Korean Job Discussion Forums

[alexthethird]

Hi everyone,

I'm applying to teach in a hagwon, and I'm looking for wisdom and insight as to which city I'd most enjoy. Yes, I understand there is a lot info out there, but this is a small effort I'm making to condense the info with the help of you all, the experts. If this post irritates you, I understand, and you needn't tell me so.

Here's what I'm after: I'd like to be in a city, but not Seoul. I like some trees and some open space here and there, maybe ride a bike or hike/walk a path on weekends, sure access to fellow foreigners but ideally not a clique/bubble of them. I don't care much about 'nightlife,' and not at all about shopping. If I can get a shot of whiskey and a non-Korean meal once a month, I'm happy. I'd value the ability to bike to work, or at least to have public transpo that is fairly quick or non-headache-inducing.

Daejeon is the only city I've gathered fits this description somewhat. Any other recommendations you might have? I'm not looking for my dream city. Just trying to get some help to make a good decision.

Much appreciated.

[Louis VI]

Jeonju.

And Jinju (can zip to neaby bigger cities within an hour for western restaurants).

[Weigookin74]

Depends on what your looking for. If you want to learn Korean, avoid the clique of foriegners at all costs. Maybe meet up once or twice a month. When I meet foriegners who either can't read hangeul or say much more than annyeong haseo, after several years of living here, it seems kind of pitiful. As Koreans get more use to foriegners in their country, they may start to expect us to speak some Korean. Just look at the want ads for Japan and wanting some basic ability to see possible trends. I'm saying if this is your life and career, learn the language already.

Sorry, off topic. Try and regional city such as Daejeon, Gwangju, Jeonju, Jinju, Suncheon, Cheonan-ansan, etc.

[bossface]

Jeonju and Jinju are both nice cities. Both are walkable, offer great Korean food, and have some cool cultural attractions around.

i don't know about Daejeon though. people seem to like it okay, but i wasn't too impressed. basically, it has all the disadvantages of Seoul (crowded, traffic jams, dirty, soulless architecture) with none of the advantages (huge variety of restaurants and bars, live music, tons of museums, amazing subway system). Seoul has plenty of green space and is surrounded by mountains on all sides, so weekend hiking is never difficult.

[SeoulNate]

Ilsan.

Nice park system, good city planning, good sized foreigner population, excellent public transportation, close to Seoul, foreign food etc.

[Ramen]

pyong-yang would be my first recommendation.

[shostahoosier]

sssssssshhhhhhhhhhhhhh...

if you're not careful someone will bring up Cohiba's rule!

[iselynjenniep]

i live in bundang and think it qualifies and fits all your requirements.
it is a fairly large city itself but still within one hour of most places in seoul. there are lots of parks and walking/biking paths, as well as a river with walking and biking paths that runs all the way to seoul (from what i hear, never gone that far!).
there are foreigners here but not as many as seoul. usually i only see maybe 1 other foreigner a day but when i go to seoul i see a lot more than that. there are a few expat bars but no crazy nightlife.
great public transportation.

[agentX]

Swing by galbijim wiki and look up info for each of the big and small cities that have caught your eye. You might find a small city like Namwon or Gumi to be a good fit, or a large metro area like Ulsan to be better.

Or even Jeju City- which is on-the-grid enough to keep a citygoer happy but off-grid enough to be interesting for at least a year (after that you might be 'meh').

[alexthethird]

Just wanted to say thanks, and that I'll be away from the internet for a few weeks. (I'm currently living where the internet's hard to come by) But I plan to look into the cities you've mentioned at my next internet visit. Maybe those of you with patience will still be around if I have additional questions at that time... anyway, thanks again. Really appreciate it.

And to the individual advocating I learn Korean: you'd be proud. I'm 15 lessons into Pimsleur already! (It's a little funny/pathetic how quickly that program teaches the listener to ask a Korean woman out to dinner, and how to order two beers.)

Take care.

[Loza]

I really enjoyed living in Gwangju in Jeollanamdo. Lots of green areas, close to nice travel destinations eg: Damyang, Bosoeng, Jindo etc..great foreigner community and support for foreigners

http://www.gic.or.kr/eng/

[Los Angeloser]

A Korea Tourism ad ran in the NY Times promoting...
www.ForTheNextGeneration.com

Here is the ad, it has 3 pictures click to view each of them...
http://photo.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2011/02/23/2011022300847.html

[geldedgoat]

[Los Angeloser]

[sallymonster]

OP, I recommend Ilsan or Dongtan. These are both planned cities that fit your requirements. Dongtan in particular is brand new and really nice (a bit sterile-looking, though). Both cities are close to Seoul if you ever want the big city.

As someone else mentioned, Bundang might also be a good choice.