Korean Job Discussion Forums

[davidemore]

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[Milwaukiedave]

You will hear mixed reviews about Incheon from people on here. I lived there for a year and it wasn't too bad. We lived near Juan Station which was quite a ways from Seoul.

The best piece of advice I can give you is come with an open mind and try to make as many friends as you can. The first year can be really hard in terms of being homesick. Take care of yourself and get lots of sleep and pop vitamins.

[davidemore]

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[Xylox]

People are generally pretty friendly. Everyone was in your position at some point, stop and talk to any non asian on the street and 99.99% of the time they will be epicly friendly and will set you up with people / stuff to do.

What grades are you teaching? You won't need to know hardcore advanced grammar, you will probably be teaching out of the books and can just use/expand on the explanations that they give. Use common sense and you will be fine.

Don't worry about bringing too much crap, pretty much everything you will need can be found here.

[davidemore]

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[EkoAnth]

I live in Bucheon (which is about 4 stops from Bupyeong). EkoAnth is my AIM screen name so if you're looking to make a friend feel free to say hi!

[Sheril]

Hey David I live in Namdong-gu so I can show you around if you are interested ....which school will you be working at?

[sojusucks]

Where in Incheon will you be? I have a friend who lives near Mondgak station who loves it there. You will be very close to Seoul, by bus or subway, and there are many good stores there.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Incheon_Subway_Line_1

[Vix]

I have some advice for you. If you are working at a hakwon don't be friends with your boss, keep it as professional as possible. Don't go to church in Korea, your one at home might be nice, they won't be here. Join lots of meetup clubs. The best bars in Bupyeong are Whos, N's and Goose goose. If you need directions or a drinking buddy send a pm, you could do worse than me

[Krokodil]

If you are at all large or tall, pay the extra bucks and bring all the clothes you can stash into a third suitcase. Really, men's slacks stop at about 36 inches for the waist. If you have no trouble buying stuff off the rack and are small enough to get cast in Glee or Harry Potter, buy your stuff here. Otherwise... A few stores in Itaewon (Seoul, kind of an Americatown) specialize in big & tall, but their selection is limited. On the other hand, you can get tailored suits here kind of cheap. I got a two-piece tailored suit for about the price of an off-the-rack blazer back home.

Bring sheets (esp. flannel) and towels. Also, American-type toothpaste and deodorant are hard to come by here. iPads are not yet available in Korea and will cost a freakin' arm when they do arrive. iPhones are available, but they cost a lot and they won't sell you one unless you have a 2-year visa. Buy one at home and shop around for a plan in Korea.

Like to cook? Some spices are difficult-to-impossible to get in Korea, like cumin and paprika. Bring a couple jars of whatever you find indispensible.

Stock up on prescription medicines. Some things just aren't available over here. Also, Excedrin is generally unavailable, though Tylenol and acetomeniphen are commonplace.

Hulu doesn't work here. You may need to familiarize yourself with the shadowy world of bit torrents.