Korean Job Discussion Forums

The Man known as The Man · Posted: Thu Mar 11, 2004 2:37 pm Post subject:

Don't question or look sideways at soccerfan for fear of your life-or at least getting a ballon bomb filled with unspeakable fluids.

IconsFanatic · Joined: 19 Jan 2003

jaganath69 · Joined: 17 Jul 2003

One thing I liked about the place on the few visits I made there was the number of non-Korean Asians I met. I speak Indonesian and had a great time chatting with the Indo guys hanging around the station area. Its probably due to the high concentration of manufacturing south of Seoul that there are more guest workers there. I am considering it for my next contract, but there are other cities I would like to try too. I'm currently in Ilsan, which has a good solid expat community, but can be a little boring at times as well.

Cheers

Jaga

harpo · Joined: 07 Nov 2003 Location: Canada

Hey everyone,

I've been in Suwon for about 2 months now, and I really like it. The one thing that is definetly lacking is a foreigner community in my area, or at least I have not found one yet. Going to Seoul to party is nice but is breaking the budget a little bit. I would like to check out this "pool" or "rock" bar in the Kyeung-Hee area but the thing is I do not know how to get there. If anyone could tell me if it is still a good place for meeting foreigners and how to get there from Suwon Station, I would greatly appreciate it.

Thanks
Harp

ryleeys · Joined: 22 Dec 2003 Location: Columbia, MD

I take consolation in one thing... probably 70% of the foreigners on this board couldn't handle living in Icheon... They'd all be crying about how boring it is and how far from Seoul it is (70 minutes by bus)... Personally, the only places in Seoul I like are the ones that feel alot smaller than the city.

Actually, Icheon is still a little on the big side for me, but as I only see about a third of the city on a regular basis, I manage.

Grotto · Joined: 21 Mar 2004

I lived in Suwon, Youngtong dong area 2002-2003 and had a pretty good time. There are a huge assortment of restuarants, lots of opportunities to do privates, you are near Seoul and it only costs a few thousand won to pop in. The buses run often and their is a subway as well.

Many foriegners there....literally hundreds. Most are pretty friendly but you have to go bar hopping to find them though. Dont expect an invite they dont tell anyone where or when they are going. They just go and the group grows and grows. There are a few bars that many foriegners frequent so they are a good place to start.

Gets hotter than a nun at the Vatican in August and humid. The air was pretty polluted when I was there.

There are many places to see Min Sok Chon(folk village)
Suwon castle...makes a nice hike to go completely around it.
If you explore a bit you can find a huge outdoor market in old Suwon great for finding souveneirs and much cheaper than Namdemuen
There is a Wal-Mart, Carrerfour, Home Plus, and a few other big name department stores. Lots of movie theaters usually with a good selection of English movies subtitled in Korean. A few black market stores where you can pick up Mac $ cheese, kubasa and a few other back home delicasies.

I recommend it for a first time.

nshadow · Joined: 24 Oct 2003

I lived in Suwon for about 1 year, and I liked it.
Suwon is far enough from Seoul to enjoy the fresh air, and friendlier people. In Suwon, you will find a large mix of non-western foreingers, like Indo, and Thai.
It's a great place to work and live. If you go there, just go away from the Train / Subway station on wone of the buses. I recomend 700 (might be wrong) or 63. This will take you into the back area of Seoul. It's great back there. Really.