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What should my top three choices be?
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ciannagh



Joined: 29 Nov 2011
Location: Milwaukee, Wisconsin
PostPosted: Fri Dec 09, 2011 9:57 am    Post subject: What should my top three choices be? Reply with quote
Hey all, I'm going to be applying for the fall semester with EPIK. I'm sure there are already threads about this topic on the forum, but for some reason, the search tool doesn't work with my browser.

So....

As I said, I'm going to be applying for this fall. I've done a little research about Korea, but I'm still unsure as to what cities would be best to apply for. Those of you who have taught, or are currently teaching, what do you think about where you live? Are rural areas bad to live in? What about bigger cities?

I was thinking about applying to Busan, but I've recently heard some negative things about living there.

Opinions?

-Claire
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yodanole



Joined: 02 Mar 2003
Location: La Florida
PostPosted: Fri Dec 09, 2011 10:36 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
This is so dependant on your personality.. It also depends on what you like to do with your free time. It depends on how flexible you are with your food choices.

The less flexible you are, the larger city you would want to be in. ( as a general rule ) Pusan isn't a bad choice. However, most every place has something to offer. A lot of cities have English language websites.
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ciannagh



Joined: 29 Nov 2011
Location: Milwaukee, Wisconsin
PostPosted: Fri Dec 09, 2011 11:03 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
yodanole wrote:
This is so dependant on your personality.. It also depends on what you like to do with your free time. It depends on how flexible you are with your food choices.

The less flexible you are, the larger city you would want to be in. ( as a general rule ) Pusan isn't a bad choice. However, most every place has something to offer. A lot of cities have English language websites.


I've traveled and lived abroad before, so I'm fairly flexible. In my free time, I like to do a little everything - I love the outdoors and hiking, and also going out at night. I can pretty much adjust to any sort of situation, so long as I'm not completely isolated from people. As far as food goes, I'm not really that picky and like to try new things.
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Rutherford



Joined: 31 Jul 2007
PostPosted: Fri Dec 09, 2011 4:13 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
You should request to be in a very small village somewhere in Chuncheon, Jeolla, or Gangwon-do because that way you will experience true Korean culture and you will learn the language faster.
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ciannagh



Joined: 29 Nov 2011
Location: Milwaukee, Wisconsin
PostPosted: Fri Dec 09, 2011 6:50 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Rutherford wrote:
You should request to be in a very small village somewhere in Chuncheon, Jeolla, or Gangwon-do because that way you will experience true Korean culture and you will learn the language faster.


Fair point, but I've heard a lot of negative things about living in small villages (no other foreigners, isolation, etc) so I'm mainly going to try to avoid those.
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Sister Ray



Joined: 25 Mar 2006
Location: Fukuoka
PostPosted: Fri Dec 09, 2011 7:24 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Rutherford wrote:
You should request to be in a very small village somewhere in Chuncheon, Jeolla, or Gangwon-do because that way you will experience true Korean culture


What makes a village culture a more authentic culture than Seoul? Seoul is where most Koreans live, so is more representative of what Korea is like for most people.
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GrasshopperKR



Joined: 14 Oct 2011
PostPosted: Fri Dec 09, 2011 9:00 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Sister Ray wrote:
Rutherford wrote:
You should request to be in a very small village somewhere in Chuncheon, Jeolla, or Gangwon-do because that way you will experience true Korean culture


What makes a village culture a more authentic culture than Seoul? Seoul is where most Koreans live, so is more representative of what Korea is like for most people.


Town life is more indicative of what Korea was like back in the day. Seoul is like any other mega-city.
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yellowdove



Joined: 19 Aug 2009
PostPosted: Sun Dec 11, 2011 2:57 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
Choose a city that isn't Seoul or Busan. Try Daejeon, Daegu, Gwangju, or Changwon. You get a sense of what Korea is, have options as far as food (granted, not as many as Seoul or Busan), and you can meet more people.

Daejeon was great for me and my husband our first time around - it's in the centre of the country, so it's awesome for traveling, there's a great group of expats with a fantastic facebook group for easy meet-up organizations, and there's quite a bit to do. It's not touristy, however, but you're only an hour away from Seoul on the KTX, 2 hours from Busan (KTX as well), and you can grab a train or bus to any other part of the country if you like exploring.

The other cities still have lots of stuff to do, but Daejeon is definitely a great place to base yourself in Korea.
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northway



Joined: 05 Jul 2010
PostPosted: Sun Dec 11, 2011 3:02 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
GrasshopperKR wrote:
Sister Ray wrote:
Rutherford wrote:
You should request to be in a very small village somewhere in Chuncheon, Jeolla, or Gangwon-do because that way you will experience true Korean culture


What makes a village culture a more authentic culture than Seoul? Seoul is where most Koreans live, so is more representative of what Korea is like for most people.


Town life is more indicative of what Korea was like back in the day. Seoul is like any other mega-city.


Korea back in the day is not Korea today.
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rickpidero



Joined: 03 Sep 2009
PostPosted: Sun Dec 11, 2011 3:43 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
Rutherford wrote:
You should request to be in a very small village somewhere in Chuncheon, Jeolla, or Gangwon-do because that way you will experience true Korean culture and you will learn the language faster.


Be careful if you do something like this. Some people come here and have the worst experience of their life living out in small Korean cities. This could happen even in Seoul, but there is a higher chance of it happening in a small town.
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minos



Joined: 01 Dec 2010
Location: kOREA
PostPosted: Sun Dec 11, 2011 4:34 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
Seoul is the cultural hearth of Korea.

Pretty much every city, town, and village takes it's cue from that city. Anybody who says it's not true korea is living in fantasy land.

It's the same as someone saying Paris is not real France.

Village culture is like seoul: same food, same markets, same people(albeit older), same fashion(worse), same stores, same chains(less western food). They even l