Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Atramentous]

Can anyone tell me what to expect? What is the area like?

[stayfocused]

seems like there's more places to drink etc there than many of the secondary places in seoul. there's a huge nightclub there filled with super young girls like 18 to 22 which might be tough to get into if you're white but if you do, oh damn it's on.

in the daytime most of the foreigners i saw were indian looking.

imo if you live right in that area it doesn't suck... if you can't get a place in seoul. or if you don't want to cuz seoul is overcrowded / dirty / expensive whatever.

[Atramentous]

Thanks Stayfocused.

As much as a club full of very young Korean women sounds, I am not sure that it is my scene as I am a white woman.

How about somewhere to go shoot some pool and have a drink instead?

However, it is nice to know that there is a nightlife of some sorts.

[Epicurus]

Jungang is the center of nightlife/activity/shopping. etc in Ansan. You can find Western food, etc if you need, the area is always crowded, has a decent vibe to it.

not a bad place to be, though Seoul is a little under 1.5 hours away by subway which is still pretty damn far, especially for going out on a weekend, with no transportation options except expensive taxi between midnight and 5:30 am.

[myeo]

I'm actually going to Ansan as well for my first teaching job in Korea. It's a relief to know it isn't too dull.

[Epicurus]

just remember Ansan is a fairly big place. You'll be fine if you're by one of the subway stations (I think there are 4, maybe 5) but if you're in a paddy having to take a bus to get to the subway station I feel for you.

[myeo]

I'm not too worried. I figured since Ansan is connected to Seoul via subway it shouldn't be too bad (does it really take 1.5 hours to get to Seoul from Ansan?!).

I took the job because it sounds great and didn't appear to be too close to any dirt roads.

[Epicurus]

[stayfocused]

[Epicurus]

yes depends on what part of Seoul.

also depends on whether one starts at say Ansan Station or Jungang or Hanyang Uni at Ansan station.

from Jungang it'll be about 75 mins to Hongdae for e.g.

[jahson4]

Jungang is an alright place. There's always a horde of youngsters streamlining the streets at night. There's a few nice places to eat and drink there, but nothing really out of the ordinary. Ansan station has a crap ton of foreigners and a great selection of foreign restaurants.

Yeah, it can take 90 minutes or so to get to certain parts of Seoul, but it's a straight shot to Seoul Sation, so the ride isn't that bad.

Overall, I like Ansan. It's not too crowded or quiet, right in the middle. It has everything you need, aside from: grits, mashed potatoes and gravy, country fried steak, black eyed peas, etc.

[Jammer113]

Ansan is a pretty nice city. I've heard Koreans describe it as an "American City" in that things are a bit more spread out, there's wider roads, and it can be a pain in the butt to walk places. It's also known as a 'foreigner's city' in that there's lots of foreigners. Most of them are southeast asians working in factories. It isn't unusual to hear chinese spoken on the bus. There's a chinatown area, but I haven't gone there enough to talk about it.

It's a generally clean and quiet where I live. In the downtown area "Jungang" it's usually busy, especially on the weekends. There's tons of bars, a department store, an outlet store, karaoke rooms, a few movie theatres... one inside Jungang and a couple within walking distance, numerous Korean resaurants, a few american restaurants including Outback Steakhouse, TGIF, Pizza Hut, and McDonalds.

I'm not sure about pool. Koreans like to play a different game of pool involving four balls and no pockets. You'll find lots of pool halls, but I'm not sure you'll find pool tables inside of bars. I personally have never seen it, but I'm not really a bar goer. There's places westerners frequent, but you'll have to find that out from someone else.

Ansan feels like it's a planned city. Moreso than other cities in Korea, there's identifyable (sp?) city blocks, and space made for parks and such. There's nice parks, and there's nice trails for hiking.

From just the subway to the border of Seoul would take less than 90 minutes. But when I took language classes in Gangnam, southern Seoul, it was almost exactly 90 minutes from my door to the door of the institute. That was with walking perhaps 10 to 15 minutes to the subway station. I could get there faster by taking the express bus, but I was always nervous about missing my stop (and buses make me car sick).

As far as I know, only subway line #4 goes through Ansan. You could look on a subway map online and see how far it is to get to any individual place. A good rule of thumb is 3 minutes per subway stop.

I've never felt in any way in danger living in Ansan. I have no problems going out at any time of day or night, and I have no problem with my wife being out alone at any time of day or night. As long as you keep your nose out of trouble, Korea is a very safe place.

[Epicurus]

[jamjam]

I live in Ansan. i have only been here for a week and would love to meet any foreigner (male/female) just to hang out or check out the Ansan scene. Anyone?

[Epicurus]