Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Philolinguist]

I'm returning to Korea to teach at a university after a brief respite, and I was wondering if anyone had the 411 on Cheonan. I see it has a population of around 240,000, but I'm wondering if there are any good foreigner watering holes and/or eating establishments (e.g. Outback, TGIF, Bennigans, etc.). Any information would be appreciated.

[mog]

I've been in Cheonan no more than four weeks, so I can't help you too much. Justagirl, Zyzyfer, and a few others can help you out more. There is a Pizza Hut and a Burger King that I'm aware of. Avoid the pizza place downtown. We used the phrase "got screwed" quite often there.

I mean come on, 1200 won to add pepperoni and we get ONE pepperoni per slice of pizza?

Oh and I've gotten estimates of 300,000 to 700,000 people.

[indytrucks]

Cheonan is an hour south of Seoul by bus or train. Cheonan has loads of fast food chains, but for more upscale places, it's off to Seoul you go. Cheonan has a pretty lively city centre near the bus terminal, where there are tons of good restuarants and bars. Cheonan has a couple of nice department stores, an 8 screen multiplex theatre, an EMart - Carrefour - Lotte Mart for grocery shopping. All in all, I enjoy living in Cheonan, and I've been here for about four years now.

[justagirl]

No big chain restaurants yet...there was supposed to be a TGI Friday's, but the banner on the building came down and no TGI's went it. Guess they decided to pull out.

It's too bad the search functions aren't working, 'cause I've written about 5 detailed posts about Cheonan.

What I will tell you...here are 2 schools to NEVER work at:

Kid's Herald (in ssangyong-dong)

Luki (or maybe it's called Luki International)

I've known several people in and out of those schools.

Kid's Herald fired a girl at 10 1/2 months for no reason, with no warning, and told her: "We've had people leave on us, now we're making you leave." Basically, we've been screwed, so we're screwing you. Unfortunately for them, I knew the girl and helped her get in contact with EFL Law, who promptly got in touch with the Labor Board. Kid's Herald had to put out quite a bit of money for trying to screw her over.

One of the girls there now is paying for medical insurance, but has not received her card. She's been there for 6 months, the boss told her she didn't need it at the hospital, but when she went (of course) she needed a medical card. The same is true of the other 2 workers at the school. They've paid into medical all year, but haven't really gotten it and the boss is lining her pockets.

Kid's Herald also charges the workers a "deposit" on the apartment, which will be very difficult to get back when you leave.

Luki is another story of a very rich Korean man who drives a Porche, but can't find the money to pay his employees on time. My good friend from college worked a year there, always had to fight for his paycheck and was refused his bonus when he left until he went to the Labor Board. This school also charges for it's apartments it offers to workers. I think it was 200,000 a month, for a 7 pyong place. It was soooo tiny, and they were getting ripped-off big time. Of course, they didn't know it wasn't normal to get an apartment totally free, because they didn't do their homework. sigh. Poor people. Also at Luki, hours were changed with little notice, including hours that were outside the contract, but the teachers were pressured to work them to insure a paycheck.

I'm not sure why people stay at these jobs...I guess my first year I really felt that a contract was my word, and I'd stay the entire year. Now that it's been more than 3 years, I don't think I'd put up with crap like this. I'd be the teacher you'd hate to hire if you started screwing with me. Fortunately, I work at one of the best hakwons in Cheonan so no problems like these for me.

To the OP: I see that you'll be working at a university here, so I realize these hakwons won't matter much to you! However, perhaps some other poor soul will be fortunate enough to read this thread before signing on with them.

justagirl

[Philolinguist]

Thanks for all the good information...sounds acceptable if not downright good. Yeah, as long as I can find some good places for budae jjigae, well-done chamchi kimbap, samgyetang, samgyeopsal and the occasional Western food fix, I'm good to go. I was a bit disheartened to hear that there aren't any of the standard, sit-down, slightly upscale restaurant franchises, but it doesn't sound like I'll have to make much of trip to find one. I look forward to downing a few with you guys at Wooly Booly.

Incidentally, do you have any info on Baekseok College (formerly Cheonan College of Foreign Studies)? The package isn't bad and they've made my requested changes to the contract.

[waterbaby]

Hi Philolinguist,

You may also find the following thread about Cheonan useful. I'll add this one to the list in the FAQs.

Cheonan
1. Cheonan

~Edited to remove a wrong link~

[Zyzyfer]

[mog]

Speaking of which, Zyf, what restaurants do you recommend that surrounds Bongseo?

[Zyzyfer]

Hmm....

Any of the samgyetang shops are nice. There's a shop one block in from the road that hugs Mt. Bongseo and a few blocks past the middle school with a fence around it, that always has an empty parking lot. This place serves excellent cuts of meat on the grill, but you can't eat there alone. The fancy bulgogi restaurant on stilts has an average bulgogi, but it's very expensive. There was a good new cheapie kimbap shop that just opened up around the corner from your school is, which has a Japanese theme and serves some innovative dishes. But really, while there are a lot of nice-looking shops in the area, I didn't try them very often, since eating alone is such an oddity in Korea. I usually just went to Kimbap Cheonguk across from the gym and just ate there.

[mog]

I think I live right near the samgyetang shop you are talking about. At least I think I pass it everyday on the way to work.

I'm still learning Korean script, and come to think of it, I think I remember reading something like samgyetang on one of the signs. Is it near a place called "Damoa cafe?"

[Philolinguist]

I'll be living in Anseo-dong...is that near any of you, or do you know the area?

[indytrucks]

Anseo-dong is the area around Cheonan University/Cheonan College, about a 10/15 minute bus/taxi ride from the city centre. There's not really that much around, but there's a little villiage of bars and restaurants in front of Cheonan U and also near Sangmyung University. It's a quiet area, but I like it. Gakwonsa isn't too far away either.

[Sunflower21]

Hey, I was just wondering, other then the food there, is it a beautiful place to live and is it easy to go into nature and escape from city living? My main concerns with living in Korea are being able to find vegetarian foods easily, and being able to go hiking or just be in nature. Also, do you find that it's easy to make friends and that there are resources for meeting other international people who are working in Korea? Also, what are the apartments like, the bathrooms, and how accessible are things such as Taekwando classes, or Buddhist temples?

I'm super excited to go though and from what i've seen Cheonan looks beautiful.

[carleverson]

[Artris]

Eating out as a vegetarian is a little less friendly than in the states, but not all that bad (salads/appetizers as usual). That is assuming your friends aren't vegetarians. I've never been to a vegetarian only restaurant because I am frugal when it comes to eating out.

Honestly if you are a vegetarian you should take some time to cook your own meals. It is a valuable skill and I think you'll find it all the more useful here in South Korea. Be aware that saying 'no meat' is often not enough: you should mention ham, fish and chicken as well. A lot of Korean food has small bits of meat in it. Their omelets often have squid or other seafood in them, their soups have oysters. Even bibimbap will have meat in it sometimes. Kimbap often comes with ham most often.