Korean Job Discussion Forums

[conneko]

I'm considering either working in Daegu or Daejeon. I've looked through many, many threads but I'm still hungry for information.

I'm not very interested in nightlife and most threads I've seen talk about the number of clubs foreigners frequent so I don't really need more information on that. I'm more curious about things like shopping (I like Korean fashion) and how friendly the people are (I'm East Asian so I'm not worried about getting stared at for being a foreigner, but my Korean definitely has a foreign accent).

I've also seen a lot of comments about how girls in Daegu are gorgeous but seeing how I am a girl, I'm more interested about how the guys compare

Also, I won't have my visa till pretty late, so please don't tell me how wonderful Seoul/Busan is. I probably won't be able to live there.

Thanks!

[ChilgokBlackHole]

Daejeon is really spread out in my opinion. Daegu is easier to get around in. Though Daejeon is more diverse, and there's just a feeling as though there's a little more money there.

[Moldy Rutabaga]

I live in Daegu. The city has hot summers and cold winters, and some nearby mountain hiking. It's also close to Busan with its beaches and amenities. Daegu people are conservative but fairly friendly. Shopping here is not so great and my wife tends to buy most things online.

Daejon is smaller and has slightly cooler weather being further north. I don't know a lot about the city except to presume that the advantage to living there is that you're near Seoul without being in Seoul.

To me, Busan women are the prettiest. The old saw about Daegu women being attractive is from a Korean perspective. Southern men have a reputation for being henpecked and for not speaking much, but I think for the younger generation of men the differences between provinces is lessening. I'm not the one to ask!

My advice, I think, would be to make your decision based on the strengths of the job and not the city.

[Harpeau]

I like Daejeon. Keryongsan is a lovely mountain. In addition, Yuseong-gu have wonderful on-chon (sulferic) water in their (saunas) hot tubs. Very therapeutic!! KAIST is also a cool place. (If you're a nerdy scientist type.) Very international. The city is very central. One difficulty is it can be a pain to get around~ very spread out.

Daegue has always seemed to be a very conservative area. Lots of money, military and government power out of there. It's a big bowl that keeps the heat and pollution in during the summer.

I think it depends on what you like to do. (For what it's worth, Seoul rocks!!)

All the best!

[coralreefer_1]

I cant speak to Daejon as I have never spent any real amount of time there, but I have been in Daegu for over 5 years now. Here are a few points that might interest you about Daegu. Not to say that these things are not true of Daejeon..but just my experience...

Shopping - Maybe it is just me, but other than a few rather eccentric items such as sausage casings to make my own bratwurst, or a few other things, I have been able to get anything I wanted here in Daegu. There are plenty of e-marts, homeplus, and a costco around for everyday items. Downtown has plenty of designer stores for clothes/bags..etc. Daegu is known as the "fashion" city, and a center of textile industry, so finding clothes ranging the entire spectrum is not hard. There are 2 large outdoor markets (Seomun and Chilsung) markets, along with smaller but similar markets in nearly every neighborhood in the city.

People - It is often said, and in fact there are monuments spread around the city attesting to the ideas that Daegu is the center of Confucian ideals. It is true that this is a conservative city. I have never had any problems here with being treated differently as a foreigner explicitly - No stories of being spit on, or cussed out because I am a foreigner. As I am a man myself, I cant really talk about how handsome the men are..but I will say that being this is a conservative city, I would imagine that the men are a bit more conservative than their counterparts in a more global city like Seoul. That being said..as far as looks, you will have to judge for yourself.

Social - One of the things that might be of interest is that Daegu (and its sister city Gyeongsan) have something like 15 or more universities, each with their own large populations of foreign students. Not sure if student aged friends are something you are interested in, but with so many universities with so many foreign students, its shouldn't be hard to find people from your own country or region to associate with/get advice from.

Good luck with your choice~~

[Dazed and Confused]

I've lived in both Daegu and Daejon. Daejon was by far a better experience.

Daejon-People are friendly and welcoming. I often compared them to people from the southern US.

Daegu-People are some of the most conservative in Korea. They keep to themselves most of the time.

Daejon-Good Korean food. Almost no other foods from other countries except for pizza, Japanese, and Koreanized Chinese food. However, it was bearable because I like Korean food and could cook western food at home.

Daegu-awful Korean food. International foods was limited to big chain restaurants like TGIFridays. Shopping and cooking at home got tiring because the supermarkets were across town.

Daejon-the foriegner hangouts (bars) were limited to a couple places. This was great because you got to meet everyone and since we were all in the same boat, we all got along.

Daegu-Lots of forienger hangouts so I ended up socializing with the people I worked with. Lots of US military throws a whole new element into the mix.

Daejon-Great for transportation. All the highways and railways go through Daejon. It is roughly in the middle of the coutnry so getting to Seoul or Pusan takes about the same amount of time.

Daegu-Further south. Easy to get to Pusan but a pain to get to Seoul. With the KTX this is easier now.

Daejon-Men are better looking in my opinion. My husband is from Daejon so I'm biased.

Daegu-Good looking men can be found but they tend to be conservative and less likely to go for a non-Korean woman.

[Gaber]

I think Daejon would be great if you had a vehicle. I remember traffic being very reasonable.

[furtakk]

I can't comment about Daejeon, but Daegu is okay.

Food wise...

There are plenty of good international eats now. Some other poster said that it was limited to U.S. chains, but that is far from reality. There are a good handful of decent Italian, French, Indian, and other foreign restaurants downtown as well as in other areas in the city. However, there are also plenty of bad foreign restaurants. It's just a matter of finding good places. As far as Korean food goes, there are plenty of good places to go. There are thousands, if not tens of thousands of Korean restaurants in this city specializing in the same things.

Shopping wise...

Not really all that exciting. Daegu has a lot of weird stereotypes from times past. One being that it is a 'fashion' city. Maybe I'm looking in the wrong places, but there isn't anything too exciting happening in this city fashion wise. However, as a girl you will definitely have a lot more choice than I do as most of the shops cater to girls. From what I have seen, they do carry some interesting things. That said, it is nothing compared to Seoul (which still isn't even that great for shopping). Save your money for trips to HK/Tokyo if you want to shop.

People wise...

Again I can't really compare crowds as I've only really visited other cities, but the foreigner crowd in Daegu is kind of strange. It's big enough that you won't know everyone, but small enough where you recognize the same crowds/faces/etc when wondering around. I've met some really good friends here, but I've also met some sketch bags/people who should not be allowed to work with children. I've also met and am friends with many Koreans (both guys and girls). I don't find them more or less conservative than elsewhere.

Daegu isn't that exciting. I haven't had family/friends visit me yet, but I'm not sure where I would take them if they came here. It's definitely not a bad city to live in and I have enjoyed my time here, but (and especially if you're not a bar/club type) there are not a whole lot of interesting things to do here.

[chavezc]

A much needed bump. Would love to hear some new opinions on these two cities.

[Cave Dweller]

I agree, merits of the job.

Daegu is better in my limited view on this topic.

[ed4444]

Daejeon wins for me because of transport. It is possible to jump on a KTX to Mokpo, Seoul, Masan, Busan and Yeosu and take short trips all over the country.

Also Daejeon feels like a city that has more going on because of all the research institutes and Government buildings. Daegu always struck me as a city trying to deal with a bit of a brain drain because all the smart Koreans in the area are relocating to Seoul, Gyeonggi, Ulsan and Changwon to get better job opportunities.

[chavezc]

....

[JMO]

I currently live in Daejeon but used to live in Daegu.

Daegu has great nightlife in my opinion and a really centralized downtown. I lived near kyungpook dae and I liked the area. I found Daegu pretty smoggy though and just generally grey.

Daejeon seems to have clearer air and I really like where I live here. I do have a better job and a car so its not totally apples to apples. As another poster said, Daejeon is handy for traveling around by train and a pretty good central hub by car too.