Korean Job Discussion Forums

[aweitzm1]

I am looking into teaching in Korea and am trying to narrow down the location I want to live.

I have looked at Seoul, Incheon, and Deagu.

Seoul looks huge and I am not sure exactly where in Seoul I should look.

Incheon caught my attention because it is easily accessible to Seoul and cheaper cost of living.

Deagu seems okay but I am not sure it is for me as I have read it is very conservative and not much to do there.

I would appreciate any feedback about the locations and where each city is the best place to live.

Thanks in advance

[DorkothyParker]

Incheon is... fine. Bucheon is better. I think any medium-sized satellite city in Gyeonggi-do is relatively similar in terms of quality. I can't say with experience, though.

As always, for obvious reasons, I recommend Bucheon. Just check the subway map when you start doing interviews so you know the TRUE distance from Seoul.

[Globutron]

Again, Depends what you want.

Places like Anyang, Suwon are everything you will need, and within about 7 seconds from Seoul should you need something even more unusual, or just want to hang out.

Itaewon is within seoul and is white man land - spot the Asian. But very tidy, open, almost as if walking around in America as far as the setup goes (not that i've been america)

Ansan I hear from my workpal who has been here for 6 years is a dump.

I'm in Anyang and loving it. I live IN a market. so everything I need is within a few minutes walk, and nights out are easy and cheap should I want a lively weekend.

That's all I know so far. But If you want more greenery etc, head for the hills.

[PatrickGHBusan]

Busan....all the way.

Beach, relatively big city with most of what you need, lower costs of living than Seoul...

Then again I am biased in favor of that city.

[Chambertin]

Take a look at where you came from in [your home country], where you enjoyed [to visit] and then pick a similar sized city.

If you dont want to learn Korean (and I mean study hard) then add 1-200k and you may not even notice.

Next part is pick what you want to see, skyscrapers or mountains.

population of fun to visit city in home country +/- 200k for desire to Study Korean / desired outdoor vista = where to go.

To me city names mean little, they are very similar. What you see when you move about in the city is important.

[VanIslander]

[Sadebugo1]

Definitely, a city near Seoul. You avoid the hustle and bustle of living in Seould but have quick access to escape the boredom of provincial life.

Sadebugo
http://travldawrld.blogspot.com/

[Gibberish]

1. Seoul, specifically Hongdae or Gangnam
2. Somewhere else in Seoul or surrounding area
3. Bucheon
4. Busan

[Alaskaman]

I live in Bundang and love it! It has open parks and nice places to eat! Pretty quiet though! Good for my family and enjoying the space that you will not get in Seoul! I really like Jeongia and Sunae. Overall, Bundang is quiet and clean. This is just my two cents.

[Dr. Whom]

I was scanning a few older posts. This guy Cohiba seemed to have
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!

[v88]

There are 4 kinds of places in Korea.

1 Seoul
2 Gyeonggi Province (which is like Seoul's ugly little sister...who puts out)
3 Smaller order cities (Busan, Daegu, Daejon, Chuncheon, Chungju.....blah blah blah) which are all pretty much carbon copies of one another.
4 and the scary country village, that looks like its out of a zombie movie or something, a thrid world zombie movie where the zombies have been replaced by old people who endlessly stare at you.

Seoul is where the actions at, it's the most modern, coolest place in all of Korea. It's a whole different world, but she's a little crowded (busy) and very high maintenance. It takes a lot of work to get in, and even more to leave. Getting away for the weekend can be a real chore.

Gyeonggi Province - is probably the ugliest plce in Korea...if not the modern world. It has many of the same amenities as Seoul, without the cool factor and crowds. It's one step closer to 'the real Korea' but sometimes feels just as far. It's a never ending mess of highways, bizarre suburban development, factories and nice enough urban areas. (Suwon, Bucheon, Seongnam, Ansan....) Stick to the larger centres in Gyeonggi, the smaller places are pretty bad. Never go to Hwaseong!!! Anyang on the other hand is avery nice place.

The smaller order cities are pretty nice, but not really all that different from each other. They will have a few of the amenities of Seoul (let's say 20%), but for the most part they are pretty mundane. The reason to live here though it the clean air and proximity to nature. You can get out and about without much worry here, unlike Seoul which has the rats nest called Gyeonggi between it and the real world. There aer some really nice places like Andong, Gyeongju, Chungju and Chuncheon...and of course Busan (nice place Busan). But its tough to find a good job sometimes and you can feel pretty isolated at times.

the small towns in the country are to ba avoided. They are death waiting to happen. They may be surrounded by some of the greenest little bit of country you've ever seen, but they are full of nothing but the walking dead. These places are dieing, literally. All the young folks have moved off to Seoul leaving granny and gramps to whither and die in their third world quality village. Can be cool places to visit, but I can't imagine living in any of the villages in Korea.

[seoulsucker]

[itaewonguy]

all depends on what you want...

you want clubbing?? you want foreigners around?

you want a lot of people, traffic and busy hectic lifestyle..

or you prefer more laid back, country side, beaches, mountains...away from the hussle and bussle...

anyway.. My vote BUNDANG! or ILSAN..

[Solarian]

Look at the circle made by the Green Line (Line #2) on the Seoul Metro map. If I could do this over again, I would only live within that circle. I would keep turning down jobs, until they stuck me in the circle of awesome. I live slightly outside of Seoul, and it blows donkey balls. You want to be IN Seoul. I take the train for 45 minutes every weekend to be IN Seoul, and I really wish I could just wake up and be there without having to suffer through a commute.

[sharkey]

Busan in the summer can't be beat.