Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Phil88]

Been told by a recruiter I can get work in the chungnam province in west S. Korea, anyone worked here before? What's it like?

[Skippy]

Yep in Gongju.
Perfectly fine!

[The Floating World]

It is one of the most rural and quiet places in Korea. Googleearth it and at night you'll see lights all over the peninsular and then relative darkeness where Chungnam is.

That doesn't make it bad per se, it has GREAT Korean food and is amazingly postcard picturesque during each season and the folks are pretty laid back.

It is boring though and drove me to heavy drinking as I needed anything to fill the damned time in the evenings, so it all depends if you're after a quiet year or not.

[Phil88]

Hmm maybe it's not good for me then, just finishing off teaching in Thailand in a rural area and looking for a place in Korea with more going on!

[Hank the Iconoclast]

[Guajiro]

[Big Mac]

I lived in Seosan and found it kind of boring. I had a much better time living in Seoul.

[cheezsteakwit]

Thanks for the info. I'll be starting orientation for a PS job in Chungnam on Feb. 21st - First time in Korea, so wasn't sure what to expect. I don't have an exact location yet, but it's most likely rural.

[young_clinton]

I worked in a small city in Chungnam for two years. I would rather work in Chungnam than any other place in Korea. Chungnam is rural and heavily christianized. The people and the children there tend to be really nice and friendly and helpful and GENEROUS. The only beef I had about my place was that I had to heat with heating oil, other than that it was great.

[qcat79]

if you're talking about anyplace outside of daejeon (which isn't part of chungnam, per se anymore), cheonan would be ok....not great, but livable if you only plan on doing a year and need to rack up some savings or just want a decent job. there are some good western food places and a few foreigner bars. gyms, hiking and other sports activities abound and it's actually still on the seoul subway line 1.

[young_clinton]

Every weekend I took the express bus to Seoul, sometimes twice Saturday and Sunday. It only took two hours early in the morning to Central City from the central area of Chungnam. I think only an hour from Cheonan. Actually the subway from Cheonan takes longer than the bus from Cheonan.

[AsiaESLbound]

I taught for the public school in the city center of Seosan for a year and found it to be fine. The kids, principal, and co-teachers treated me very well and the location was super convenient for street market food and the bus terminal with frequent 1 hour 40 minute buses to Seoul. I wish I had kept that job for another year since it paid 300 more per month than anything I'm seeing listed these days, but then I wouldn't have enjoyed an epik 4 month round the world trip nor be at Mardi Gras in New Orleans right now.

[artwalknoon]

I'm going to be teaching in Chungnam soon as well. I've been told by many Korean friends that its definitely a quieter and more laid back part of Korea. I think I'll be okay with a quieter lifestyle for a while and I'm sure I'll find a way to stay entertained.