Korean Job Discussion Forums

[CarlWinslow]

Hows Daejeon for a 30ish first timer to Korea?

appreciate any input

[edwardcatflap]

The good - 50 minutes from Seoul on the KTX
The bad - 50 minutes from Seoul on the KTX
The ugly - it's a Korean city, say no more.

Oh yeah and you might hear some rubbish about how the girls are better looking there or something. Or is that Daegu?

[sirius black]

There's a couple Daejeon threads if you use the search button as well. To answer your question, there seem to be a fairly large number of 'older' teachers. They keep to themselves mainly although they can be found in the largest numbers at Brickhouse bar and the Wa Bar in Eunheung dong (old downtown). There are also a number of clubs/organizations such as a philosophers club that ges a fair number of older teachers. You may also want to join the Facebook group Daejeon Peeps for some specific Daejeon questions. Its a good city. Large, 1.6 mil but has a small town feel to it. It has a number of bars, etc. a Costco, ethnic restaurants (Indian, Mexican, etc.) and its the hub of the KTX train system. You can get to Seoul or Busan easily. You could do worse.

[ajosshi]

[Skippy]

Good place for a first timer! Generally small cities are good and comfortable enough. Some ok bars and restaurants. Shopping is ok, but not the most varied. Enough of an expat crowd you will likely make friends.

If you are a nightlife person. Daejeon I describe as schizophrenic. Three areas with popular places the expats like to hang out. But a distance apart from each other. So a busy Sat night can end up doing a couple of taxi rides around. Which is ok as taxis are not super expensive and bad as it starts to build up.

Check out for "Daejeon Peeps" on Facebook
Plus try a search for "Daejeon Access" blog/magazine.

If you have not found a job. PM me and I can send you the names of a couple recruiters who working mainly in Daejeon.

Good Luck.

[CarlWinslow]

thanks for the advice everyone, I have job lined up in daejeon already so I should be there at the end of the month.

[pmwhittier]

[Cacille]

hey both of you, I'm headed to a small town south of Daejeon, more rural location. Daejeon is a close-ish city so perhaps I'll be traveling there as need be. Also coming in at the beginning of the month, and I'm soon to hit 30 myself.

[borg]

Daejon is the old gangster town. Higher crime rate than other places.

[Skippy]

[sirius black]

[CarlWinslow]

[toadkillerdog]

Yeah, borgs post is definitely trolling. Daejeon is a pretty good place to live. I much prefer it over Seoul. There is a pretty good blend of old and new. It is a bit spread out so transport can be an issue when going out.

If you are looking to connect with other foreigners there is ample opportunity to do so. And, if your looking to avoid other foreigners, no problem there as well.

The only drawback to Daejeon is the Korean food. This area has some of the worst Korean cooking in the land. Very few, if any, locals know their way around a kitchen. International cuisine is picking up here though. We have a pretty good Mexican place, a couple of Indian restaurants, Western places (local and chain). Woosong University has one of the best culinary arts schools in Asia so lots of good places on or around campus to eat.

As other posters have said: Daejeon is also very convenient for travel to other parts of Korea. A trip to Seoul or Busan can easily be done as a day trip if you need to. Pretty soon the KTX will open all the way to Yeosu so that will open the far south of the country for easy travel as well.

[mellinger]

I would agree with most of the other posters here.

Daejeon is a fine city to live in. I've been here almost 6 years and it's definitely gotten better the longer I've lived here. More international food spots are opening up. In fact, 3 years ago, there were no Mexican restaurants here and now there are at least 3 that I know of. Like the other poster said, there are also some good Indian restaurants and there's a great SE Asian restaurant called Oriental Spoon that serves some good Thai/Vietnamese food.

Also, I would echo what the poster before me said about being able to easily travel the country. Seoul is only an hour away by KTX and Busan is less than 2 hours away by KTX. Not to mention buses to every corner of the country, and the furthest place by bus is still only 4-5 hours away.

Oh, and the KTX line to Yeosu is already open, so when the Expo comes to town there, it should be a pretty quick and painless trip to go there if you are in Daejeon by that time.

For sure, there aren't as many events/musicals/shows as there are in Seoul, but some of them do make it down here. In fact, Cats is showing here in Daejeon I think sometime next month along with Miss Saigon. Also, there isn't too much of an underground music scene here like in parts of Hongdae in Seoul, but again, there are places in Daejeon to go for live music if that's your thing.

All in all, a good city, that is quite livable. Traffic doesn't get quite as bad as Seoul either which is quite a plus.

[pmwhittier]