Korean Job Discussion Forums

[katsu]

Hey guys,

Ever live or visit here? What is it like? Is it really really rural or is there a downtown with banks, shopping? Any info will help. Thanx

[Smee]

I've passed through a few times.
* http://briandeutsch.blogspot.com/2008/11/cheonghak-dong-and-samseong-gung.html
* http://briandeutsch.blogspot.com/2009/03/mission-to-gwangyang-apricot-festival.html

Very scenic, and the people are quite friendly. It is rural, though, so you should be prepared for that.

The county seat---"gun" means county, so Hadong is a pretty big place---is a town with a population of 11,964 as 2005. There are banks, Korean restaurants, clothing stores, and grocery stores. If you're exceptionally picky you'll need to do your shopping at a department store in a larger city---Suncheon and Jinju are the two closest---but when living in rural Korea I never had any problems. There are banks, though if you've lived in Korea before and have an account with KEB, you won't find one there. Your school will set you up with whatever one they use.

With some Googling you can find more information about living in rural Korea, as well as pictures of places like Hadong, in order to get a feel for what it's like.

[ChopChaeJoe]

I got ripped off by a taxi once in Hadong, big time. That just about never happens to me. Beautiful area, probably hurting for cash.

[VanIslander]

I lived in Hadong for three years (April 2006-April 2009).

The town is a regional farming centre, for rural farm retirees and administration, so there are two great parks within the town itself, one by the beautiful Somjin River, with lots of sandy shores and sports facilities (tennis courts and basketball being the first rate ones I've used), the other on the hill even closer to the middle of town.

It takes 10-15 minutes to walk anywhere in the town of Hadong. The taxis charge 3000 won if you're in a hurry but life is wonderfully slow paced in the small town so no need to hurry. Some of the nicest taxi drivers you'll ever meet. They share their watermelon, local chestnuts, pears and whatever else is growing around town, with a smile! (though there are a couple of typical grimacers too).

The river valley is halfway between Jiri national park and Namhae Island, so with a vehicle you're 20 minutes from the coast or mountain hikes. (Technically, Hadong county extends down to the sea and includes a power plant next to Namhae Island itself, but jobs in ESL will likely be in the town, upriver.

It hasn't snowed in Hadong for 12 years. It certainly didn't the years I was there. It snows in Jinju several times a winter, 45 minutes east. It snows in Suncheon, 25 mninutes west. But not Hadong. Even Gurye upriver gets snow several times a winter. But the weather in Hadong is especially mild and, in fact, that is partially why so many fertile farms are in the area. Hadong boasts the oldest green tea farming in Korea, extending back 16 centuries. They also claim to have the world's biggest green tea bush (it's pretty big, but not impressive looking).

Hadong is also the beautiful countryside depicted in the great classic Korean novel Toji ("Land"), written by a woman who had visited from Tongyeong (there's a writing and arts centre in Tongyeong in her honor).

If you move to Hadong then walk to work, but get a scooter or car or at least bicycle to maximize one's enjoyment of the region. Then again, I enjoyed my first couple of years there without those things. The buses are excellent! Because it's a regional centre of a very rural area, there are express buses every two hours to Seoul (under 4.5 hours nonstop, 25000 won) and every hour to Busan (1 hour, 45 minutes, 9000 won) and a few times an hour to Jinju (50 minutes, 4500 won). Jinju is where you go for Emart or Homeplus and other shopping and restaurant needs. Think of Jinju as "across town" as certainly a 45 minute trip by subway happens if one lives in a big city in Korea. I usually went to Jinju once a week, but sometimes twice or three times. Suncheon is a city of the same size, with a bit better shopping and definitely better Western bars, but it's in another province, so even though only 25 minutes away, the buses to there aren't direct, one has to change buses in Gurye or Gwangyang. Gyeongsang province people and Jeolla province people have a long history of not trusting each other, different ancient kingdoms, and surprisingly the standoffishness is still evident in small town Korea. Gwangju the big city in the middle of Jeollanamdo is 2 hours away by bus through Gurye. The Jeolla city of Gwangyang has a direct bus that takes under 30 minutes and Gwangyang has some good urban attractions but one has to know where to find them in that industrial POSCO coastal city.

Hadong is perfect for some people. Some teachers stay two or three years, one guy at the middle school is in his fourth year and planning to stick around. But others get antsy for big city life. I personally loved living rural Monday to Thursday and travelled around Korea Fridays through Sundays twice or thrice a month (I got Fridays off my first year there because the hagwon needed to add a perk to attract an experienced teacher, which they wanted). Many ESL jobs in Hadong pay 2.5. Both hagwon and public school. Only GnB I think tries to stiff the waygook teacher by offering less.

There are three traffic light intersections in town (there was only one when I first moved there). The people are pretty nice, seems like all kids and old people as the twentysomething locals move away. The town is FULL during Chuseok, with traffic hell as many come back to visit granny.

The region has a lot of beauty and great weather. Never got bitten by mosquitoes there surprisingly. Why I'm not sure. Chemical spraying? Weather? *shrug* That was a mystery to me.

And oh yeah, there is a major Cherry Blossom festival in the spring with hundreds of thousands of Koreans from Busan and elsewhere flocking in to see the trees lining the river valley road. Quite nice if you avoid the weekend traffic jams. There is a green tea festival, literary festival and summer festival I've enjoyed too. There is also a marathon that began in 2006 but there was talk of making it once every two years instead, even though turnout was decent.

There is no industry within sight of the town except for the farming. None. But as I mentioned, about 25 minutes away in the county itself, by the sea, there are several industrial sites, kinda ugly there but no one goes or can even see that part of the county unless one goes over mountains to work there.

Good luck whatever.

[katsu]

@Smee thanks for the pics on your blog�it does look very scenic and VERY rural lol�I�m more used to working in Gyeonggi and mid size cities like Jeonju�so this could definitely be an adventure�not sure if I�m ready for it�while the place looks easy going, my contracts seem a bit crazy�they want me to teach at 3 different schools, so not sure if I want to be jumping around like that, nevertheless, thanks so much for the pics.

@ChopChaeJoe really u got ripped off? How much did u end up paying? I�ve heard some horrific stories about taxi drivers, I�ve never had any major issues with them, and most of the time I only take taxis.

@VanIslander wow, thanks a lot for taking the time to write so much. Very informative, you seem to know so much about Hadong! That�s amazing that you were able to live there for 3 years, actually it�s more brave than amazing. But I guess u had a good time to stay on there for so long. What type of housing did you get? How many elementary schools would say are around there? They want me to work at 3 which I found a bit much. You mentioned most ppl get offered 2.5 to work there, I also got offered that. It does seem nice and life for me there would be the total opposite of what it now�hmm�tough choice. Anyway, so why did u end up leaving Hadong?

[Kurtz]

I've been to Hadong several times.

I think it would be a place if you want to escape from other Westerners. I saw one weirdish guy who seemed nice enough, but kind of seemed starved for human interaction. You'd have to like your own company I should imagine to live there.

As mentioned, it's a nice area and I've used it as a base for hiking. Catching a bus to Ssanggeyesa and hiking over Samshimbong to Cheonghak-dong is a decent day hike for the strong. Having some kind of vehicle enables you to fully explore Jiri-san National Park. Having a motorbike or cheap car would be a good option.

The cherry blossom festival should be avoided at all costs on the weekends. It's TERRIBLE! The valley gets totally and utterly grid locked!

There's a Western style bakery, banks and other things, it's not totally rural, but fairly close to it.

I've had some random acts of kindness in Hadong like some ajumma buying me a chocolate bar in the bus station and I didn't feel any hostility there at all.

The taxi drivers are a bit starved for business and it's one of the only places in Korea where I've been asked for a taxi. If you go to the cherry blossom festival, DONT use a taxi, they will ask about 30,000 won , then kick you out when they are stuck in the traffic jam.

I'd prefer to live in Jinju than Hadong. If I had my time again, I'd probably live in Jinju as it seems to fit my lifestyle the most.

[katsu]

@Kurtz...they charged you 30 000 won for a ride to the cherry blossom? what's the distance to get there?

@VanIslander...i'm not sure but the unknown sounds tempting...though i'm not sure if this is a good position for city girl. I'm laid back though, don't need no clubs or bars, but i'm a bit worried about there not being any supermarkets like EMart and stuff..

wonder if there is a movie theater? Face Shop? Skin Food?

Is this a safe area for girls?

if you guys have any scenic pictures (of the city) would you care to share. U can pm me. thanks

[katsu]

also how is the housing style (standard) for epik teachers in Hadong? Are there big apartment buildings or???

[Kurtz]

RE-taxis. I doubt they are usually dishonest, they just knew it was either a taxi at an elevated price, or an overcrowded bus.

It's basically a one horse town. I would want some seriously good conditions in my contract if I had to spend a year there.

Reality is though, it's not too hard to get out of on a weekend, and I'd say most teachers here don't do a hell of a lot during the week anyhow.

[katsu]

@Kurtz

what would be a good contion? what would you request?

pay is 2.5 but they want me working at 3 schools

[Kurtz]

[katsu]

@Kurtz...did you work for a hogwon in hadong or public school? how many holidays did u get?
this one says 18, which i dont understand, cuz i thought standard epik was 20, plus 5 extra days for rural...
what was your accomodation like? did u live in an actual apt with an elevator or those villa type things with mold on the walls lol...sorry but my last villa had mold all over so i try to avoid them...i know that in some smaller cities, rural areas there is a chance u actually get put into an apt...

[Yellowstone_1872]

Katsu, have you ended up in Hadong? What's your experience been like? Enjoyed the area and the time there?

[Yellowstone_1872]

Does anyone know anything about the village of Geumnam in Hadong?

[katsu]

@Yellowstone_1872....no I chose not to go there and went elswhere so can't help u out here. sorry! Make the most out of your experience wherever it is!