Korean Job Discussion Forums

AbbeFaria · Joined: 17 May 2005 Location: Gangnam

I'm talking with a recruiter right now about coming to Korea in November and he would like to know if I would be willing to work in cities other then Busan or Seoul, as I requested. I'm keeping an open mind but i'm a little hesitant to go somewhere else for fear of working out in the backwoods of Korea, miles from anywhere. He has asked me if I would be considering working in "Geonggi-do" and I'm wondering if anyone has worked or works there and what their impressions are.

Thanks,
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cruisemonkey · Posted: Sat Sep 10, 2005 12:01 pm Post subject:

I'm not familiar with Gyeonggi-do, but I'm sure people who are are will tell you - "It's a crap shoot".

I came to Korea prepared for the worst; and with no real idea of what I was getting into. As luck would have it, I'm very happy with my situation in a rural area outside of a 'small' town (20.000 people), and have things people working in the big cities can only dream of. It's not perfect, but it's damn close! Remember, this is a small country and you can travel the length of it on the KTX (bullet train) from Busan to Seoul in a couple of hours.

Have the recruiter give you the contact info. of current/former employees and get the scoop from them.

Hater Depot · Joined: 29 Mar 2005

All the cities in Gyeonggi-Do are well connected, to one another and to Seoul, via the subway system and the buses. You'd have to draw a REALLY backwater place not to have easy access to Seoul. Just make sure the city is connected to the Seoul subway system. If you're set on a big city but can't get Seoul or Busan, consider Suwon.

peppermint · Posted: Sat Sep 10, 2005 1:09 pm Post subject:

Most of Gyeonggi do is a subburb of Seoul, even though it's a province. Ask about the size of the town you'll be in, and what's there, and how easy it is to get to Seoul.

livinginkorea · Joined: 11 Jun 2004 Location: Korea, South of the border

teachmeenglish · Joined: 14 Dec 2004

once you have an offer, post the city name and someone will give you the insides.

billyg · Joined: 16 Feb 2005

Suwon and Bundang are really good suburbs... very close to Seoul, subway lines, lot's of cafe's... you'll be fine in either one of these places.

BigBlackEquus · Posted: Sun Sep 11, 2005 12:21 am Post subject:

Gyonngi-do is an area which surrounds the city of Seoul like a donut, with Seoul being the center of that donut.

Most of the jobs in this area will be close enough to Seoul to get there in under an hour (I think). Maybe most places in under 45 mins by bus. I think I've read on here that the person who has the furthest out Gyonngi job is a guy named JackTheCat, who moderates here.

Gyonngi is generally decent. I think a lot of the "backwaters" jobs are in the Central and South areas of SK. But you're getting that advice from a guy who has not spent much time in those areas.

Grotto · Joined: 21 Mar 2004

alot depends on what you consider convenient access to Seoul. I was an hour and a half away by bus(which did run every 20 minutes....until 9 PM).

It was a small farming community that was very rustic. Nothing to do, nowhere to go, and only 3 other FT's in the area...which due to scheduling you will see rarely if ever.

I dont recommend a small town for first timers its a very difficult situation.

As said previously Bundang and Suwon are good choices.

crazylemongirl · Joined: 23 Mar 2003 Location: almost there...

There are heaps of cities attached to seoul in gyeonggi do.

Bucheon is OK in parts. Ditto Incheon. I hear Ilsan is really nice. Bundang is good. those are the big ones. Basically ask for names of subway stations and then look at seoulsubway.co.kr for an idea of commute times into seoul

meatball · Joined: 15 Jan 2003 Location: Daegu

I lived in Pyongtaek for over a year....loved it...Really close to Osan (american base) so that means lots of Western food, shops and all that...some black market shops that sell awesome things....about 45 minute train ride to Seoul...
hope that helps...

fidel · Joined: 07 Feb 2003 Location: North Shore NZ

Incheon isn't part of Gyeonggi do rather is a specially administered city like Seoul. I don't like it for some reason, a little too industrial for my liking though there are some decent neighborhoods

A lot of the towns are a hell of a lot further out than an hour by bus and have irregular, inconvenient scheduling. All the cities are NOT well connected to each other.

The ones I recommend in no particular order.
Anyang - large city, spacious, connected to Seoul subway
Suwon - connected to Seoul subway, large city
Ilsan - New city connected to Seoul subway
Bundang - A virtual extension of Seoul on the subway
Seongnam - Ditto
Paju - Right up by the DMZ, depending where in Paju you live about an hour to Seoul, no subway but train service

AVOID
Ansan - Industrial wasteland
Bucheon- See above
Ichon - Major traffic jams into Seoul (industrial)
Gwangju - as above

joe_doufu · Joined: 09 May 2005 Location: Elsewhere

Ask if the school is near a subway station. If not, request that they put you in an apartment near the subway. I live in Anyang (Beomgye area) and there are a lot of ESL teachers around here and in Pyeongcheon (another part of Anyang nearby). It's a good place to live and about 45 minutes from most Seoul locations.

My only problem with it is that there's no late night bus or subway service, so I can't go to enjoy the Seoul nightlife on weekends, unless I'm prepared to wait until 6am or whenever the subway starts the following day to make my way home. The nightlife in the suburbs is OK if you have friends to go out with, but it's hard to go out alone and meet people.