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Olivencia
Joined: 08 Mar 2009
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 Posted: Mon Jun 29, 2009 7:05 pm Post subject: MOKPO - Need the skinny on it |
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Never been there but tell me about it.
- clean?
- humid summers cold winters?
- foreign community?
- Western restaurants?
- nearest largest city with some more action?
- swimmable beaches?
- nice people? chicks cool?
- gym? fitness centers? |
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Straphanger
Joined: 09 Oct 2008
Location: Chilgok, Korea
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| Posted: Mon Jun 29, 2009 7:08 pm Post subject: |
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Never have I ever traveled four hours on a train, got off the train, looked around, got back on the train, and left a city.
Until I went to Mokpo. It's probably the most unwelcoming, uninviting places I've ever been on the earth, and I lived in Houston. |
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Olivencia
Joined: 08 Mar 2009
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| Posted: Mon Jun 29, 2009 7:10 pm Post subject: |
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| Unwelcoming and uninviting? Wow sorry about that. What was so awful? People? Environment?...everything? |
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Olivencia
Joined: 08 Mar 2009
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| Posted: Mon Jun 29, 2009 7:11 pm Post subject: |
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| Unwelcoming and uninviting? Wow sorry about that. What was so awful? People? Environment?...everything? |
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Fishead soup
Joined: 24 Jun 2007
Location: Korea
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| Posted: Mon Jun 29, 2009 7:21 pm Post subject: |
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I was in Mokpo. It's basically a port city. From where I was there was no sandy beach just a harbour. There are two ferry terminals. One goes to the smaller nearby islands such as Hongdo Haksando. The other one goes to Jeju Island.
Mokpo is famous for many Sashimi Heo Restaurants. If you go into these places alone you are going to look really silly. They will be expecting you to be going in as a couple or a small group. If You do decide to go to one of these places alone they will either not serve you Or charge you for two.
If you are travelling with a Korean friend it should be pretty easy. If you are travelling with another foreiger you will be more accepted than if you are alone.
There is a rugged cliff many people go site seeing. Otherwise people just come here to take a ferry to nearby islands. If the water is rough they will cancel the ferry. Taking an overnight trip to Hongdo, or Haksando is well worth the trouble you will have to go early in the morning. Departure schedule depends on the weather. |
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Kurtz
Joined: 05 Jan 2007
Location: ples bilong me
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| Posted: Mon Jun 29, 2009 7:44 pm Post subject: Re: MOKPO - Need the skinny on it |
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| Olivencia wrote: |
Never been there but tell me about it.
- clean? Most of it apart from the old part near Yudalsan
- humid summers cold winters? humid summers and cold winters, but not as bad as Seoul - foreign community? Decent size with several shipping type people - Western restaurants? Two Italian places but I think Mokpo is getting more international and bigger and better every year. - nearest largest city with some more action? Gwangju an hour away by bus
- swimmable beaches? Not really but people tend to jump on a bus and go to a nice beach which I never actually went to - nice people? chicks cool? Girls in Mokpo are quite conservative and tend to stick with Korean guys. More luck in Gwangju - gym? fitness centers? |
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I lived there for a year. It's a better place for a visit than to live there as it's really quite provincial, and the people are quite backwards.
Couple of places to meet white faces is the New York Bar and the P Club. Not my cup of tea but that is where they hang out in the downtown area.
Mokpo has the best food in Korea by far from my experience, there are some cool islands to explore but I found my year there a bit dull. As I said though it's getting bigger, it's actually quite a nice city, there is a KTX stop to Seoul, and you can get your rocks off in Gwangju if need be. |
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Straphanger
Joined: 09 Oct 2008
Location: Chilgok, Korea
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| Posted: Mon Jun 29, 2009 8:11 pm Post subject: |
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| Olivencia wrote: |
| Unwelcoming and uninviting? Wow sorry about that. What was so awful? People? Environment?...everything? |
The whole look and feel of the place, the depression on the faces of the travelers. Like the other guy said, it's a port city. It was just so dirty and unfriendly. When I got here to Lake Wobegon, I walked into a Kimbap Cheonguk for my first meal and I was greeted warmly. People on the street smiled. They still do. I can still sit on the benches outside and eat a pizza and drink a beer and people will come by and chat or not, depending on how they feel. That's the Korea I'm used to. Mokpo ... felt like a bad part of Chicago...like Northwest Burbs. |
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summer33ny
Joined: 10 Aug 2006
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| Posted: Mon Jun 29, 2009 8:23 pm Post subject: |
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It's too bad the posts about Mokpo are so negative...
Mokpo is the closest "larger" city to our rural town. I love going there.
It is a mellow place, with no crowds (which is what I prefer). There are enough foreigners where you can spot at least a few out everyday, but there is not any real foreigner social scene (which I like because I feel like I am actually IN KOREA! I never understood why foreigners feel the need to surround themselves all the time with other foreigners.. )
Anyway, because Mokpo is a port city you will run into many foreigners from unusual places. Not the typical American/Canadian. You will meet Italians, Greeks, Indians, etc.. and fairly often.
Mokpo has a nice nightlife. Nothing wild or crazy though. There are some nice restaurants, cute boutique stores and the boardwalk. I really like Mokpo. I would live there easily. In fact, in the future I may consider it.
Maybe the other posters can't deal with not living in a big, crazy city.. but Mokpo is a great place if you are looking for a laid back place to live. |
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summer33ny
Joined: 10 Aug 2006
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| Posted: Mon Jun 29, 2009 8:26 pm Post subject: |
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It's too bad the posts about Mokpo are so negative...
Mokpo is the closest "larger" city to our rural town. I love going there.
It is a mellow place, with no crowds (which is what I prefer). There are enough foreigners where you can spot at least a few out everyday, but there is not any real foreigner social scene (which I like because I feel like I am actually IN KOREA! I never understood why foreigners feel the need to surround themselves all the time with other foreigners.. )
Anyway, because Mokpo is a port city you will run into many foreigners from unusual places. Not the typical American/Canadian. You will meet Italians, Greeks, Indians, etc.. and fairly often.
Mokpo has a nice nightlife. Nothing wild or crazy though. There are some nice restaurants, cute boutique stores and the boardwalk. I really like Mokpo. I would live there easily. In fact, in the future I may consider it.
Maybe the other posters can't deal with not living in a big, crazy city.. but Mokpo is a great place if you are looking for a laid back place to live. |
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Straphanger
Joined: 09 Oct 2008
Location: Chilgok, Korea
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| Posted: Mon Jun 29, 2009 8:47 pm Post subject: |
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| summer33ny wrote: |
| Maybe the other posters can't deal with not living in a big, crazy city.. but Mokpo is a great place if you are looking for a laid back place to live. |
Mokpo Station is bigger than my town. You can tell, if you've traveled, when people take pride in a city. I don't get that sense of pride from Mokpo. |
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Kurtz
Joined: 05 Jan 2007
Location: ples bilong me
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| Posted: Mon Jun 29, 2009 9:09 pm Post subject: |
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| Straphanger wrote: |
| summer33ny wrote: |
| Maybe the other posters can't deal with not living in a big, crazy city.. but Mokpo is a great place if you are looking for a laid back place to live. |
Mokpo Station is bigger than my town. You can tell, if you've traveled, when people take pride in a city. I don't get that sense of pride from Mokpo. |
I disagree. I think they love their city. They have tried to beautify parts of it like planting flowers near the tunnel near Yudalsan, the park area near the water in the Hadang area, and taking a stroll along the path near the water in the old part near Yudalsan is really nice. Also, the Koreans I knew there wouldn't dream of living anywhere but their precious Mokpo.
I've been just about all over Korea, and I'd say even though there is heavy industry which keeps Mokpo going, it is one of the nicer cities, along with Yeosu and Jinju. This is from living in Mokpo, not just breezing through it.
It does though have that regional feel to it that many people don't like, as it gives you a sense of isolation, and unless you speak Korean well, you kind of search for social interaction, which means other foreigners have to be found. I'm not hardcore, I don't want to go native and totally immerse myself in Korea. Just being in Korea is enough for me.
I found many of the international people quite scummy ship yard types, and the TESOLers quite cliquey, but that's just me.
In short, if you want a great social life, to frequently date K gals, and a happening place, don't live in Mokpo, but I knew some people who loved their time there. |
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meghanr83
Joined: 15 Jun 2009
Location: Korea
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| Posted: Tue Aug 11, 2009 10:44 pm Post subject: |
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Great information here,
I'm considering a contract in Mokpo with my boyfriend. We don't need a lot of entertainment, but some is nice.
Thanks everyone for the input!
What about shopping? For food, clothing, etc.
What is it like? |
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blurgalurgalurga
Joined: 18 Oct 2007
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| Posted: Wed Aug 12, 2009 5:00 am Post subject: |
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I passed through there last weekend, and it was okay. People seemed about normal. The city itself is ugly but there's some interesting geology along the coast, and some islands to go visit.
The shopping seemed pretty weak, but I'm used to larger cities, so probably you'd be able to get by with what they got and hit Gwangju once in a while to get your exotics.
The people seemed very friendly, once I got away from the bus station. I met a bunch of foreigner English teachers randomly and they seemed a relatively relaxed and happy bunch. I met some other foreigners too, Russians, and they were cool.
The Koreans I met were cool, except for a couple who didn't like me for no obvious reason, but you get people like that in every town. Maybe they didn't like me because I am white, or maybe it was my shirt. I dunno. Whatever. I didn't like them either, we agreed to disagree, and done.
It seemed ok. I'm not itching to go back, but if you're self-contained it should be a decent enough place to spend a year. It ain't that far from Gwangju, and Seoul is a 4 hour ride on the train, and you can take boats to islands. |
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Rory_Calhoun27
Joined: 14 Feb 2009
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| Posted: Wed Aug 12, 2009 5:23 am Post subject: |
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The streets and businesses I saw weren't plastered with endless signs in English which was a bit refreshing, actually... sort of the more "authentic" Korea one would expect on the other side of the world.
Which of course doubled my resolve to learn more Korean. Maybe that's what I took from it more than anything. |
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meghanr83
Joined: 15 Jun 2009
Location: Korea
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| Posted: Wed Aug 12, 2009 10:28 am Post subject: |
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| I'm starting to get excited about taking boats to the islands for weekend getaways. How is lodging on these islands??? Are there various islands to choose from??? |
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