Korean Job Discussion Forums

[mt]

Hey guys,

I have recently received an offer to work in Pohang near the POSCO village. I've tried to research as much as I can about the area but if anyone who has lived there (or currently lives there) has any more info about it, that would be great! I'm a 22 year old easy going girl, and am wondering if Pohang has anything to offer social life wise? Are there things to do & cool places to see? Is it easy to travel to other cities? I don't want to be completely isolated! If you'd rather PM me instead that would be helpful too.

Thanks

[bucheon bum]

Life in Pohang

That might help a little.

[genesis87]

if you like partying or nightlife at all stick around seoul or right outside (or busan). im almost finished with my first year and everyone i have met who lives in the middle of nowhere regrets not being near seoul

[NohopeSeriously]

It all depends on whether you're fond of Gyeongsang-do or not. If you lean politically to the left, avoid Gyeongsang-do at all cost. If you hate aggressive people, avoid Gyeongsang-do at all cost.

I recommend Seoul or any surrounding city around Seoul. To most of the Koreans, they think:

Seoul = good
Gyeongsang-do = evil

That's about it.

[coralreefer_1]

I think Pohang would be a good place to get your feet wet (pun intended)

I say that because for a first time teacher, big cities can be quite overwhelming in terms of culture shock and such. Pohang has a small, yet rather close foreigner community that support and help each other.

In terms of "social" life..you likely wont have too many issues. In terms of "nightlife", that may be lacking a fair amount compared to other cities.

This crap about aggressive people in the southern areas is just that...crap. While its true the people in the southern areas are said to be more "rough"...that more closely relates to speaking style(dialect) and demeanor rather than actual aggressive confrontations. Some of the warmest Koreans you will ever meet here are people you see walking around looking angry. This board is filled with "aggressive" situations/stories/fights/racist attitudes from Seoul far more often than the south, granted there are more people living in Seoul (or maybe they just whine about it more)

Most of the folks I know from Pohang are involved in the Ultimate Frisbee League there, and seem to have no issues with the city or province. They get out, do things..and have a great time. They are close, care for each other, and from my experience tend to form "solid" friendships rather than mere acquaintance relationships.

[young_clinton]

The name reminds me of Podunk At any rate if the city is not enough to your liking, there are the weekends. Korea's excellent bus system can get you just about anyplace relatively quickly and the buses run all the time.

[zombiedog]

I know the city well. It's not a mecca of night clubs like the bigger city, but it does have a very friendly and welcoming expat community. The is about 500,000 people, which is huge enough that it has most of whatever you need.

The people are not rude or "in your face" anymore than anywhere else in the world I've been. In fact, most of my experiences are/were very positive.

You can find out more info on the facebook page Pohang Legends. Good luck!

[mt]

Thanks for all the feedback everyone! Greatly appreciated

[createasaurus21]

[joelove]

[youtuber]

I lived in Seoul and visited again recently and I prefer Pohang.

Seoul is just not interesting anymore - the people are so plastic.

[s.tickbeat]

Pohang is awesome! I've been a few times, and it's really a cool city. There's a large international crowd - teachers AND POSTECH students - and the beaches all around the area. There's not much in the way of clubs, but who needs clubs when you have a marine base on-site? (Almost no-one parties harder than the U.S marines, and they're generally more polite than the regular army I find). On top of all that, Tilt (the expat bar) is a bang'n place to spend a weekend, with overstuffed beanbags chairs surrounding a giant hookah. . .

Seoul and Busan are great too, but you'll still have a great time in Pohang, too.

[AbbeFaria]

I lived in Pohang for about 4 1/2 years and still visit regularly. It has it's charms. Because of it's small size you have a lot of chances to meet foreigners so you can make a quick circle of friends. The expats tend to mingle around the same handful of establishments, such as Tilt, Whistlers, Mindy's and a couple of other watering holes. If you're nervous about experiencing the culture of Korea, Pohang is a good place to ease in to it. Because of the close proximity of other foreigners you'll plenty of people around to show you the ropes. There is a well-established English Club that has been meeting for years that's a good place to meet new people. It's composed of foreigners and Koreans and it's a good first stop once you hit town. They have a facebook group. Just search for Pohang English Club or PEC and you should find it.

Pohang's size is also a negative. If you get in with the foreigner community, there can be a lot of drama as everyone tends to know everyone else. It can be very much like a high school clique. I've also noticed that the foreigners in town these days don't mingle as much with Koreans. It gets very insular. I like hanging with Koreans and immersing myself in the culture when I can and that can be hard to do on their outings. There is usually always some event someone put together, be it a party, a weekend trip or day trip, etc. But it's very caucasian when they do. That sort of turned me off to hanging with them as much as I would have otherwise.

As for the city itself, it's not large. You can walk almost the full length of it in about 3-4 hours. It's squeezed between the coast and some mountains so it's much longer than it is wide. It's home to one of the largest steel mills, as you probably saw in your research and so it's a bit dirty. Unless something's changed since I left last year, there are no western-style night clubs in town. However, Busan and Daegu are within easy reach, either by bus or train and there are a lot of clubs in either location. It's slightly over an hour to each of them. You have access to KTX, Korea's bullet train in Gyeongju, which is a 25 minute bus ride from Pohang and from there Seoul is a 2 hour train ride away. The KTX is set to be expanded to Pohang in the next year or two, I'm told.

There are a handful of western-style restaurants there but you won't be overwhelmed with the selection. Shopping, there is a Lotte Department store for the high-end stuff, as well as some other smaller department stores to choose from. The bus system is fast and efficient and taxi's are plentiful. No subway. You can hop a cab and get to any of the major spots around town for usually 4-7k won, depending on traffic. Pohang also has a small airport if you're wanting a speedier mode of transport to Seoul or some other destination.

There are a lot of touristy places a short distance from the city, as well. So, with a little bit of research, you should always have something to do if you don't want to sit at home on the weekends. And if you're outgoing and social, you'll find it easy to meld in to the existing community. They're friendly. Be prepared to drink, though.

The Marines are very laid back owing to the small size of the base. They police each other and in all my time there I never heard of any problem as far as fighting or rowdy behavior, which you hear about in larger cities with a big military presence.

Pohang generally divides people along two lines: They love it or hate it. Those that love it tend to stay for awhile. Those that hate it leave as soon as they can and never look back. I've talked to other foreigners that said once they left Pohang they were surprised by how different expats acted in other cities. Pohang is... unique in a lot of ways.

[JaredW]

I live in Pohang, and I am not too fond of the city. I think if you are from a large city (I'm from NYC), you will be at a loss for things to do. True, the expat community is...there, but it can be slightly "whites-only" and focuses on, maybe, 3 bars--drinking is major here, and most of the expats are early-20s (I am 33), so if that's your thing...

If you like culture, shopping, CLEAN beaches, and a variety of things to do on any given weekend, I would look for a different city. Also, if you are looking to meet a diverse group of people on your Korean journey, Pohang is not the best place. And purely subjective: the Pohang expats are not the best looking crowd.

But, Pohang does have great seafood and Busan/Daegu are very easy to get to (as well as Seoul, with the Express bus). Oh yeah, Pohang will get a KTX station in 2014, so there's that.

[zpeanut]

Hey,

I live in Pohang. I got here last December, so if you're looking at the threads, you may have seen some posts written by me trying to seek out some things to do here...

I gotta say, after living in Seoul for about 6 months, Pohang isn't all that different. It's got the same bars and karaokes etc. The only thing it doesn't have is large scale department stores - there is a Lotte department but I heard it's not very big - and also musicals and concerts if you're into them. You'll have to go to Seoul or Daegu for that I guess. If you like tradition and culture, Gyeongju is 40 minutes away and it's awesome, so don't worry about missing out on that.

There are cool things here organised by the community for entertainment like free movies at the Hocho Art Hall ( I think that's what it's called) and theres an English club in the city that meets every week. I haven't ventured to any of the expat hot spots just yet... JaredW made me scared... haha

So yeah, why not start out here in Pohang? POSCO village? that's prolly near my place. We can hang