Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Lady_Firefly]

So my fiance and I just opted for a hagwon Hanam over public school positions for Busan Board. I hope we are not absolutely crazy, but I just couldn't work out the upfront airfare on my budget right now


So now we are moving to Hanam in 3 weeks, and this is my first time to Asia, and first real trip abroad (save a 1 week vacation the mexican yucatan, if that counts). So OMG, I'm feelin crazy, but suuuuper excited.

Anyone live in Hanam? From what Ive read its a quieter community, and (perhaps?) a little cleaner than other parts of the metro area. Quieter is alright by us, we're big party people. And being able to make a day trip to Seoul on the weekend sounds just perfect.

[Snowflake]

I lived in Hanam for two years and really enjoyed it. It's a very friendly little city (although when I moved out two years ago they were building a whole new area which was huge, so maybe not so small anymore!)
There are quite a few foreigners around given the size and so easy enough to meet people.
It is clean and safe and really child-friendly - you'll see kids playing outside at 3am! Be prepared to see your students everywhere - some people like that (I did) others not so much....
Plenty of restaurants (Korean, no western as such) and hofs. If you want western (and a bit more nightlife) then a 40ish minute bus ride to Gangnam is your best bet.
Hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

[Lady_Firefly]

Thanks for your reply!

I'm not looking for easy access to western food, love the idea of seeing my kids in town, and I'm not really a drinker or party person at all, so this sounds like the place for me. close enough to seoul,but not seoul.

[Gwangjuboy]

I am familiar with this area myself, and I think the previous poster described the area pretty well. The bus routes - very frequent - take you to several different parts of Seoul depending on where you want to go: Gangnam (long journey though); Cheon-ho dong; Jamsil/Olympic Park; and the city hall area (again quite a long journey). It's probably best to get off at Cheonho subway station (about 15-20 mins by bus) and continue your journey by subway train to reach the more central parts of Seoul as this will save you quite a lot of time.

Just on the outskirts you have the Han River and a couple of mountains (the name of which escapes me now) too, so you are essentially stuck in between a huge metropolis and rural Gyongi-do. There are a couple of good Korean restaurants in the heart of Hanam and a sizeable supermarket, although it's probably best to do your shopping in Seoul for decent bread and other western essentials. Bar-wise, it's not the greatest nightlife on Earth, but if you only party at the weekend Seoul is on your doorstep anyhow. For mid-week escapades you can always meet up with some other weagooks and go Korean for the night.

[Lady_Firefly]

haha, i realized that my original post said we are big party people. ...


should have said we are NOT big party people.

[flakfizer]