Korean Job Discussion Forums

[RedRob]

I was idly thinking about returning to Korea. Has anyone here had exp. working in this town ...looks pretty.
I have BA, BSc (Hons) 4 yrs exp in Seoul 6 months in a tiny town. Last job in Korea was at a medium grade uni.
Mrs RedRob 3 years exp. BA. (Hoggies/Kindy)
What opportunities are out there? Happy with a uni or public job. Mrs Happy with kindy or public. Probably wouldn't do hoggies again.
Into hiking and cycling , so Jinju looks prime. Distance from Busan not a prob. we made the most of the nightlife last time!!
Any advice welcomed, Thanks, RR

[R. S. Refugee]

Jinju is a wonderful place to hang out. I didn't have a bike but yeah, there are some good bike trails by the river. And some great hiking trails too.

I had some experience teaching at the national uni there but the onerous defamation of character laws in this country constrain me from giving you any honest feedback about that dae hak gyo. To be specific, you can be sued (or criminally charged) for saying bad things about individuals even if you can prove that the statements are true!!

There is a national uni of education there that I've met some teachers from who seemed happy.

And, of course, there are public schools.

Regarding night life, there are 3 pretty pleasant (not wild and crazy) places that are really remarkably good places no matter what country you're in.

1) Zia Rico. And Italian restaurant run by a pleasant Korean musician named Pak Ji Won. He's a very talented sax player. Live music there every week at least on Sat. night but probably some other nights too.

2) About a block away from Zia Rico's is another bar -- really pleasant place called Dawon -- that's sort of a hangout for the Korean artsy communiity in Jinju. Occassionally they have live music. Very, very attractive and appealing place.

3) Near GSNU -- 4 or 5 km. from those places -- there's a world class bar called the Sound Garden. It's owned and run by the most artisitic bar owner I've ever met -- Lee In-Il. Too much trouble to try to discribe this place and I couldn't begin to do it justice. So, I'll just say, pretty much any person with taste, curioisity, and artistic sensibilities would love this place.

So, to sum it up, I'm living near Seoul and want to get into central Seoul on my next job. But, my second choice would be Jinju. And, if it weren't for some particular professional aspirations that I may or may not succeed at in Seoul, Jinju would be my first choice. Really, in MHO, it's that good.

Cheers.
PS. I still go down to visit these places whenever I have a little time off.

[RedRob]

Wicked, Thanks R.S.

[retrogress]

Last week a Korean university student told me she liked Jinju over Kyeongju. Kyeongju is pretty awesome, so Jinju must be nice. But, like I said, this was a suggestion from a Korean person about traveling in Korea, so Jinju could suck.

[R. S. Refugee]

Oh, it just occurred to me. A pic is worth a thousand words or something like that.

Here are some photo series that feature 2 of those 3 bars I mentioned in Jinju. Well, mostly just one of them, Dawon. Unfortunately, the incomparable Sound Garden isn't included here.

Cheers.
http://pbase.com/commonsensenow

[D.D.]

I have a friend that lived there. Clean air, friendly people. But it's a very boring place- like watching paint dry. Those night spots mentioned before are dead. If you like a quiet life it's a good place but otherwise head to a bigger city.