Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Rae]

Help! Of the following rural towns, which would you pick and why? Thank you very much!

Suncheon in Jeonnam
Area: 907.21 km� (350 sq mi)
Population: 270,270
Population density: 298/km� (772/sq mi)

Yeosu in Jeonnam
Area: 498.1 km� (192 sq mi)
Population: 320,570
Population density: 650/km� (1,683/sq mi)

Jinju in South Gyeongsang
Area: 712.8 km� (275 sq mi)
Population: 339,943 [1]
Population density: 476.9/km� (1,235/sq mi)

[VanIslander]

My rural town is close to all three of those small cities.

I like all of them.

Jinju has by far the best location. Hands down. Close to Busan, close to Namhae, Tongyeong, Geoje, Changwon, Jiri, not that far from Daegu, Gyeongju...

Yeosu is the nicest in and of itself. But it is also the farthest from anywhere else.

Suncheon is surprisingly cool, with nice foreigners, active foreigner bars given the size of the town, really remarkable, not too far from Gwangju for big city jaunts.

[MissT]

Suncheon is very comfortable for foreigners.
There are several good places to buy western products, such as, Emart, Homeplus(Tesco), and Homever.
There is also an Outback Steakhouse, a McDonald's, two Pizza Huts, two Dunkin Dougnuts, and other assorted fast food type restraunts.
There is a large mountain in the center of town that you can climb if you like that sort of thing. There are also miles and miles of walking paths along the river that runs through the center of the town.
Everything is pretty close, unlike Yeosu, where the city is really spread out making it hard to get around.
I think Suncheon is great.
P.M. me for more info.

[waynehead]

Yeosu is probably the most scenic, but it is the least accessible.

[Scotticus]

Why is there no "don't teach in a rural area" option? Seriously, you're asking for trouble.

[Rae]

Wow its a tie! Anyone else please vote, I have to chose soon.

(I know I'm probably asking for trouble being out in the sticks, but I don't like big cities and always been curious about life in a small town.)

Thanks for the replies so far, please keep then coming ^^

[ajgeddes]

Suncheon and Yeosu are right beside each other. The airport is even called the Yeosu/Suncheon airport, so either one won't make a huge difference. Suncheon seemed more "city like" but Yeosu is right on the coast.

[ashke516]

I lived in Suncheon my first year in Korea... I liked it well enough and the foreigner community is pretty friendly, but I prefer where I am at now. Though I haven't lived there in almost three years, I still go back occassionally to visit friends... going to Suncheon again this weekend for a Halloween party!

[Milwaukiedave]

I chose Jinju as I lived there for four months while I was working on a TESOL certificate at GSNU. It was a nice place to live.

[OiGirl]

Suncheon is awesome!

Great discount shopping and delicious food, and very easy to get to Gwangju if there's something else you need.

Treated me very well at the hospital there, too.

[crazy_arcade]

I'd choose Jinju.

That's only because I I'm not a big fan of Jeollanam do.

Also, my favourite "rural" city...ie. anything not Seoul (to Koreans) or Busan (to foreigners) is Jeonju. I know it's not on the list...I just like it.

[Smee]

I voted Suncheon, and it's interesting to see all the Jeonnam people coming out from under their rocks here.

By the way, Suncheon, Yeosu, and Gwangyang are planning to merge in 2010. Even if you like Yeosu, it might be a better idea to go to Suncheon b/c of more convenient shopping and eating, and because the transportation both around and out of the city is much better.

[Rae]

I love you all for responding! I have sent emails to their respective agencies and decided on Seoul! I'm kidding! =D I'm just very excited about all this and was informed that I will be getting my acceptance letter in the mail soon ^^

Your responses helped me so much in my decision! *bestows good karma on you all for the rest of the week* Hehhe