Korean Job Discussion Forums

[tony602]

Recently offered a contract to teach in Gumi. We are a couple from the U.S. (state of Maine) that will be relocating in the next few weeks and we are seeking any additional info/opinion that anyone who currently lives in or around that area can provide. We understand it is a smaller city by korean standards, but come on....we live in Maine at the moment, so we are researching cities under 1mil pop., and probably would prefer smaller cities in general. We've checked out the city's website, we know the location, what we are looking for is true personal opinion and information (e.g., services, is transportation easily accessible, nightlife, sites, cost of living, foregin population, local public, etc) Anyone who can help, we greatly appreciate your time and info. Thanx folks!!

[tomato]

Hello, Tony 602!

I had a job there and I loved the city.
I was two blocks away from a good library and a very nice city park.

Transportation to and from the city couldn't be better.
It is right on a train route between Seoul and Pusan.

I'm a bookworm nerd, but I understand that there is an active night life for foreigners.
I heard my roommate talk about all the foreigners he met at a Western bar called "Extra."

Don't sign up with Che Yoon Hi without first consulting the blacklists.
The director is a sociopath.

[tony602]

Hey back tomato! Just wanted to say thanx for your tips, and no that was not the school that made the offer....glad too...don't want to be working for a "sociopath" of course

We also hear that the city is a prime location for the train, a little smaller than some spots, but for a young couple whos in Maine right now....we're cool with that!

Good hiking spots we also heard? Any suggestions or info??

And the club was "Extra" maybe??? We'll see if it exists!!

Thanx again!!

[chessmaster9000]

[Che]

Hi Tony,
Gumi is a reasonable place to live and has improved immensely over the last five years.I've lived and worked here for quite a while.You'll find a quite large western community (100+?)which is mostly teachers though occasionally you bump into people who are visiting for industrial training at one of the large Korean companies based here. Teachers are from all the major English speaking countries though Canadians predominate.
Nightlife is quite lively though there is a limited choice of venues as the downtown area is small. Club Psycho (don't be put off by the name!)is a major watering hole and you can drink or just hang out there right through to breakfast if you want. There are a few other bars of a similar nature which are used by teachers.Recently, a restaurant owned by a S. African has opened serving western food and is pretty popular.Go to http://waegook-cook.tripod .com and take a look. There's also a multiplex cinema downtown for movies and another under construction in the burbs.
There are three pretty large supermarkets where you can pick up some western foodstuff and Taegu (45 minutes away by bus or train) has Costco, Wallmart and Carrefour (French chain store) for food though even these stores have only limited items and are quite expensive.Taegu also has some bookshops for reading material in English though choice is limited and books are also quite pricey.
Hope this helps.If you have any other questions then post them here or PM me and I'll try to answer them.

[tony602]

Hello again chessmaster9000 and Che, yeah so we are signed up and ready to go. We are going to be working at Oh Sung Shik...anyone ever heard of it?? We've been able to talk with one of the western teachers who works there and most importantly he sounds content with his decision to go there as well. As of right now, Im content with the decision to go to Gumi and hopefully I wont regret that statement in a few weeks, but all looks good right now. The school doesn't seem to be on any blacklists and sounds like it has been operating for a few years now. Any information, insight or opinion is welcome on our decision.

We should be arriving by March 10th so if there is anyone who'd like to show us around sometime, we would more than appreciate that help and welcoming. I am 27 and my g/f will be having her 25th bday in early March once we arrive in Korea, just to give you an idea of our demographics. Although my girlfriend has traveled abroad in the recent past, she actually did her TEFL cert course in Egypt not too long ago, I have never travelled overseas with respect to a trip to Helsinki and Moscow when I was only 12. So, any help and information that anyone can provide with our relocation to Gumi, we'd love to see what you have to say. Thanx again everyone!