Korean Job Discussion Forums

Darkness · Joined: 12 Oct 2006

What are some good cities in Gangwon province. Looking for a town that has a fairly big foreigner population. Hoping for a town of around of a million or so people, nothing too big, but nothing to rural and lonely...

Thanks!!

the_beaver · Joined: 15 Jan 2003

Nothing with a million people there.

Off the top of my head I'd say that the biggest towns would be Sok'cho and Kangnung (maybe Taebaek and Wonju).

Thiuda · Posted: Thu Jan 03, 2008 5:01 pm Post subject:

The Beaver is right, there are no cities with a population of a million in Gangwondo. The largest cities are Wonju, Chunchon and Sokcho. Wonju the largest city has a population of a little over 300.000 and is an hour and a half away from Seoul, Kangnam station.

reactionary · Joined: 22 Oct 2006 Location: korreia

sokcho's a beach town, so at least it will feel like a bigger city in the summer with all the visitors.

RACETRAITOR · Joined: 24 Oct 2005 Location: Seoul, South Korea

Nice scenery there but if you're one of those foreigners who needs to be around other foreigners, you'll either go crazy or spend every weekend in Seoul.

kimchi_pizza · Posted: Thu Jan 03, 2008 5:29 pm Post subject:

Not in Gangwondo. I live in a thatched roof dwelling and have access to the internet because I ran the line from Seoul myself. Children point and shout, "Waigookin!" and I'm the one that gets excited and shouts, "Where?! Where?!".

just because · Joined: 01 Aug 2003 Location: Changwon - 4964

gangwondo is basically countryside..

the only major places of note are..
*Wonju
*chuncheon
*Sokcho
*gangnueng

However if you love the countryside it would be great....

daz1979 · Joined: 29 Apr 2006 Location: Gangwon-Do

Gangneung is the best place I.M.O. The foreigners there get together regularly and seem a nice bunch.

Surely Gangneung has more than 300,000. Donghae has 300,000 and that's a really small/quiet city compared to Gangneung.

bucheon bum · Joined: 16 Jan 2003

want a city with over a million people? in gangwon-do? Laughing

No city there even has 500,000 people.

I thought Chuncheon was the nicest city in the province.

PhD · Joined: 15 May 2007

Lots of foreigners on the coast. Gangneung and Sokcho are about 40 minutes apart. You can find pretty much anything you need there. Also, the foreigners are really laid back group.

Chuncheon and Wonju are less laid back, more like little baby versions of Seoul. A bit "cold" in the personal sense.

All other areas are small by comparison.

nicholas_chiasson · Joined: 14 Jun 2007 Location: Samcheok

Taebaek has an interesting scenic/winter sport/Silent Hill vibe going on.

Thiuda · Posted: Fri Jan 04, 2008 5:28 am Post subject:

These two links will provide you with info about Gangwon-do (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gangwon-do_%28South_Korea%29) and Wonju (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wonju), where I live. I would recommend Gangwon-do if you enjoy hiking, biking, skiing and fishing, but not so much if you need to be with other people at all times. My two favourite towns are Wonju, because of Chiak-san Nat'l Park, and Sokcho, due to its proximity to Sorak-san and the sea, though Gangneun is very nice as well - great beaches.

BRawk · Joined: 14 Oct 2007

I live in Gangneung and really enjoy it. The reasons I enjoy it are that I love the countryside, the beach and skiing.

But I agree that if you are after a large foreigner community, availablilty of the products you would get in a large urban area or even a decent movie theater, this isn't the town for you.

Here are the population listings of major Gangwondo urban centers according to the 2005 census:

Gangwon-do (Kangwŏn-do) 1,464,559

Chuncheon (Ch'unch'ŏn) 206,888
Donghae (Tonghae) 93,018
Gangneung (Kangnŭng) 167,147
Hongcheon (Hongch'ŏn 33,971
Jumunjin (Chumunjin) 20,770
Samcheok (Samch'ŏk) 39,684
Sokcho (Sŏkch'o) 84,706
Taebaek (T'aebaek) 55,241
Wonju (Wŏnju) 224,651

So we got:
1)Wonju
2)Chuncheon
3)Gangneung

Darkness · Joined: 12 Oct 2006

Anyone know the foreign population of these towns?

AliNZ · Joined: 11 Feb 2003

I lived in Donghae in 2002-2003 and I loved it...but I was the only blond in town...population there about 100,000 but the town is split into 3 parts - so it felt smaller - there were less than 10 foreigners most of the time

id you need/want a bigger city - Ulsan is nice - I was there 2003-2004. I prefer a smaller town - it's esier to get around - I can walk right around the town, don't have to use buses or cabs to get around etc.\\
If youa re looking for nightlife or lots of shopping and like crowds... Daegu is OK or Seoul, but I wouldn't want to live in either of them.

Why do you want a 1 million plus popluation?