some people don't, but I get sick of having to defend PlacesthatarentSeoul from people too hung up on their own cultural trappings to notice that there's more to Korea than limes, pasta, or cheese. Fat, drunk, and stupid is no way to go through Korea.

OP, you can PM me or others if you have any more specifics. If you have facebook, check out the facebook group for Gwangju, and also consider that Yahoo group, too.

[icicle]

[genezorm]