Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Heisenberg87]

I was offered a position in Bucheon and from what I've read on these boards, it seems like a nice city to live. I was told that I would be living near songnae station. It seems like the amenities of the city are a little bit spread out though. I know Bucheon is on the Seoul Metro line subway line and the public transportation is supposed to be second to none but that the trains also don't run any later than 11:30 or 12. Based on where I'd be living, would it be difficult to get around and socialize during the weekends?

Are there any other advantages/disadvantages to this location?

[Troglodyte]

Bucheon is definitely a nice place to live. It's no where near as crowded as Seoul. There are a lot of parks and bike paths, a few malls, a few foreigner bars. There's quite the expat community there.

Songnae station is the closest to the main downtown (the more classy downtown). The main nightlife area is around Bucheon station (it's near the university), but that area also looks a bit run down.

[Heisenberg87]

I'm glad to know I'll be near a nice area. I looked at a map of Bucheon, it looks like a very short distance between songnae and bucheon station if you go by train or bus, a 45 minute walk otherwise. I know getting between Seoul and a surrounding city can be difficult and expensive if you're out late, but is it as difficult and expensive if you're just going out within the city?

I should indicate that I'm not coming to Korea to party 24/7 and this is not really a big deal (I've seen some people on here that were ADAMANT about being in Seoul strictly because the trains didn't run late.) I'm just really curious about this for some reason :-b

[nora]

Hongdae/Itaewon/Gangnam to Bucheon after midnight and your paying about 25,000 for a cab. As long as you're not doing it every single night, it's no problem at all. Also, depending on where you're at, buses run LATE. You can snag a bus from Yeouido into Bucheon until about 3 am, so if you're really cheap, you can catch a cab to Yeouido and then switch to a bus.

[bbud656]

..

[Heisenberg87]

It seems like this area should be fine then in terms of getting around.

[Troglodyte]

The trains also start up really early in the morning. So you can always wait until the first train back in the morning around 5 or 5:30. It's quite common to go hang out at an internet cafe with comfortable chairs for a few hours. You can sleep at the computer, they don't really care. (Some of the hard core gamers do it.)

[overdrive2023x]

And there's the new extension of Line 7 that is supposed to open in October in Jung Dong and that will take you pretty damn near close to gangnam without having to switch lines.

Will miss Songnae and it being on the Express line 1 though...

Anyways, I use songnae every weekend. if I'm in Sinchon, Hongdae or that area, I always just leave by about 10:45 to be absolutely sure I'll be able to catch the Express Line back to Songnae, and then a bus from there to Jung Dong. If you live right next to Songnae and don't need a bus, then there are express trains that will run by Songnae till 12:05am.

I snagged a taxi from Hongdae to Bucheon City Hall about 2 weeks ago though, and it only cost 18,000 won somehow. Does anyone know how much the extra fee for crossing from Seoul into Gyeonggi, and it being late night is?

[Martin_Brez]

I'm starting a new position at a hagwon in Bucheon in August and from what I read, it seems like a good location.

Check out www.eatyourkimchi.com. This website features videos made by a Canadian couple about living in Bucheon and Korea in general.

Where have you been offered a position at?

Brez