Korean Job Discussion Forums

[mararowan]

Just wondering b/c a contract stated 1k won rural allowance but I thought this area is fairly close to seoul? Also is it a good area to for first timer?

[Blackthorne]

If you google namyangju and go on wikipedia, you can see that Namyangju is in fact a very large area of land. It's referred to as a city, but is in fact made up of a number of small towns which are spread out from each other.

I lived there a while back, for a year. The area where I lived was about 30-45mins by bus to Guri subway station, which wasn't bad, but wasn't great. My town was quite small, it was liveable, but I rarely if every saw another western face.

For a first-timer, I honestly wouldn't recommend it. Then again, if you're in an area close to a subway station, it may not be too bad. When I lived there, I had already spent a year in a medium-sized city. If it had been my first Korean experience, I think I would have really struggled.

Nice area though if you want to live in a rural setting, while being reasonably close to Seoul.

[andrewchon]

A designated rural school (벽지 학교) doesn't necessarily have to be in rural area. It can be in a town area with bad economy. It was set up to stop the migration of students to city schools who can provide extra-curricular activities. (ECAs are pluses for high school and unversity applications)
The school have to apply to the goverment to be one, so a school in-the-middle-of-nowhere may not be one. So better to check with the recruiter and see if it actually is one.

Namyang in fact turns out to be a neighbour to my previous school. Knowing that area, it is iffy. Definately check if that 1k extra is important to you.

[notinKS]

Something else to think about: I live in Guri in a building with quite a few foreigners and several of them teach in Namyangju but live here. They still get the rural allowance, but they have to ride the bus for 30-45 to get to school. Check with the school that you're looking at first.

[sojusucks]

Where can we see the list of rural schools?

[carleverson]

Some of my wife's relatives live there. Personally, I don't think it's a very nice place to live.

[definitely maybe]

It's a mixed bag. You could be relatively close to Guri and in turn Seoul, you could be out around some place like Wabu-eup and have reasonable access to the Jungang Line, or you could be stuck up in Jinjeop, which is not desirable, or even further out. I don't think I'd want to live in Namyangju, but it might not be too bad to work there if the school wasn't too inconvenient.

[nathanrutledge]

As someone pointed out, rural doesn't always mean country. The other thing is, it can and does change and it can be kind of arbitrary.

For example, I worked at a school that was considered rural. It was in Dongtan and at the time, I'd call it rural. Edge of a new town, far from bus terminals and subway stations, had to ride a bus to work every day for about 20-30 minutes. The school right next door was NOT considered rural.

If you can get a rural allowance and be in a decent area, good on you, but I wouldn't use that as a top priority, especially with Namyangju. As other posters said, it's not the nicest of places.