Korean Job Discussion Forums

Been There, Taught That · Posted: Wed Aug 20, 2008 5:24 pm Post subject: SIS Institute in Hwaseong

There is a private school in Hwaseong, named above, which has taken a more than passing interest in me and is agreeing to all my terms. That means my family and I have until mid-October, like we wanted, to get there, and will be allowed a two-bedroom apartment, 2.3M, all that stuff.

1. I know nothing about Hwaseong, except that it hugs starboard as Korea heads out to sea, and population is about 800,000 (Koreans), according to the city website. Is it bustling, sleep-inducing, interestingly vibrant, due for a Tsunami, what? Anyone with city information, including what Westerners usually do and how many are there to do it would be helpful.

2. But about SIS. Is it the same place and atmosphere as outlined in this (admittedly two-year-old) thread from another website? http://www.rjkoehler.com/2006/06/30/discussion-euro-american-war-over-yongsan-foreign-school. Again, anyone with direct experience about what to expect and how the experience was, has been or and/or is, please weigh in.

If it is the same, I'm reading here that the 'foreignness' aspect of the decision about which students to admit to this kind of school is huge to a huge degree for Korean educators and quite problematic for expats. Does that make it a more exciting environment to work in, or more stressful, etc. Beyond that, is the school connected enough to be reliable about payment, housing, etc?

Thanks for any help and opinions.

Here are two points of the contract:

TheUrbanMyth · Joined: 28 Jan 2003 Location: Retired

Otherside · Joined: 06 Sep 2007

The population of Hwaseong seems a little high, I thought it was about 450,000. Anyways. Hwaseong is a REALLY big area, about 600km sq.

The parts around Dongtan and Byeongjeom are very much urban, Byeongjeom is a bit of an also-ran area and Dongtan is a "new" City. (i guess 400,000 must have moved in since i last saw the stats Wink

) And its not too bad, its changed quite a bit since I worked there, but it has all the amenities one needs and is about an hour from Seoul.

The rest of Hwaseong is very very much rural.

What do foriegners usually do? The either go to a pretty average bar in Dongtan or Byeongjeom...or they go to Suwon or Seoul. There's a cinema in Byeongjeom (with big seats!) and I believe they've almost finished building one in Dongtan.

Moral of the story...find out exactly where your school is.

PS. Hwaseong is famous for Korea's most well known serial killer. He was never caught. Don't wear red when its raining!!