Korean Job Discussion Forums

[jessyq78]

So... My boyfriend and I are moving to Masan in March. From what I could gather from the net, it sounds like it's a pretty laid back city, which is fine for us. We're comfortable getting our drink on sitting in front if a Family Mart and if we're looking for action, we'll skip on over to Busan or something.

I'd like to know what active things there are to do there. Are there a lot of parks, gyms, mountain climbing ect� I'm particularly curious about fishing. I'd love to have that as an available pastime while living there.

Also, does anyone know if there is something equivalent to adventure Korea in this area? We previously lived in the Gyeonggi-Do and occasionaly enjoyed some of the trips Adventure Korea set up but they all leave from Seoul.

Anything else you could mention about life in Masan would be much appreciated.

Also, anything else you could mention about life there would be helpful.
Thanks

[Dodge7]

You sit in front of convenient stores and and get drunk? I'm sorry, but anyone that sits out for everyone to see in front of some shotty looking Family Mart is just tacky. Especially for a "teacher."
What if little Su-in comes by with mommy and daddy?
"Hey look mom, that's the lady you pay all that money to to teach me English getting ripped on some cheap booze over there..."
Yea....niiiice.
Being a teacher you held to stricter moral standards whether you like or not, and you should be in line with them. Getting drunk in front of convenient stores looks REALLY bad on you and all other foreigners.
Please stop.

[jessyq78]

Wow... Second ever posting something up in my life and instantly attacked.

Ummm... Do you live in Masan? Just trying to get some information here in a civil manner. My point simply is that we aren't in need of information about bars, clubs ect... just would like to know some active things to do in the area.

Sitting in front of Family Mart was just a funny memory of what people would do in Korea during the summer. I hope this doesn't put any one off on sharing some information with me.

[Dodge7]

Sorry, wasn't trying to attack you. That's just a pet-peeve of mine, nothing personal. I looked on facebook and really didnt see any groups. Not much on the net either except this:
http://famouswonders.com/masan/

[jessyq78]

No worries. Thanks, I came across the same site during my search. I also saw some pics of people fishing.

Does anyone know how fishing is over there? If so, would you eat what you caught or is the water too polluted.

[Rutherford]

Fishing should be easy to find in Masan. My advice is hit up some of the local fishing shops or talk to groups of fisherman you meet down by the water. Shouldn't take you too long to meet a friendly retiree who can tell you about the local fishing spots and recommend equipment. I'm guessing the fish isn't too dangerous to eat in small quantities and as overfished as most of the areas are here I wouldn't worry about it becoming a main part of your diet. Should be a great free hobby after you buy some equipment. Great way to pass the time outside drinking beer down by the water. Just don't let Dodge7 see you or he'll come give you some lecture about it.

[waseige1]

There is a fairly active facebook group here
https://www.facebook.com/groups/193167757423759/

From what I can tell the foreign group appears to be pretty tight and helpful to each other.

I too am moving there this March.

[SeoulNate]

[jessyq78]

Yeah, suppose I should have been more careful as to what I initially wrote so as to not give any fuel to all the fire out there. I will just do what I always do and find out what things are like once I get there- it always seems to work out in the end.

[timmayyyyy]

Yeah life ain't too exciting there, but it's not a tiny city so you won't be too inconvenienced. Buses leave about every 10-15 minutes to Busan and are cheap.

I lived outside the actual city part in Naeseo-eup. Which was even less exciting.

Masan has 3 main areas for "entertainment." Hapseong-dong (the major downtown area now, and most bustling), Chang-dong (A bit deserted now but walk around shopping area and a bar or 2 there), and Daetgeori, which is the university area near Gyeongnam University. Daetgeori certainly doesn't compare to Seoul but it has some coffee shops, restaurants, bars. There's a bar where a lot of foreigners hang out, which can be a good or bad thing depending on how discriminating you are about foreigners in Korea.

Masan has a few movie theaters, EMart, etc...pretty much all the conveniences you would expect I guess.

It's a bit of an old/gritty feeling city as it was never destroyed in the war. People will generally just leave you alone. It's not easy to make Korean friends. On the bright side, my Korean drastically improved living there. It was also easy to save a bit of money since there's not much excitement to be had. The KTX is supposed to be connecting to it, if it hasn't already. (I left in Oct 2010)

Any specific questions, like about particular areas of the city you'll live in, let me know.

[yellowdove]

The KTX does connect here, moves through Daegu then Daejeon and up to Seoul.

[tiger fancini]

[s.tickbeat]

Masan's a pretty cool place. The Gyeongnam university area is pretty badass, and there's a super cool foreigner bar there. Additionally, Masan has the best Mexican food in the country (the restaurant is called 'Mexico,' run by a husband-and-wife team, wife's Mexican). It links to Changwon and thus Jinhae, and is close enough to Busan to make a party weekend a viable thing if you wanted that.

Masan's fairly close to some lakes, but Jinhae is better for fishing (it's like an hour's city-bus ride away, or a 20-minute express bus away).

[TravelinSig]

I live in Jinhae. I go to Masan frequently to eat mexican food, watch movies and to cruise on my motorbike. There are some great roads to cruise around the large harbor and foothills if you have a bike. Hiking trails are everywhere. I don't know for sure but I think you can take a ferry to Goje-do, which is a fantastic place for outdoor recreation and some decent beaches.

[TravelinSig]

I live in Jinhae. I go to Masan frequently to eat mexican food, watch movies and to cruise on my motorbike. There are some great roads to cruise around the large harbor and foothills if you have a bike. Hiking trails are everywhere. I don't know for sure but I think you can take a ferry to Goje-do, which is a fantastic place for outdoor recreation and some decent beaches.