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adzee1
Joined: 22 Jul 2010
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 Posted: Mon Jul 25, 2011 11:56 pm Post subject: EPIK placement |
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SO I posted a few messages here about a problem I had with EPIK not wanting to accept my spanish TEFL certificate and thought I was not going to be accepted.
Then this morning they decided that they will accept it but have not offered me any of the places I wanted to go and have instead offered me Gyeongbuk, Gangwon or Chungbuk... or I will need to apply for the next intake in Spring. Their indecesion basically cost me a bit of time and now I am worried that they are trying to send me to the places perhaps no one else wants to go.
Does anyone have experience of living in Gyeongbuk, Gangwon or Chungbuk ?? and can tell me what its like ? Obviously I have read about the places online but wanted to find out any first hand experiences of these places before i decide which one to go for, or whether to forget EPIK altogether and start my documents being processed again to go to a PS in Seoul. Any help / advice is appreciated |
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imGosu
Joined: 25 Apr 2011
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adzee1
Joined: 22 Jul 2010
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| Posted: Tue Jul 26, 2011 5:02 am Post subject: |
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Yes i have basically answered my own question through hours of researching myself as the responses on here were somewhat lacking. I have decided to go to Gangwon as there looks like quite a few good things to do there in comparison with the other 2 provinces.
Now I just have to hope that I dont end up in some reclusive village with about 50 people in it  |
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fungrel
Joined: 26 Dec 2010
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| Posted: Tue Jul 26, 2011 5:23 am Post subject: |
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| I live in Chunbuk. It's so central to every part of the country (Daejeon is a transport hub for trains and busses) so getting away for a weekend in daegu seoul or busan is never an issue. but each to their own i guess, depends on how much exploring you want to do and where. |
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Squire
Joined: 26 Sep 2010
Location: Jeollanam-do
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| Posted: Tue Jul 26, 2011 5:26 am Post subject: |
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| adzee1 wrote: |
Yes i have basically answered my own question through hours of researching myself as the responses on here were somewhat lacking. I have decided to go to Gangwon as there looks like quite a few good things to do there in comparison with the other 2 provinces.
Now I just have to hope that I dont end up in some reclusive village with about 50 people in it |
Rural schools aren't so bad. The small class sizes are awesome, and a scenic commute to work is almost worth it in itself |
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young_clinton
Joined: 09 Sep 2009
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| Posted: Tue Jul 26, 2011 5:58 am Post subject: |
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| Squire wrote: |
| adzee1 wrote: |
Yes i have basically answered my own question through hours of researching myself as the responses on here were somewhat lacking. I have decided to go to Gangwon as there looks like quite a few good things to do there in comparison with the other 2 provinces.
Now I just have to hope that I dont end up in some reclusive village with about 50 people in it |
Rural schools aren't so bad. The small class sizes are awesome, and a scenic commute to work is almost worth it in itself |
Rural schools don't guarantee a small class size. The school I taught in had huge classes. |
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adzee1
Joined: 22 Jul 2010
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| Posted: Tue Jul 26, 2011 11:43 am Post subject: |
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Class sizes are not so important to me really especially as I have just had classes in Mexico with 35 / 40 kids in them. The more important things in my choice are restaraunts, bars, cultural activities and general things to do..
I love the countryside but I just dont know about how I would like living there as I have always spent my life in cities. |
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Modernist
Joined: 23 Mar 2011
Location: The 90s
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| Posted: Tue Jul 26, 2011 5:44 pm Post subject: |
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I'll try to offer something:
My school is very rural but small classes? Just about never. I don't think I ever have fewer than 20 except my 'small-group' conversation classes with about a dozen each. So I wouldn't count on that regardless of province.
Prepare yourself for students who know almost nothing, despite [likely] years and years of 'English classes.' Most of 'em won't even be able to speak 1 complete sentence, their pronunciation will be lousy, and they WILL expect you to speak conversational Korean--I've been amazed at how innocently Korean kids seem to imagine that their rather insignificant language somehow has a global scope that would result in the average Englishman or Canadian or American being able to speak it reasonably well.
As for your main ?, about the provinces: you have to recognize that all the bigger cities in Korea are separately governed from their provinces. So your best bet would have been Chungbuk, because it has 2 quite large cities [Cheongju and Chungju], plus the separate big regional center [Daejeon] PLUS it is fairly small for Korean province, so the travel times even if you were stuck in some little myeong, would be modest.
Gangwon is pretty huge geographically, and there are no particularly large cities there. It's basically seen as the resort/getaway/vacation area for metro Seoul. Lots of mountains and parks and very sparsely populated areas. If you were placed in Wonju [because of the fairly quick train to Seoul] or maybe Chuncheon it wouldn't be bad at all, but other than that I think it could be quite isolating and rather dull.
If you are likely going there, I would read the blog View from Gangwondo [Google it] which is clear about the reality there and exceedingly well-written. |
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adzee1
Joined: 22 Jul 2010
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| Posted: Tue Jul 26, 2011 11:46 pm Post subject: |
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Yes I thought that about Chungbuk having those cities but from what i read online and in books it seeemed to give the impression that they were kind of dull cities with not a great deal going on.
So i was kind of hoping that I would end up being placed in Chuncheon or Gangneung which I will be fine for the first year. At the EPIK orientation I understand they give you some kind of meeting / interview as to where you would like to go, is this correct ?
If it is I hoping that my pleas to be placed in a city are met, although of course I am not holding my breath ! |
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Modernist
Joined: 23 Mar 2011
Location: The 90s
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| Posted: Wed Jul 27, 2011 1:44 am Post subject: |
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| from what i read online and in books it seeemed to give the impression that they were kind of dull cities with not a great deal going on. |
Let me make sure I've got that: you think Cheongju [prov. capital, pop. >600K] is dull, but you're fine with Chuncheon [smaller, backwater prov. capital, pop. ~250K] 'cause it's hip and happening?
I would say you need to recognize that decent-sized Korean provincial cities are all pretty much the same. You mention things like restaurants, bars, 'cultural activities' [whatever that means]...look, in any city of less than about a million, with a few exceptions, there'll be about 1.5 bars catering in any way to foreigners. Clubs, to the extent they exist, will be heavily Korean-focused and you won't feel terribly welcome. Restaurants will be overwhelmingly Korean food of one type or another [meaning, generally, disgusting].
I don't know what exactly you think you'll find in one place but not another. For the many people on this forum who insist that Seoul and Busan are the only tolerable places in the country, those cities' supply of vaguely Western restaurants, foreigner bars, headache-inducing department stores and pretentious sort-of-hip clubs are their primary defense. None of the other cities in Korea has anything like that. If that's critical to you, well, it'll be a long year in Chuncheon.
Finally, EPIK orientation is indeed supposed to allow them to see who is 'good' and thus worthy of getting first choice for placement. But since all of 'em will want what cities may exist, and the criteria for being 'good' are arbitrary and opaque, I wouldn't worry too much about it. Consider it an introduction to Korean thought. |
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schwa
Joined: 18 Jan 2003
Location: Yap
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| Posted: Wed Jul 27, 2011 2:15 am Post subject: |
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| adzee1 wrote: |
At the EPIK orientation I understand they give you some kind of meeting / interview as to where you would like to go, is this correct ?
If it is I hoping that my pleas to be placed in a city are met, although of course I am not holding my breath ! |
Yes, thats correct. Their hope is to place individuals where they're most likely to be content. Emphasize that you've always lived in big cities.
Some of the new recruits will request more rural postings & they're easily obliged, but most want Chuncheon, Wonju, or Gangneung. Those who have already put in good service in the countryside & wish to transfer will get dibs on city jobs, but there are typically still a few left over for newbs. A good number of "rural" postings are within fairly easy access to larger centers, you could ask about that too.
Best luck! |
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adzee1
Joined: 22 Jul 2010
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| Posted: Wed Jul 27, 2011 11:39 am Post subject: |
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| Modernist wrote: |
| Quote: |
| from what i read online and in books it seeemed to give the impression that they were kind of dull cities with not a great deal going on. |
Let me make sure I've got that: you think Cheongju [prov. capital, pop. >600K] is dull, but you're fine with Chuncheon [smaller, backwater prov. capital, pop. ~250K] 'cause it's hip and happening?
I would say you need to recognize that decent-sized Korean provincial cities are all pretty much the same. You mention things like restaurants, bars, 'cultural activities' [whatever that means]...look, in any city of less than about a million, with a few exceptions, there'll be about 1.5 bars catering in any way to foreigners. Clubs, to the extent they exist, will be heavily Korean-focused and you won't feel terribly welcome. Restaurants will be overwhelmingly Korean food of one type or another [meaning, generally, disgusting].
I don't know what exactly you think you'll find in one place but not another. For the many people on this forum who insist that Seoul and Busan are the only tolerable places in the country, those cities' supply of vaguely Western restaurants, foreigner bars, headache-inducing department stores and pretentious sort-of-hip clubs are their primary defense. None of the other cities in Korea has anything like that. If that's critical to you, well, it'll be a long year in Chuncheon.
Finally, EPIK orientation is indeed supposed to allow them to see who is 'good' and thus worthy of getting first choice for placement. But since all of 'em will want what cities may exist, and the criteria for being 'good' are arbitrary and opaque, I wouldn't worry too much about it. Consider it an introduction to Korean thought. |
Yes I didnt say that I wanted the city to be huge but interesting.. from what I have read Chuncheon seems like a good quality of life and a relatively nice place to live, and was in fact voted the best korean city to live in some survey i read.
Cheongju from what I read says that " there is little of interest to a visitor and the place is not worth staying in for a great deal of time "
I have no problem with Korean food as I dont find it disgusting and I also have no problem with Korean style clubs or bars, as I am confident that I can make myself feel welcome where ever I go.
Korean bars = fine,
No bars = not so fine
Thats not intended to showboat in any way but I think in most places I have been in the world if you treat people well you will generally get treated well in return, If not then thats their problem not mine.
"cultural activities " perhaps I should have said Cultural and Recreational activities ... if you didnt know what I meant by that I was referring to Museums, Sights, Beaches, Skiing, Camping, places of natural beauty etc.. and from what I read it seems that is much easier to find in Gangwon compared to around Cheongju... Maybe I am wrong but many people have written that Gangwon is where people from Seoul often go to vacation there so I am assuming that there is more to do there.. However you know what they say about assumption !!
As for the EPIK interview I guess I will give it my best shot to try and get my way into a city and see what happens !! |
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shostahoosier
Joined: 14 Apr 2009
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| Posted: Wed Jul 27, 2011 4:14 pm Post subject: |
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I live in Gyeonggi but a lot of my friends live in Gangwon-do and most of them love it.
Most of them get paid a little more (I know non-tefl, non-certified teaching newbies who earn 2.4) because they work at multiple small (10-30 students) schools.
They also tend to get a lot more vacation days (some of my friends get almost 40 days a year!). Some places in Gangwondo arent terribly far from Seoul (if you can tolerate a 2 hour bus ride) and the scenery there can be quite stunning. A lot of my friends in other parts of Korea tell me how ugly and dirty it is in this country, but I guess I have a different view because I live in a rural area that is similar to Gangwon-do and I dont experience a lot of filth.
Gangneung, Wangju, and Chuncheon are all really popular. My friends who live in Gangneung absolutely live it. Strangely, my friends who live in Chuncheon arent very happy.
I agree with an earlier poster that most of the mid-size Korean cities are the same (and just smaller copies of Seoul). The good thing about Chuncheon though is that it is connected to Seoul by subway line. |
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tonyturner1988
Joined: 17 Jan 2011
Location: UK
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| Posted: Fri Jul 29, 2011 8:27 am Post subject: |
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i presume that you're applying with I Love ESL? My girlfriend and I also got told those three provinces would likely be given to us although we hadn't specified them. We were late with applying and the notary/apostille process was a real mess!
Having said that, being in a province should get you speaking Korean whether you want to or not.
We actually decided that Gyeongbuk would be our number 1 choice out of those three. I've got fingers crossed for a near-coastline location. I think the only loss will be the city night life, which frankly doesn't bother me. I'd take lakes and hills over roads and bars any day! |
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adzee1
Joined: 22 Jul 2010
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| Posted: Fri Jul 29, 2011 8:30 am Post subject: |
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| No its actually with Korvia, I hadnt chose any of those places either but ended up deciding on Gangwon.. Again like you hoping for the coast. Have you got your NOE or contract details through yet ? |
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