Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Alias]

Hi,

Pretty straight forward thread. I might be taking a job in Daejon and was looking for information about the city from somone who lives there or is familiar with the city. All I know is that it is about 2 hrs south of Seoul by express bus. Maybe about the same from the south coast.

Any info would be beneficial. -Thanks

[katydid]

I don't know much about it, but I do know Corvid lives there. Try PM-ing him.

[Mashimaro]

Here are some pros & cons gleaned from my time in Daejon:

pros:
- In the centre of Korea, only 2-3 hours to almost anywhere including Seoul (2 hours).
- Not too crowded (compared to Seoul, Pusan)
- Cheaper than Seoul
- There are a few moutains around if you're into hiking
- They tell me many western foods are available (different cheeses etc. I never really sought them out)

cons:
- Not particularly attractive city (not alone in this regard)
- No good English bookstores (but there is always amazon.com etc.)
- Not many 'western' style bars & even less night clubs (none as far as I know)
- Not a great sense of 'community' among foreigners and I found little in the way of organised sports / entertainment for foreigners.

pro/con
-not that many foreigners... you are often treated very well if you are a foreigner, the downside you get stared at a lot.

I lived in Daejon for the duration of my time in Korea.. Someone who has lived in different places would no doubt give you a better perspective.

feel free to PM me with any questions,
Cheers

[IconsFanatic]

Daejeon's the sixth most populated city in Korea.

They have the best attended football (soccer) club in Korea - the Daejeon Citizen, who play in an AMAZING football-specific World Cup Stadium.

I've heard it's as flat as a pancake.

[buddy bradley]

What about Buyeo? Anyone know anything about this place?

[kumuka]

Hi,
I've lived here in Daejon for about 2 years. I find it a fairly quiet city compared to Seoul or course but with lots to do. Hiking, restaurants and the bars are not bad. The people here are alot less stressed out as well.

Im at a Uni, so I have alot of time after classes for hiking.I find the women here more friendly and its easy and less expensive to use the numerous taxis.Also most of the other major cities are only 2 hours away by bus or train.

Good luck.

[visviva]

There seems to be a fairly western nightlife district behind the Daejeon express bus terminal. One of the hotels has signs in Korean, English and Russian -- must be a sign of something or other.

Buyeo is full of fantastic stuff, but the nightlife and the foreigner community are both negligible. (That's my impression, having visited a couple times -- maybe I missed the foreigner district). I'd love to live there, but most folks wouldn't. It's quite a long way from anywhere.

[Ya-ta Boy]

Taejon is a pretty decent place to live, especially the northern part of the city. It's not an industrial city, so the air isn't too bad. The Taedok/Yusong part has lots of relatively open spaces, so there's an unusual amount of grass and trees. The street along Kap-chon (the stream that flows in front of KAIST/Koong Dong/Choong-nam Nat'l Univ.) is great in the spring with all the flowers in bloom. You can walk all the way downtown along the stream (or ride your bike).

Santa Claus (under the only Lotteria) in Koong-dong used to be a favorite bar for foreigners. The owner didn't speak much English but had a terrific collection of rock and roll records. (Yes, records.) Watermelon Sugar downtown was also popular. The ajumma who ran the Chun-chon Dak-gal-bi restaurant was also friendly and would let foreigners who ate alone order bok-um-bop.

You could do a lot worse than Taejon. But if your hogwon director turns out to be a very skinny guy who blinks a lot and is named Lee, I would recommend that you run as fast as you can in the opposite direction.

[Plastic B]

Daejeon - the new accepted Romanised spelling of Taejon - rocks! I personally find it a cool place to live, I've been here for four months and it beats the hell out of Seoul, mainly because it is clean, quiet and friendly. It is also about the most affluent city in Korea, being the home to Korea's answer to Silicon Valley and the science centre of the Republic.

There are numerous places within easy striking distance, as it is located almost halfway between Seoul and Busan, and equidistant to Gwangju, another interesting city. The public transport system in Korea is so good that from here to almost anywhere in SK will take you less than three hours.

I have found it a beautful place to live. Admittedly I have been very lucky in that I live in one of the best suburbs ~ 'dong' in Korean, close to the edge of town with a river two blocks away and mountains just beyond that.

There are numerous things to do and activities to keep you entertained, and despite the fact that some people seem to think Daejeon is a little dull, I imagine it is those people themselves are a little dull. I've been doing my bit to organise some (ahem) cultural activities here by organising a spoken word performance night you can see more of at www.daejeonweb.com

Daejeon has so many advantages over most other cities in Korea that it is hard to list them all...

[Alias]

Thank you very much for all the positive responses. I don't mind being stared at so it isn't a problem. Happy that there are plenty of hiking trails around. It will be my first time working outside of Seoul but I am now looking forward to it.

[panthermodern]

If they ever finish the TGV it will be approx. 45 min from Deajon to Seoul.

Deajon is my favorite non-Seoul city in Korea.

[Seoultrader]

Ahhhhh...the memories. I worked for 1993 Taejon World Expo. Three months of pure debauchery, nightly. Thousands of hot and horny women from Seoul flocked there to work as Expo guides, leaving behind their naive boyfriends and hubbies. Ahhhhh.......Sexpo 93....how I miss thee.

Panthernmodern - interestingly, it was during that same Expo that the TGV was chosen (over Siemens' ICE) as Korea's high-speed train.