Korean Job Discussion Forums

willgreen · Joined: 30 Jan 2003

Who lives in Suwon?
Do you like it?
Is there a foriegner community there?
I need info please.
Any good bars etc...etc

matthews_world · Joined: 15 Feb 2003

Suwon is pretty cool. I lived about 15 minutes from there during my first job. Visited quite regularly.

It's about 30-40 min from Seoul by bus, depending on where you go. and it takes 40 min by subway. Yes, it's on the subway line which is probably the best form of transportation in Seoul.

It's a very large and growing city, very cosmopolitan. 1 million or so people, maybe more.

There are 3 universities in the town so you'll be able to meet eligible students if you're into the dating scene.

There's a good mix of people in the town, including families that
are the main source of revenue for the hagwons. In turn you'll see the foreigner crowd.

Of course, the culture in Korea is for foreigners to NOT greet each other on the street or hang out with each other. You might befriend your co-workers but it depends on the teacher if they want to socialize with westerners or not. That's another story.

Suwon was a World Cup site and you can't miss the stadium. There's also a Korean baseball team there.

Many things to see and do there. There's the Suwon Castle and the Folk Village. Don't forget the Korean history museum.

Bad thing is that it's kinda far from Seoul.

The air is not as polluted as Seoul, but the travel time might be a drawback.

You'll find many department stores, movie theaters, PC rooms for internet access, clubs and restauraunts.

HTH!

Very Happy

kiwiboy_nz_99 · Joined: 05 Jul 2003 Location: ...Enlightenment...

Sorry to disagree but I lived in Suwon for a year and found it dead boring, not to mjention inconveneint. After three months I just started going to Seoul on the weekends.

jajdude · Joined: 18 Jan 2003

Sorry to sound like a wet blanket, but man I'm glad to be back in Seoul. Suwon for me was a drag! It felt like a big village. Less than a 30 minute bus ride to Seoul, but may as well have been a different world. Sorry to sound whiny or whatever, but in Korea some of the cities of a million-plus are hicktowns! The people are so isolated they gawk at you like you're purple. Seoul is bearable. Anyway though if you got a few pals, a wife or girlfriend, I'm sure it could be cool. Just offering my opinion.

Zyzyfer · Posted: Sat Jul 19, 2003 4:50 pm Post subject:

I dunno, I'm in Suwon every weekend as a rule, and I find that it's a pretty decent place. I usually hang out in the Aju University area, though. Lots of restaurants. Some quiet places to sneak off to.

What Suwon lacks is a good bar/foreigner scene. I've seen some ferners walking around, but they seem pretty reserved, for the most part. And the bars are pretty much cookie-cut, all the way. Even Cheonan has more life to the bars than Suwon.

I can give more info, if necessary.

steven g · Joined: 02 Feb 2003 Location: seoul

hate to disagree with some of the earlier posters on here - i've been in suwon for seven months now and for the most part i've really enjoyed it. its cleaner than seoul, and there is enough of a nightlife scene and enough cool people to keep u entertained. Admittedly the nightlife isn't as happening as seoul, but its only 50 minutes away from itaewon and hongdae, and if u can stay up till five thirty u can always sleep on the subway back from seoul on a sunday morning.
the fortress and korean folk villages are both good ways to while away a sunday afternoon and the city boasts its own expat soccer team, the suwon globetrotters.
because we are slightly away from seoul there seems to be a proportionally mixed community of teachers - certainly more kiwis and brits down here as a lot of the schools have had good luck with who they've hired and don't feel as much pressure as hagwoins in seoul to hire americans.
from my experience u'd be a fool to miss out - u can enjoy the delights of seoul and suwon, yet still save a wedge of cash, which if we're honest is half the reason we're all here
ps if u find yourself coming to suwon be sure to post again and we'll make sure that the suwon crew make u feel at home
steven

philinkorea · Joined: 27 Jan 2003

i lived 2 subway stops from the in byeongjeom. there were problems such as me being the only foreign teacher but for a year i always felt seoul was the place to be and never got into the scene there really. now im in jonggak and am loving it. for me seoul is the place, i would never go back to suwon.

lins24 · Joined: 11 Aug 2003 Location: south korea

i live in suwon and it's a great place to live. like the others have said, it's not as polluted and noisy as seoul and there's lots to do... as far as a foreigner scene, you must check out the "pool bar" or "rock bar" in yong-tong area, right by the kyeung-hee university gate. it's just a little hole in the wall, but on friday nights there can be as many as 40-50 foreigners there (myself usually included) and it's quite the good time. saturdays are usually spent in seoul for partying. if you need more info you can ask me...

ajstew · Joined: 04 Feb 2004 Location: Korea

I come from another city further away and stay at Suwon on the weekends. It's a fine place to stay... the Ajou university area has some nice restaurants and bars... but staying in Suwon on weekend nights makes me feel like I'm staying inside my house (not a bad thing... just not very exciting). That said... what I liked about Seoul weekends was that I could stay up late and make trips to the bars and clubs and if I got there and was a little tired... it wasn't a problem to leave. That changes in Suwon, and I find myself asking prior to leaving Suwon... "Am I a little tired now... will I want to stay in for a number of hours?" Not exactly fun questions to ask yourself on a Friday or Saturday night but necessary ones. If you don't care about that though, then Suwon is a fine place to live.

weatherman · Joined: 14 Jan 2003 Location: Korea

Any place is good, even Suwon, it is all how you intergrate yourself into the community. If you head off to Seoul all the time you will never discover what Suwon can offer and your time will be affected by it. I lived in Suwon for a year and found the city really relaxed and pleasent. It can offer one what one wants, it is how much effort you spend in finding it.

bibimbap · Joined: 14 Dec 2003

luke didn't like tatooine.

Honeybee · Joined: 15 Jan 2004

I just moved here a month ago, in a part of the city called Yong Tong Dong, next to Kyong Hee University and close to the folk village.

Haven't been out much cause I'v ben finishing off some courses and I also fight evil in my spare time.

There does seem to be very socialble bunch of foreigers here,
There's a bar near the university that a lot go to.
Went there on Frday night and had a great night, Apart from almost getting in a fight,

If you're near Yong Tong let me know I'll introduce you to some friendly people.

One thing I'v noticed...it LOOKS like a party place. Lots of neon lights...but a lot of the places are empty. Think a lot of people go to Seoul to party. Me too this weekend!!

Zed · Joined: 20 Jan 2003 Location: Shakedown Street

It's not the best place to go out alone. You will probably spend the entire night that way unless you're lucky.

animalbirdfish · Joined: 04 Feb 2004

If you've got a great job offer there, take it. But don't move to Suwon simply for the town itself. You might be a bit disappointed. Like an above poster said, you'll be happy wherever you make a home for yourself, but (IMHO) I've always found Suwon to be a bit dismal for my tastes. The area out toward Suji is a nicer area (don't think that counts as Suwon, but it's close).

IconsFanatic · Joined: 19 Jan 2003

Enough said.