Korean Job Discussion Forums

[chaq]

I am considering to accept an offer for a school in Daegu and wanted some info on costs of living. It would be especially beneficial to hear from people who have lived in both Seoul & Daegu so as to get some comparisons. Things I'm interested to know about are: costs of food, movies, entertainment, workout gyms, sports recreation, club/nite life, etc.

On a job related note, do ppl find average salaries differ from city to city? (i.e. would average salaries in Daegu be less than average salaries in Seoul?)

Thx in advance, appreciate any help or insight.

Chaq

[JacktheCat]

Salaries, cost of living, life styles, etc. are not that radically different from city to city within Korea. No matter what someone people may say and think, Seoul is not the end all, be all of living in Korea.

One downside to living in Daegu, however, is that it is the most social conservative and xenophobic place in Korea.

[chronicpride]

The biggest difference that I noticed between the two was the cost of food and housing. Your school will cover your housing, so scratch that off the list, but I found it much more easier to keep expenses low, regarding food and nights out, when I lived in Daegu vs. Seoul.

Overall, I found the cost of living to be cheaper in Daegu, particularly, in the dining and drinking dept, which are usually the biggest factors that nip away at one's disposable income over here.

Downtown Daegu, you can easily find bulgogi, dwejigalbi, samgyupsal, for 2500Won/order. In Seoul, you have to hunt to find stuff like that for under 7000Won/order. Unless you hop on the subway and get to some obscure outlying areas.

I found it quite easy to operate on a budget of 10-15,000/day of eating out and eating well in Daegu. In Seoul, especially south of the river, it is almost impossible to pull that off without going to your same kimbap restaurant for all of your meals.

I would say that the eating and drinking between the 2 cities could easily be a difference of 200K-500K a month extra in Seoul, depending on your interests and social habits.

I also found Daegu people to be a lot more friendlier and laidback than Seoul people. I learned most of my Korean in Daegu, as the city overall has less exposure to English, tourism, and international business, than Seoul. I had a far more richer and personal Korean experience down there.

Gyeongsangbukdo province overall, is known for its conservativism, but I found a helluva lot less anti-foreigner sentiment there. I still haven't really found much of that anywhere in the distinct amounts that get talked about by other foreigners, but I noticed a lot more welcoming and curious conversation than anything negative or mixed.

Daegu notices and acknowledges you a lot more, that's for sure. Seoul, for the most part, gives you the 'no big deal' shrug. I can't even begin to count how many silent taxis that I've been in Seoul, vs. the chatterbox drivers in Daegu that want to know everything about you and what your country is like.

Daegu has a good community of expats that congregate in certain areas of the city, but the central area is right near downtown.

Here are some links to past discussions that we've had about Daegu:

New to Daegu
New to Daegu2
New to Daegu3
Expats in Daegu
Expats in Daegu2
Avg. starting salaries
Nightlife
Learning Korean in Daegu
Doctors
Bookstores
Movie theatres
Swimming
Paragliding
Curry restaurants
Subway sandwiches
Black markets

Also, check out Cedar's site at:
http://www.thedaeguguide.com/


PS. Before anyone gets all wiseass, yes, I've done my prep for classes. I just have time between classes now and thought that it's about time to try to make a more comprehensive thread on Daegu that we can link to, instead of recycling info everytime these questions come up.

Cedar, Eye, Desultude, Corporal, MOS, etc, feel free to add what I may have missed.

[whatthefunk]

Why isnt Pohang an option on this poll?

[the eye]

[thorin]

[AJRimmer]

[the eye]

welcome.
where abouts are you living?

[desultude]

I live in Sungseo, and things do get better here all of the time. The subway will be open soon from here (Kiemyung University area) to downtown. There is rumor of a megaplex opening nearby (near E Mart) and many restaurants and little cool places near campus.

Downtown is a weekly destination most of the time, but there is plenty to do locally, and house parties are springing up, also. The later is probably due to the lack of many good clubs downtown.

It's not Seoul, but not bad, and getting better. Things are cheap, locals are generally friendly, and I haven't really experienced any anti-Americanism (except for my own existential angst).

[Manner of Speaking]

Chaq,

I arrived in Daegu in 2000. At that time, sometimes weeks would go by before I'd see another foreign face. Sometimes I'd wake up in the morning and look in the mirror and even I would be surprised at how "different" I look.

Since that time, all I can say is that Daegu keeps getting better and better and better. More amenities, specialty restaurants, bookstores, every year. Daegu has a rep for being conservative, but in 5 years living there I didn't notice it being especially more conservative than other parts of Korea. Seongseo in western Daegu is really growing, everything is new there, sometimes to me it looks like Gangnam in Seoul...but with really fresh air. If I had to choose between the two I'd take Seongseo. Sigi Dong is also nice, lots of foreign teachers out there.

Daegu could use a good Korean language program at one of the universities, and a couple of nice museums wouldn't hurt. But otherwise it's great.

[chaq]

Hi everyone

Thanks for all the info. Really appreciate the feedback.

Other than some of the conservative comments, most ppl seem to enjoy Daegu.

I've accepted the position in Daegu and should be there in about a months time.

-Chaq

[the eye]

post or PM if you want to share a pitcher, or two.