Korean Job Discussion Forums

TrouserX · Joined: 11 Oct 2004 Location: CityX, ROK

I'm gearing up to come to Korea in November, and I'm wrestling with the traditional "Where should I try to live?" question. In a nutshell, this is what I desire:

CLEAN AIR is a priority. I am a recreational long-distance runner (I run 4-5 times a week), so clean air makes a BIG difference to my health and happiness.

LOCAL MOUNTAINS/PARKS are also a big deal for me, as I am an avid day-hiker and weekend camper. For me, nothing beats some good 'UP' and a nice view, so I'd prefer the good trails to be closer rather than farther.

AMPLE CASUAL DATING OPPORTUNITIES. I am happily single and prefer casual dating/relationships with like-minded women; generally I'm seeing two or three women at any given time. I'd like to maintain this lifestyle, so I'd like to live in a place with a good population of attractive young women (I assume either a good-sized city or a smaller university town). (BTW, I'm in my late 20s, look and act mid 20s)

DECENT (NOT NECESSARILY SPECTACULAR) NIGHTLIFE. I'm more of a pub than a club person, but do enjoy clubbing on occasion if I have a good posse. I'm not a gung-ho partier--I don't need a town that bustles 24/7--but I'd like a few nightlife and entertainment options nearby.

QUALITY FOREIGNER COMMUNITY. The more the merrier I suppose, but a large foreigner community is not required. A handful of quality people should be more than enough to keep me sane.

Finally, for the Canadians among you, I lived in Vancouver for many years and loved its mountains and outdoor activities (although I found the air sometimes a touch dirty in my North Burnaby neighborhood). The dating scene there was great, and the nightlife, although some say it sucks, was good enough for me. If I found a reasonable facsimile of Vancouver in Korea, I wouldn't be disappointed.

So that's basically what I'm looking for. The research I've done so far suggests these possibilities:

Jeju-si: famously clean air, lots of hiking in interesting volcanic landscapes, several universities; but it's isolated from the rest of Korea.

Chuncheon: also reputed for clean air and abundant hiking opportunities, university town, near Seoul so I can have megacity weekends when I want them. (Although I could do without the American military base, but I guess nothing is perfect.)

Gyeongju: lots of cultural interest, Lonely Planet says "the region is a hiker's paradise", near Pusan and Deagu for big-city fixes, but how is the air?

South coast cities: I hear rumours of clean air and mountains... are they true?

You folks can take it from here. My official question: Where in Korea can I find clean air and local mountains/outdoor rec without sacrificing nightlife and casual dating opportunities? Am on the right track with the above, or are there other places I should consider?

I am mentally and physically prepared to have your wisdom poured upon me. Many thanks for your help, I appreciate it.

TrouserX
"coming soon to a hagwon near you"

klaasb · Joined: 07 Sep 2004

Hmmm, are you sure you want to come to Korea?

casey's moon · Joined: 14 Sep 2004 Location: Daejeon

Do you want to casually date Korean women? I guess it's possible... but not that easy anywhere in Korea, particularly not in any of the places (countryside and such) that have clean air. I mean, of course there are SOME women who will date casually, but not enough to make up a casual dating scene in any particular part of Korea. If you're talking about casual dating with foreign women... well, then you're going to have to find a place with a lot of foreigners. You'll have to be in or near a big city in that case, or one of the planned cities like Ilsan or Bundang.

Zed · Joined: 20 Jan 2003 Location: Shakedown Street

Busan sounds like the best bet for you in my opinion.

adventureman · Joined: 18 Feb 2003

SarcasmKills · Joined: 07 Apr 2003 Location: Seoul

Uijeongbu! Cool

Zed · Joined: 20 Jan 2003 Location: Shakedown Street

sarahsarah · Joined: 05 Aug 2004 Location: Bundang

Bundang...maybe.

Son Deureo! · Joined: 30 Apr 2003

First off, you're crazy if you expect to find

trevorcollins · Joined: 02 Jul 2004

Some of the closer to the end stops on the subway lines aren't so bad. Ilsan, Hwajeong etc. Close to a lot of National Parks, mountains, forest etc. Far enough from Seoul that the air etc is probably significantly cleaner, yet still on a subway line, so accessible. Can be in downtown Seoul to party or whatever in 30 minutes.
One thing about Seoul is it just kind of stops. In most directions. One second you're in this huge megopolis, busy, massive apartment complexes etc, and next second you're in the country with not a building in sight. I'm an hour from Seoul, yet a million miles away. Mountains, rice fields, plenty of biking, hiking and skiing opportunities. I think there's plenty of towns like this....outer Kyonggi-do type thing.

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

Never been there, but what about Sokcho?

TrouserX · Joined: 11 Oct 2004 Location: CityX, ROK

Thanks for the responses so far. For those of you who scoffed, please pardon my naive optimism about finding a place in Korea that will provide me with reasonably clean air, nearby hiking, and enough available women that I��m not forced into a life of monotony. (Whoops, I mean monogamy.) I should think this isn��t such a tall order!

Perhaps I should have said it clearer: I am absolutely, emphatically NOT interested in living in the Seoul metropolitan area. Seoul is famed for being one of the world��s most polluted cities. I��m an outdoorsy guy—I like to spend some of every day outside if I can—so trust me, a huge noisy dirty city would get old, FAST. At best, I��d consider Seoul an only-on-weekends destination.

The point of my comments about nightlife and foreigners is that I DON��T need world-class nightlife and lots of foreigners. Seven times out of eight, I��ll take a laid-back date or a chilled-out pub over a big loud party. I just want a city that��s not dead, and I��m sure there are many such places in Korea. I know there��s a large ��give-me-Seoul-or-give-me-death�� contingent on this board, but I can��t accept the idea that all cities outside of Seoul aren��t worth living in, or that casual dating is unlikely elsewhere.

And speaking of dating in Korea: on this board I��ve also noticed a polarity between those who feel dating in Korea is a nightmare and those who have no trouble being far more promiscuous than I hope to be. My spies tell me that if you��re young, attractive, and self-confident, there are loads of young women in Korea who��ll want to date you because you��re exotic and/or can help them with their English. Are my spies wrong? Is this really just a question of social adeptness?

Thanks again for your comments. Keep it up!

TrouserX

bucheon bum · Joined: 16 Jan 2003

i can't believe people who bitch about the pollution of Seoul. It really isn't that bad. Considering it has over 10 million people (and 25 million in the metro area) its pretty good. Only once or twice did I think the air was nasty.
From the end of September to mid-April, the sky is usually very clear. Only in the late spring and summer do things become hazy and not very pleasant.

You want dirty air? try bangkok, mexico city, Cairo, any city in China, or even LA. Seoul is clean as can be compared to those.

casey's moon · Joined: 14 Sep 2004 Location: Daejeon

If you want to jog daily (do you? I can't remember -- but I think you mentioned jogging, not just hiking) then you're right about Seoul. The pollution is bad enough in some areas that it's healthier to stay home than to jog. Next to the river might not be as bad -- I don't know.

Yes, if you are how you've described yourself, you'll be popular with women, I'm sure. But they might not just want to date you -- they may want to marry you! Again, I'm not saying you're not going to find what you want in Korea, but finding the perfect city for all the things you've listed, INCLUDING the dating scene is almost impossible. Just almost.

I actually didn't realize that many people were dating casually and openly (multiple people) in Canada. I tried doing that once when I was in university, but realized when I actually met a guy I DID like, that it was just a matter of finding the right guy, and then all interest in the others fell away. But that's off topic.

I do hope you find what you're looking for. I second the person who said Bundang, but if the air thing is more important than the social scene and the women, then somewhere farther from Seoul like Gangneung or something might be better.

Yangkho · Joined: 22 Sep 2003 Location: Honam

Sokcho sounds like a good place for you. You'd be "stuck" between Seoraksan and the Korea/Japan 2002 East World Cup Sea. I think maybe it's not a big enough town, though.

The air in Mokpo seems to be relatively clean, but maybe you're more sensitive to that if you found the air in parts of Vancouver to be dirty.

Yeosu in the south is good sized, with decent air and some real nice stuff to do real close by.

I would recommend you a few eups in the south (town-sized places) that have totally clean air and amazing mountain access, but you need a decent nightlife, so that's out.

Good luck to you.