Korean Job Discussion Forums

[offtheoche]

[Chairman Wow]

I lived right above the Family Mart on Art Street for about a year and it was rough at first. Arriving in the winter didn't help as people just tend to hibernate or go out with pre-existing social circles. Things eventually started to pick up in the spring though and I'm happy with my friend situation now.

I live on Hagwon-ga now so If you want to hang out let me know. I haven't used this cornfangled message board enough to use PMs, so hit me up at [email protected].

[Scamps]

What do you like to do in your free time?
There are groups for everything here. There are 3 good English magazines published every month that you can pick up for free around Itaewon. There are advertisements for all sorts of activities like sports, dining, animals, volunteer work, language exchange, travel, social networking, business, etc.
Pick up a copy of The Groove, Seoul Magazine or 10 magazine and get involved ^_^ You can also find them on Facebook but the real thing is better. There are Christmas parties coming up too around town. Pretty soon you're going to be complaining you're too busy!

[Illysook]

The alliteration in this thread title brought this to mind.

Herry (SPOKEN): Hey, Oscar, Cookie, Grover! It's time to sing the song about the letter that comes after "E"!

Oscar: I don't wanna do this icky, crummy, lovey-dovey old F song!

Cookie: C'mon lets all sing together.

Herry: All those words that start with the letter F!

All: (sing)
Four furry friends. Frolicking fellows.
On Friday afternoon. (afternoon)
4 furry friends, frankly affectionate,
They sing the future soon. (future soon)
Faithful, fearless, friends for forever.
Fabulous, fun, family.
4 furry friends, faithful together.
Fun-filled, and forever free. (ever free)

Herry (SPOKEN): F is the letter that brings us together.
F is fun. F is famous.
And together our friendship will forge forward.
Thanks to that fantastic letter F.

All (SING): Four furry friends, faithful together.
Fun-filled, and forever free. (Ever free!)

Oscar: Boy, I really hated that!

[supernaut]

How far are u from Beomgye Station or Sanbon? Just go there, both areas are quite fun

[computermichael]

You can come over to my house for Christmas dinner if you want to. Chairman Wow and I are good friends and neighbors; he might even be there too if he's not too busy helping starving orphan babies and such. Some of my other friends are supposed to come too, so I can introduce you. I live near Hagwon-ga, which is about a ten minute walk from the Lotte Mart near where you live. My email address is [email protected], or you can just email "chairman wow" if you're interested.

I'll extend this invitation to any other foreigners in the area who want to come, as well. My friend told me about this thread over lunch today, and WE WERE ALL DISMAYED AT THE HORRIBLY SNOBBY TERD EATERS WHO POST MEAN MESSAGES ON HERE TO THE POINT WHERE I AM TYPING IN CAPITAL LETTERS.

Anyway, booze and food are on me if anyone wants to come over for Christmas. I'll even tell my friends I met you at the Harvard Club if you're shy about telling people you met me off of the internet.

[defaultusername]

Art Street is a good place and you are lucky to be there!

Good luck finding people to meet up with. Here are my recommendations:

Fongs: a nice bar down the street from the Tous Les Jours. Best nights are Wednesdays and Fridays. A lot of foreigners meet up there. And the owners are very friendly. (Also, there is an all you can eat bulgogi place right down from it.)

Wa Bar: above 7/11. Heard a lot of foreigners go here, but I've never seen it.

If you go down the expressway, as soon as meet Hagwon-ga, stop. The first big building across the street (nearest the expressway) has an excellent bar in the basement called The Dugout. Not sure what it will be like this weekend, but it's usually packed with foreigners. Free pool, darts, Nintendo. It's good.

Good luck, and Merry Christmas!

[jamo]

actually I lived there too...I think. Are you near Kaywon university at all? I'm surprised you haven't met people although if you don't go right up to some foreignors in that area it might be diffcult. Alot of them work at Avalon or near hagwon with each other and tend to be close knits groups. Find the Dugout or Happidus on facebook...but really most of those kids are young and clicky...not that much fun. Do your own thing. Meetup is better for finding people in the area who have similar interests.

[noyoshimi]

I live on the same street! Where do you teach? I usually hibernate on the weekdays (it's painfully cold out there...), but we do go out occasionally and you'd be more than welcome to join

[gypsymaria]

*waves* I'm in the Uiwang/Anyang area, too. I'm actually all of 2 blocks from the Dugout. Unfortunately, I'm not much of a "go to bars and drink for fun" kind of person, so maybe I'm not the sort of friend you're looking for, OP.

There are a ton of foreigners in this area, though. I'm thinking about taking Hapkido in Itaewon, or picking up a Korean language class, partly just to meet more people. My fellow foreign teachers at my school are ok, but we have different interests and don't always spend time together outside of work.

Find a hobby (aside from bar-hopping) that gets you out and about. Hiking, taking a language or martial arts course, or just tourist around with a camera for awhile. Go exploring. Heck, chat up folks at train stations. You'll meet some people, I'm sure, it just takes some effort. Good luck, OP!

[Cedar]

I don't get what's the big deal over having foreigner friends. You only need one, to talk to about the things that just don't culturally translate. Otherwise hang out with Koreans. They're plentiful around these parts and as long as you don't project western thought all over their every action you can become good friends with at least a couple awesome people. Also stop bellyaching about going 30 minutes to meet someone or whatever. This is Korea, spending an hour in transit to see a friend is sort of normal in all but the small cities (like Anyang)

[gogophoto]

I also live near that area, and admit it isn't as happening as some of the other areas (Beomgye, Sanbon, Hagwon Ga) a bus ride away. I'm doing okay here because it is my second year and I already have friends who live in Sanbon and Beomgye. But I DO go out and about sometimes in the area with a friend or two of mine who lives nearby--maybe sometime we should meet up. Send me a pm and we can give it a go, and I can show you where a few of the foreigner haunts are. That goes for anyone else on this thread too: I didn't realize there were that many people around here

Also OP, what time do you work? I work at a public school so it would be difficult to meet up during the week if you work at night.

[Stalin84]

[northway]

[DanseurVertical]

I've no bloody clue of where 'Uiwang Art Street' is. But, the Anyang/ Gunpo/ Uiwang area has four rock climbing gyms. If it weren't for climbing back in North America I'd have no friends either :p My point is that rock climbing is a great means of meeting both native English speakers and Koreans. Check out the KOTR website for particular information.