Korean Job Discussion Forums

[alphakennyone]

so i will be shipping off to korea ion dec 26th, my school is going to be in dogok-dong. i had planned to party up in hongdae, where i hear all the good underground music is...

but alas! all the propaganda i received from my korean students here in california was false. i've heard this commute takes over an hour, the trains stop at midnight, and a cab is gonna run me $40-50 to get home.

is this true? am i stuck in boring kangnam on weekend nights?!?

and to think people complain about transportation in southern california! at least the car is an OPTION!

[Tiger Beer]

[RACETRAITOR]

If you're looking for underground music, you really don't have much choice. I doubt a taxi ride would be more than 20 000 or 25 000 maximum. And staying out all night is a good idea.

[Tiger Beer]

[RACETRAITOR]

Do they charge more for taxis at night or something? Remember there'll be less traffic in the middle of the night, so the taxi will zip all the way there without stopping once, even for lights.

[Swiss James]

they charge quite a bit more if you try getting a taxi from right outside "Stompers". Flag them down 200 yards up the road though and you'll be on the normal metered rate

[billybrobby]

yeah, they charge a lot more. I live even further from hongdae than kangnam and a taxi in the middle of the night is about 20,000. share it with a friend or two and it's totally managable. stay out until 6 and you can jump back on the subway. the subway sucks though. there's just no good route from kangnam to hongdae so it takes about an hour. and kangnam's not totally boring. who are you getting info from?

[billybrobby]

[RACETRAITOR]

[Swiss James]

yep it's true, I suppose it's a special service for super-stupid GIs .

[alphakennyone]

alright, well, thanks for the info all. 20,000 won for a cab doesn't sound like it will kill me to do once a week or so. hopefully i'll find another teacher at my hagwon with similar interests to me or i'll just take that long, long subway ride home at 6 am.

[fancypants]

not sure where where in kangnam dogok-dong is but you might want to give bus#730 a try:

this bus goes past COEX mall, down tehran-ro past yeoksam station (line 2), kangnam station (also line 2, catch the bus outside exit 5 to get to hongdae), hangs a right at seocho station (line 2)heading down banpo-ro, over the banpo bridge, past the crown hotel (close to itaewon), hangs a left at noksapyeong station (line 6), past the US army base and samgakji station (line 6 and 4), gongdeok station (line 6 and 5), sogang university, and sincheon station (line 2).

get off at the stop after the hyundai department store after passing sincheon rotary, cross the street and you will be in the north end of hongdae.

continue walking straight and you will soon see clubs.

in my experience, this is much faster than the subway (during non-rush hour times that is). it kind of creeps along tehran-ro but once it is past seocho station, it really flies.

i think the last bus is at around 11:30.

[fidel]

Are you going to be working for YES Youngdo by any chance?
Taxi's will be less than 20,000, and follow the other posters advice and learn the bus routes. COEX is just down the road 3000 won taxi fare.
SOme info on Dogok Dong

Home to TOWER PALACE super big expensive apartments (and the tallest buildings in Korea)

Walmart is reasonably close

Next to a stream park (Yangae Stream) that runs down to the Han River and gives you access to the length of Seoul by bike.

Lots of opportunities for a little after class teaching.

[alphakennyone]

Yes indeed, fidel - YES Youngdo. How'd you guess? Thanks for the heads-up on the Dogok.