Korean Job Discussion Forums

[NewTeachCand]

Hi! This is my first post on Dave's - I'm looking for more information on Changwon. I have done a search of the forums and gone back through old posts, which has given me some great info and pointed me to other resources (like O'Briens' website). However I was hoping to get some more recent information, or just some new perspectives from people who have lived and worked there or live and work there now.

I've been looking into teaching ESL in Korea for over a year now, and recently applied after a friend of mine had a great experience in Busan. When I applied to the same company I was offered a job in Changwon. Obviously, Changwon is a much different city than Busan. I am wondering (hoping really) that I might like Changwon, as I am partial to the job I was offered there.

Background on me: I am a 24 year old male, who has lived in Montreal and Boston for most of the past 6 years. I really enjoyed living in those cities (especially Montreal), though I am not expecting the same kind of urban environment in Changwon (obvious with pop difference alone). I enjoy going to bars, socializing, partying on the weekends etc.: all the standard things a normal young man would enjoy.

My questions are:
Are there many expats in my age group living and teaching in Changwon?
Is there enough to do in the city that the nightlife doesnt become repititious and boring after a year?
Do people frequently go into Busan on the weekends?

I am hoping to get more information to decide whether to accept this job straight away, or to go back to the company requesting a position in Busan. Any help is greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!

[NewTeachCand]

Reading what I just wrote I realize that I come off as the kind of ESL teacher that frequently attract contempt on this board: someone going to Korea to party etc. rather than teach and learn about Korean culture.

Just wanted to clarify that this is not the case - I am going to Korea first and foremost to work, and I consider the job more important than my social life or the nightlife of wherever I am. Also, one of the chief reasons I chose Korea is because of my experiences with Korean friends and Korean culture (alright mostly food) while living in Montreal.

However, a year is a long time and I just want to get as good a sense I can of what I am getting myself into. Obviously it's impossible to make a truly well informed decision while sitting in the states, but any information is appreciated.

So with all that: accept the offer in Changwon, or go back and request placement in Busan?

Thanks!!

[runthegauntlet]

I spent a year in Changwon and enjoyed it.

There's a good make up of expats. You should find a good range of age groups, though those that go out the most may skew that perception.

It's easy to get to Busan and people do that quite frequently.Travel times aren't too bad. You can catch a direct bus from Changwon to Haeundae beach in Busan in an hour and change or you can take a bus to Sasang in Busan in ~45 minutes. It's also relatively easy to get to Seoul so you can even do that, a bit over 4 hours if no rush hour.

Anyway, doing the same thing in any city for a year would get pretty boring, but there should be enough to do both in and around Changwon to keep you fairly well occupied if you look for it.

[shifter2009]

[Rin_22]

Hey I'm moving to Changwon as well in a couple weeks. I also had the same thoughts and concerns you had. (Smaller city, may get boring) My roommate from university is actually over there as well in Changwon (5 months now) and is having a great time. He says it's big enough not to get bored, and travelling to Busan and Daegu is no problem so that's always an option on the weekend. Also, the foreign community there is pretty strong from what my roommate says so I'm happy to go. Though I did try to back out and go for a larger city such as Daegu or Busan, but my lack of experience (no TEFL certificate), and non-caucasion background kinda hinders me from the largest cities, at least that's what I heard from my recruiter haha.

From what I hear about Changwon, it's got a lot of nice parks and areas which seems pretty cool, maybe biking around the city to get where you need to is a possibility.

But if you lived in Montreal (I'm 22 from Toronto), maybe you'd like the big city feel such as Daegu or Busan (more nightlife, international restaurants etc.) But remember I haven't even been to Korea yet so my opinion is hearsay from research, forum boards, and my friend who's in Changwon.

Good luck with your search and let me know if you make it to Changwon!

[NewTeachCand]

Thanks to all for the helpful replies. Still waiting to hear if it might be possible to get a placement in Busan, from talking to some friends of mine over there I feel like its worth holding out for, at least for me. Great to hear though that there is a lot to do in Changwon, and a good ex-pat community would certainly be a plus for getting settled in a new country.
Rin I will definitely let you know if I do end up over in Changwon. When do you leave?

[SanchoPanza]

This dude summed it up nicely:

Remember "Cohiba's Rule" (Now better than ever!):

Think twice before you live outside of Seoul. "In Seoul" and
"outside of Seoul" are like two different countries. Seoul
is an interesting place with variety and venues for most
tastes. Outside of Seoul you will find a homogeneous Korean
culture. I don't mean this in a bad way, but you will never
find things like: French, Greek, Indian or any other ethnic
foods. Markets that sell sherry, pate, pastrami, ricotta cheese.
Specialty shops that sell Cuban cigars, European pies, cold
cuts or rye breads. Just to name a few things. Also clubs such
as photography, drama, public speaking, sailing are 99% in
the capital city. If you want to experiment with a very Korean
culture, which unfortunately means "closed", then choose the
countryside. If you want to make money and have the lifestyle
choices similar to a western country, then there is no other
choice than Seoul.

The FFF RULE: FFF=Fun For Foreigners.

If FFF in Seoul = 100, then FFF decreases at
1/distance. So 2km from Seoul FFF=1/2(100)=50;
10km from Seoul FFF=1/10(100)=10. This rule is
a rule for nightlife, food and foreign products only.
Nature etc. is on a different scale altogether.

This means you will be wasting a lot of time commuting
to Seoul. This is especially a drag if you have been
boozing on a Friday night and there are no buses or
trains.

I, unfortunately, live near Seoul where the FFF factor
is almost in the negative range. I know!

[Rin_22]

[runthegauntlet]

[LCaitlin88]

I'm not exactly finding anything recent about Changwon. Everything is at least a year old and I was wondering if anyone that commented on here before is still in Changwon.

I've accepted a position there and should be arriving in a couple of weeks. Just waiting on my visa confirmation number. And I thought it would be nice to find out anything about the city.

Really, anything would be useful. I know about O'Briens and that there are lots of parks there, but that's pretty much it.

Thanks!

[BigBuds]

Just come on down to O'Briens on a weekend and meet some of the local expats who will be able to tell you all about it.l

There are a lot of long term expats here. I've been here for 10 years now. A lot of the long term expats play in the poker tournies on Thursday, Friday (at International Pub better known as IP. The original foreigner bar of Changwon), and Saturday nights (Now also at IP).

IP is just down the road from O'Briens.

Austin, the owner of O'Briens, is a great guy also who can help you out a lot.

[Skipperoo]

I've been living in Changwon for about 7 months now. It's a good city - very safe, friendly and has all the conveniences of a city in terms of shopping and whatnot.
There's not a huge amount to do in the city itself in terms of cultural sites, but as you say there are a lot of parks and if you enjoy hiking then you're in luck because the city is surrounded by some wonderful (but manageable) mountains. There's also a great expat community who keep active and organise a lot of stuff you can get involved with. Plus larger, older cities like Daegu, Busan and Jinju are only about an hour away and there's a KTX train station that can get you to Seoul in a couple of hours.

Is there anything specific you'd like to know? I'll do my best to answer any questions.

[runthegauntlet]

[happiness]

Its a year old because I left. I loved Masan and Changwon. Busan every weekend.

If you look, theres a foreigners guide to living in masan . i did that ages ago, the info is still relevant i think....

[whatisinmyhead]

changwon is great. fantastic group of expats (o'briens is wonderful... just don't go there every single weekend...). lots of green (parks, tree lined streets, good hiking, etc). best bicycle paths in all of korea. above poster said "busan every weekend"... well, in terms of it being easily accessible, it's true that you could go to busan every weekend. but i've had no reason to, and i can't really think of any aside from night clubs. i feel very lucky to have landed here.

then again, ive never been too impressed with seoul, and as many foreigners here seem to view seoul as the end all be all, then you might take my comments with a grain of salt. suppose it just depends what youre looking for.