Korean Job Discussion Forums

[mattdemers]

Hey, I'll be headed to Suwon in two weeks. Just wanna know if there's anyone living in that area. I'll be living near Suwon station. It would be good to know some people because I'm going it alone to South Korea. The only guy I know is someone named Mr. Park living in Suwon. Ever heard of him? ... OK, bad joke.

Matt

[dpl]

nobody lives in suwon. nobody

[sallymonster]

Dude, there are lots of threads on Suwon. You should look through them.

That being said, I live 10 minutes bus ride from Suwon Station. The immediate Suwon Station area has plenty of restaurants and shopping. On the downside (unless you want this sort of thing), there's also a large red light area.

I personally don't like Paldal-gu, except for the (mostly) convenient transportation to Seoul that Suwon Station provides. Paldal-gu is ugly, for the most part, and most foreigners I've met there are super cliquey, though they might like you. I go to Seoul literally every weekend.

In my opinion, Yeongtong is the only good part of Suwon, it's much nicer and the foreigners there are friendlier (and there's a lot more of them). Better yet, just go to Seoul or a city that's closer to Seoul, like Anyang.

[Drew10]

I live in Suwon. I also live in Paldal-Gu, however I have only seen a couple of foreigners in my neighborhood, and I'm pretty sure only one of them teaches English. In fact, I'd say that one person is the only other English-speaker in my area.

I'll agree that some areas of Paldal-Gu are sort of run down/bummy looking, but I like Suwon for the most part.

I'd love to live a bit closer to the station, but i can't complain too much.

I haven't gone exploring around Yong-Tong much but it sounds like a trip I'd have to make one day.

[northway]

[Stalin84]

Suwon station area (Paldal-gu):

Availability of foreign food: 7 out of 10 (some nice Indian shops in the area and some Western food though it doesn't hold a candle to Seoul)

Population of foreigners: Enough (can be good or bad). Lots of English teachers and lots of 3D workers.

Cleanliness: 5 out of 10 (I always found the Suwon Station area and Paldal-gu to be quite old and run down but you'll love Hwaseong fortress)

Population density: extremely crowded compared to Canada, average compared to the rest of Korea

Accessibility to Seoul: 8 out of 10 (there are two regular commuter trains and a KTX line going to Seoul which is stellar despite Suwon being a good 50km away from Seoul Station)

Proximity to the countryside: 7 out of 10 (it takes a little while but far easier than Seoul)

Friendliness of locals: 7 out of 10 (I docked points because Suwon Station has a homelessness problem and the homeless are rather aggressive to foreigners... not to mention all the church groups in Suwon that have great "foreigner radar")

Historical factor: 10 out of 10 (Hwaseong fortress and it's close to Minsokchon)

Overall, Suwon is pretty cool. It's definitely one of the "neater" cities in Gyeonggi-do and if you're into history, Suwon has a lot of it.

[mattdemers]

[madoka]

[cheolsu]

I lived in Suwon for a year and I liked it a lot. Now that I live in Seoul, I still visit friends regularly, and I find I like it more. Suwon isn't an extension of Seoul, Suwon is Suwon. I find it easier to get my head around and notice changes to restaurants, streets, buildings and so on.

It's better than just any suburb. There are some really great restaurants, parks, mountains and so on. People are generally more surprised to see you; I noticed when I moved to Seoul that the daily conversations stopped.

I should say that I've never had a problem with the homeless guys at Suwon station at any time, but I can see how it would make you uncomfortable. It can be very weird waiting for a train late at night and be one of the few people there that's not homeless.

[mattdemers]

[mattdemers]

[cheolsu]

Yeongtong is the newer, shinier part of Suwon. in the east end. If you're into meeting Westerners, Now Bar by Yeongtong is a good place to go.

Also, there are enough South Asian men walking from the red-light district to suggest no discrimination goes on there.

[carleverson]

C'mon let's be real about Suwon. The Yongtong area and the area around the Galleria are nice and are like any other random suburb in Korea. Most other parts of Suwon including the Suwon Station area are an absolute dump with dirty backwards country folks who like to spew out rude remarks to foreigners and anyone different than they are after getting liquored up.

Most of the people near Suwon Station are some of the crassest, rudest, downright backwards people I've seen. Also, there's a redlight district right out in the open for the local men to enjoy. Koreans should be proud.

But other than that Suwon is heaven.

[Drew10]

I have never experienced the "racist drunken locals" around Suwon station or anywhere else in Suwon. The only thing I have experienced is the adjumas who always wanna know where my wife is if I show up to the supermarket, or hof alone, or with a friend. There is also an older man who lives around the corner from me who likes to yell "VERY COLD" at me when I walk by in my huge winter coat.


Hwaseong fortress is pretty nice, I live within walking distance, and I've checked it out a few times, walking around it and taking the train once.

I've never seen any foreigner bars, but i heard The Big Chill is supposed to be decent, I just have no idea where it is. One guy in Dongducheon says Namun, another story i heard on here is close to Hwaseong Fortress. Those are definitely not the same.

[cyui]

OK...There are the Samsung Employees' near Yongtong..should make for good business networking ( or not)..

Not sure what your thing is, but........???!!!