Korean Job Discussion Forums

[cbbjork]

Just curious what some of you do after working in the evenings and on weekends? It seems that one of the most popular activities would be bar-hopping. I��m not a big bar person (nothing against it, just not my thing), so I was curious if any of you do or know of any other activities. Some I��ve read about, and would be interested in, include climbing, hiking, music (are there any korean music/instrument lessons?), musuems, etc.

Thanks in advance again for all the input.

[Hater Depot]

Get a tourist map of Seoul. It'll point out all the museums, temples, and other points of interest.

[xingyiman]

Cruise the red light district.

[Qinella]

cbbjork, you may want to check out this web site:

http://www.adventurekorea.com/

Check out their calendar and you can see that there are many interesting events lined up. I only went on one escapade, which was a paintballing day, but it was well-organized and something I'd recommend.

There are also many threads about places to go hiking, temple stays, and things of that nature. Check the FAQ forum.

[jlb]

There is plenty of hiking to be had. Get a Lonely Planet and explore the country.

[ilovebdt]

[Ya-ta Boy]

It's fairly easy to figure out what to do with a whole weekend. To me, the tricky part is what to do with free time in the middle of the afternoon or free evenings.

People with hakwon split shifts have the problem of what to do with their time during the middle of the day. Except for the required nap, they have to be pretty self-reliant for entertainment during the week. This is where things like Health Clubs and hobbies you can do alone comes in.

I'm currently working 8-5 so have my evenings free. There is no TV to speak of and no DVD shop to rent movies. The only other foreigner around works evenings and none of the Korean teachers I know live in town. Again, this is where hobbies I can do alone come in.

I think a lot of people are forced to get creative in finding healthy, constructive ways to deal with their free time here.

[butter808fly]

I delt with the absense of DVD rental places in my area by going to Yongsan Station and picking up a few 3,000 won movie. There are some good ones too! Oldies but goodies. Also, 5- for a ripoff.

Or you could do like me and get your TEFL certificate in your free time... read books... go shopping... go to the theater..

[cbbjork]

Thanks for all the responses; they really help get a feel for the possibilities there, and thanks also for the adventure korea website, it looks really interesting.

[spike.matt]

me and my buddies aren't bar guys either, we usually see movies, dvd bangs, board room bangs, play hackey sack outside, ps2 rooms.. go walk around the downtown area, hmm..that's the general idea for us

[Unreal]

A good activity to fill up weekdays is taking up martial arts or an instrument. I'm taking kumdo (Korean sword fighting) which is something that I can't easily do at home in Canada. It's great because I beat boredom, meet new people, learn new skills, get in shape, and in general feel like I'm getting more out of my experience here.

[ilovebdt]

If you were interested you could also take Korean classes of an evening

[jlb]

My next plan is to put a concerted effort into learning Korean. Maybe an hour a day, every weekday and I should be a pro in no time! At my next job, I should be working 3-9 or so and so it really should be no burden to make 10-11 or 1-2 or something like that Korean time.

[Hyeon Een]

In my free time in the afternoons and mornings I ride my scooter out to the beach. It rocks. I think I'll start swimming there this week, seems to be warm enough though.

Sucks if you don't live near a beach though eh. I guess if you're in Seoul you can take advantages of the things us country people don't have, for example you could eat in lavish international restaurants every day. That'd be nice.