Korean Job Discussion Forums

[hellofaniceguy]

Any SCUBA shop that is certified to teach SCUBA can train you to go from open water diver on up the ladder. PADI shops all offer the same courses; open water, advance open water, rescue, etc.
If you're an open water diver, you can't go on night dives or at deeper depths past your open water rating.
Check out the PADI shop on Jeju. I know their courses are about the lowest in Korea. But you have to ask for the American instructor as the Korean instructor will charge you more.

[Zyzyfer]

Bulsajo:

[Bulsajo]

[hellofaniceguy]

I agree; diving in Thailand, The Philippines, Hawaii, etc. is far more appealing than Jeju! And conditions are better!
But if the person was looking to learn SCUBA for the least amount of money in Korea, it's the PADI shop on Jeju even when factoring in the flight cost, hotel, etc. What's a hotel running... 30.000 Won a night. Food? 60.000 Won for a few days.

[Zyzyfer]

[Bulsajo]

[Zyzyfer]

I see what you're saying, but I'm thinking extremely short-term (3-6 months). Anyways, I'll keep that in mind.

[Bulsajo]

i'm confused, i'm seeing mixed signals here (and maybe that's just me) -
On one hand you want to get certified as cheaply as possible in advanced openwater; On the other hand you want to spend the time (a lot) and money (a lot) to eventually get certified at an instructor level in the not too distant future (i.e. I don't think it's cheap to go from basic openwater to instructor and i believe there are a fair number of dives you have to have logged, and unless you can dive for free those are going to add up cost-wise, and of course instructors are expected to have their own gear) to do a relatively low-paying job for only half a year or so...

regardless, i wish you all the best in your and your chica's adventure- learning and diving are two of the truly great things in life.

[melgagnon]

Hi,

I have heard word about this discussion and thought it would be a good idea to shed some light on the questions/concerns that you may have. I will try to do this in the shortest way possible. If you are at all interested please contact me, at that point I will be able to provide you with more detail.

1. Yes, the deal is correct. You can become certified in Pusan (althoug at the moment I am looking for a set of wheels, enabling me to hit the road), for 365,000Won. That does include everything that you will need to complete the Theory and Confined Water training. As previously mentioned Open Water Dives are a seperate 150,000Won.

[email protected]

The Open Water Certification that you will receive is through PADI, the Professional Association of Diving Instructors. It is one of the worlds largest training agencies, last year alone, having certified nearly a million divers. The certification that you will receive has no expiration date and is internationally recognized. Wherever you travel to in the world, you will have the opportunity to explore not only the many land attractions, but also venture off to discover the beauty of the underwater world.

* For more information on PADI please feel free to refer to their website: www.padi.com

Now on for some CLARIFICATIONS!!

Concern 1. Group vs. Private learning.

Well, I have been teaching diving full time for 5 years prior to coming to Korea. Since my stay, myself, as well as another group have been conducting Shark Dives at the Busan Aquarium...no diving definately makes for an unpleasant gal!! Anyway, I have taught all forms of Certification, from one on one's to private sessions. Certifying all ages, as well as levels, from basic to a proffessional Divemaster/Assistant Instructor level. I can honestly say that it is up to ones individual needs regarding the method of training.

My courses are not solely limited to independent CD Rom learning. I offer all methods, from in class group training using texts and videos, to a more private one on one. My reasoning behind this is accessibility. Due to the complexities of most schedules, I want these courses to be available to everyone.
If you prefer group training, not a problem. I will set it up.

I am very flexible when it comes to divers needs, and will do everything to provide each individual with the best possible learning environment, a large portion of that includes enjoyment of the program.

* If you would like more information please send me an email, I would be more than happy to discuss every possible option, and create a course that is suitable for you.

CLARIFICATION 2:

Yes, diving in tropical lands is Wonderful!!! However, as a Canadian Instructor, who also enjoys ice diving, I always have to opt. for the underdog diving locations...aiding my students in finding the beauty of there surroundings...mmm, cheesy yes...but hey, as long as I'm diving I'm happy.

Now as for new students, as well as students who are furthering their dive education...I have allowed once again individual decisions to be made.

As you noticed, the Open Water dives are seperate from the rest of the course. This gives you the opportunity to complete you Open Water Dives anywhere around the world, or here in Korea. Many people like to begin their training where they are located before venturing off on vacation. While in Thailand, Philipines, or where ever you may be headed, it is a lot easier to simply get diving, rather than spending most of your limited days off in a classroom. I can think of more appealing ways to keep myself busy.

I hope I have been of some assistance. I do apologize if this has been a little long winded.

Please feel free to email if you have any further questions or concerns regarding what is available, when and where.

[email protected]

I look forward to hearing from you.

[KOD]

Koh Samui Thailand is THE place for instruction in English and cheap PADI certification. Day trips to Koh Tao (or longer liveaboards) make it more interesting. Search "Samui Diving" in Google for information on schools and bargain the price when you get there...enjoy.

[cacheSurfer]

[hellofaniceguy]

quote:

i recently read an article about these ajumas who free dive in Jeju. they go like 20 meters deep to search for seafood and stuff. [/quote]

Nope. I have never seen a ajumma diver at 20 meters. Never. Not saying they don't, I just have never seen one. And I dive often! And I see lots of ajumma divers! They usually hang out around 5-10 meters and are usually within 40 meters of shore. They are over rated simply because of the culture. I've watched them work at 10 meters and they stay down for around 20 seconds. Most of the divers are in their 60's and 70's and just don't have the ability that they once had. The younger ones? No one seems to be carrying on the tradition.

[cacheSurfer]

[wormholes101]

I've been out on Perhentain Island Kecil for the last four months now as DM so can offer info about the diving here.

PADI Open water courses are Ringgit Malaysian 800 on the Perhentain Island, Long Beach...

PADI Advanced course is RM700 for five dives. The Deep dive and Navigation dive are compulsory, from the elective dives, you can choose from multi-level, peak performance buoyancy (PPB), night, wreck, naturalist and a few others... The wrecks here are very cool and lie at 18m and 24m; very good depth for longer dive times, whereas I think Ko Tao's only wreck lies at 50m (out of recreational diving depth).

The diving here is way way way better than Ko Tao. There's significantly more fish life. 4+ species of sharks, large and small rays, big barrcuda, schools of trevally, giant green turtles, at least 5 different species of nudibranchs not including sea slugs, proper sized cobia, massive napoleaon wrasse, huge humphead parrotfish, friendly cleaner shrimps, many different species of clownfish, and loads of common reef fish, very nice variety of corals, hard and soft, better viz 20m-30m recently and generally more, good dive sites. There are much much less divers in the water and the course prices are similar. Fun Dives are cheaper here than Ko Tao at RM65 each for a package of 4 dives.

Long beach is fantastic. It's a long white sand beach with sandy bottom, clear blue water, good snorkling, good nightlife but not too noisy. Most people that come here end up staying twice as long as they had planned

If you want cheap, consider a flight to Bangkok, then train it down to Malaysia..

To Zyz who was talking about going pro... there is no money in diving, you have to do it for love and for fun. The instructor course (OWSI) costs approx US$2000, not money that you'll recoup quickly. You'd be better off being DM (plus you get to do the best dives more often rather then bobbing around at 2m for hours)

For more info feel free to PM me...

BTW, its really weird to log on to daves again. I'm sitting in a PC bang in KL at the moment... it's quite a headtrip. I can almost imagine that I'm back in Korea again...

[the_beaver]