Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Scottie Alan]

Does anyone know anything- ideally firsthand- about life in Cheongju? I don't care about quality of Western food or how many Walmart-type stores there are. What's it like?

[djswayde]

I live in Cheongju. Fun city in my opinion. Nowhere near as fun as Seoul, but it has its own charm. There are several foreigner bars (the best ones in the Chungdae area), and it has its own downtown where you can get things like clothing (there's a Uniqlo there as well!). Umm...a population of about 700,00 or so last time I checked so it's not big, but it's quaint. And there are a few Homepluses and there's a McDonald's and stuff so it's good. I prefer it to Seoul for living in, personally.

[Scottie Alan]

Thanks. Still deciding what to do if I get offered the job. Prowling the other posts it sounds like what I expect from a city of 700,000 in the middle of Korea. I'm kind of enamored with the idea of living in Seoul but this would be my 6th Asian city (1st Korean) to teach in so the novelty factor of Seoul will rub off sooner than later and probably shouldn't be what I base my next year on.

Cheers,

Scott

[djswayde]

[Bibbitybop]

I was in Cheongju at bar MJ once and a guy on stage was ranting about Cheongju with more pride than I've ever seen a foreigner rant for a Korean city. He was dogging all the people who go to Seoul for the weekend.

I'd never live anywhere in Korea but Seoul, yet I have had a lot of fun in Cheongju before. The foreign community is lively and knitted. Songrisan offers some good hiking and motorcycling, too.

[Scottie Alan]

Hey Bop,

Just curious as someone who's taught in huge and small cities in Asia but deciding where to live in Korea- why would you NEVER live anywhere but Seoul?

[wesharris]

CheongJu is nice enough .
There's plenty to do if you like cultural sites and such.
Two primary western bars, MJs and Road King. Both are ran by
Koreans. Foreign Population is probably around 200 or so. It's a more dustry city than usual. There's a bus to Seoul every hour on the hour. Local food's fairly good.
In terms of Seoul, some folks don't like Seoul. I wouldn't want to live there.
_+_+
Wes

[zeppelin]

Check out a video of the place

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WAoP47qerCo

[djswayde]

There are actually more foreigner bars than just MJ and Road King. Buzz is another, and so is Pearl Jam (now called the Bugle). There are more, but since I live near Chungdae (Chungbuk University, I go to these bars the most). I do occasionally go to Seoul on the weekends, but only when I feel like going to legit clubs (Cheongju's club scene is admittedly pretty lame) or when I feel like shopping for things not available in Cheongju (usually something specific). As wesharris said, the local food is pretty good and there's a fair bit of foreign food if you don't feel like Korean food (such as Riccone for Italian or Smoky Buns for pretty good burgers).

If I renew (which is a strong possibility), I'm not going to leave Cheongju. Seoul and Busan are WAY too crazy for me to live in (better for visiting occasionally). Cheongju has the perfect balance for me in terms of amount of people, urban vibe, and way of life.

[Bibbitybop]