Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Birnsy]

I may return to Korea for a short stint...6 months or so after a year in Sokcho. Sokcho was okay...the mountains and all that, slower pace....but a bit mundane at times. Where would be a good city to kick up the pace a bit, without having to live in Seoul. I was thinking about Incheon. I heard there was a decent foreign community there and a football team.

Just wondering.

Thanks in advance for any thoughts or insight on this- if anyone responds.

[maxxx_power]

In my area Incheon is so polluted you can barely go outside without coughing up a lung. I went to a nearby park yesterday and climbed a big hill, I couldn't even see the city through all the smog.

If you value a clean environment I would avoid Incheon.

Other than the pollution, foreigners here are generally nice. I don't know about football, I haven't seen a green field large enough to play croquet (sp?) let alone football though.

[Trinny]

Hi, I am originally from Incheon.

Incheon is an industrial city, plus a part of Seoul suburb. That means you will see a mix of huge industrial complex with endless high rise apartment buildings for the commuters to Seoul. There are not many cultural things in the city of Incheon, except it is closer to Gangwha-do (island).

Pollution can be a bit worse than Seoul, but not very much. Some Chinese restaurants near Bupyeong subway stations make Korea's best sweet and sour pork dish and jjajangmyeon noodle.

[K-in-C]

Few Koreans seem to know that there is a Chinatown in Incheon. There are some beautiful murals there, a large park, with a memorial area in honour of General McCarthy, a seaside boardwalk with shops, cafe's and and some fair rides. You can take a short ferryboat to an outdoor fish market. Close to this market you can catch a bus to a beach. It was on this beach that I saw my first star in Korea. Yes, there is pollution, but there are some amazing places to visit.

PS...Sorry Trinny, I know it's your home town and I was just a mere visitor but...

Regards,

Kate in Canada

[posco's trumpet]

[Son Deureo!]

Incheon is kind of the New Jersey of South Korea. It's in the Seoul orbit, and it's not too inconvenient to go to Seoul every weekend if you want (from where I live 1-1/2 hours to Gangnam or downtown Seoul by express bus, 45 mins by express bus). It is undoubtedly more polluted than Seoul in every area I've been to, and some areas are just downright seedy and depressing (Galsan comes to mind).

While Seoul dwarfs Incheon in many ways, it definitely has its own charm. IMHO, the foreigner community is also a lot friendlier than the folks in Seoul.

If you are going to live in Incheon, make sure that you are near a subway station. Your options will be drastically limited if you are not.

Another thing that as far as I know you just can't find in Incheon is Korean classes, whereas Seoul and even many of the smaller cities have some options. If anyone can correct me on this, please do!

While I am trying to think of reasons why living in Incheon might be better than living in Seoul, I just can't. If my girlfriend didn't live in Incheon, I wouldn't either. Don't get me wrong, you can have fun in Incheon, but with the pollution and seediness, added to the additional isolation I just can't see any advantage to being here over Seoul.

For what you seem to want though, faster pace, but some distance from Seoul, I might suggest Bucheon, between Incheon and Seoul on Line 1. I lived near Chungdong station, and I think it has a lot to offer. There's a very nice, big traditional market, a big park, department stores, nightlife districts near Bucheon and Songnae stations, and really nice kalbi restaurants with patio seating. In the summer, the Bucheon International Film and Animation Festival (PIFAN) also comes to town, which is one of the best chances to see experimental foreign films with English subtitles. Bucheon is a bit removed from Seoul, but Seoul is still easily accessible by subway, about 40 minutes, faster if you can catch the Yongsan express. By the same token, what Incheon does have to offer is also easily accessible by subway. I saw everything that Kate mentions about Incheon while I was living in Bucheon

Good luck, wherever you decide to go.

[Bulsajo]

My wife is from Inchon and I lived there for a year. While I'm not a big fan of the city, it is far away a better place to be than Puchon [Bucheon].

[Tiger Beer]

I too once thought Incheon might be an interesting city to live.. its really just about what everyone says.. very industrial and.. well, its really not an interesting place to live at all..

If you really don't want to be in Seoul.. hm.. well, Seoul/Incheon is like Manhattan/New Jersey.. if you have the choice, I think you'd defitely choose the Manhattan/Seoul over New Jersey/Incheon..

If you want coastline.. but something bigger than Sokjo.. hmm.. thats a tough one.. but anyhow.. just about anywhere is better than Incheon is my opinion..

If you want to step things up.. I really believe Seoul is the best place to be though.. or try somewhere south of Seoul in one of those satellite cities if you want fresh air and everything else.. Incheon probably isn't quite the place.. (actually i more or less thought the same as you did at one point until I visited it)..

[chi-chi]

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[Bulsajo]

[Nabi]

Inchon?......Yuck!!

[weatherman]

Any place, any big city in South Korea is going to have charm. I would love to live in Incheon, given a chance. Industrial cities have a charm all there own.

[crazylemongirl]

Umm I'm currently in bucheon although my days there appear to be numbered.. The only thing I have to say on the incheon/bucheon debate is that Bucheon has one thing going for it: it isn't incheon. I can be in the centre of seoul in less than an hour.. Hongdae isnt' that far away either. Apart from that they are pratically identical (although bucheon does have the cartoon/film festivals but for the other 50 weeks of the year well, yeah).


CLG

[chi-chi]

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[Tiger Beer]