Korean Job Discussion Forums

Qinella · Joined: 25 Feb 2005 Location: the crib

Depends on what you want.

If you want to learn Korean and get away from hustle and bustle, a small town is for you.

If you want to be able to make friends, meet random people, and have options for food besides Korean, go to Seoul.

My main recommendation for first timers is Seoul. All the ideas you have of this big-city, Manhattan life are wrong, unless you end up in very specific places, which is unlikely.

Personally, I hated small-town life. It was always a situation of a 20,000won ($20 USD) taxi ride if I wanted any sort of entertainment or shopping. But, again, it depends on what you want.

JZer · Joined: 13 Jan 2005 Location: South Korea

matthews_world · Joined: 15 Feb 2003

A gun could be what the doctor ordered. You can always do jaunts to larger towns on the weekend to break the monotony. Buy a motorbike or use a taxi, etc. Doesn't hurt to try.

You can always give notice but it does take a while for these schools to replace teachers because there are so few who want to work there. I imagine most of your pedofiles could go for jobs like that, however. Rolling Eyes

kiwiliz · Joined: 20 Apr 2006 Location: New Zealand

I like my small town, well it has a population of 148,000. It is quiet during the week and on the weekends I can hop on a nus and be in Seoul or even Daegu in 2 hours.

I also wouldn't discount the multi school teaching. I work at 4 elementary schools each week. I get treated as a guest most of the time in each, quite spoilt really. The kids don't get too used to me and each school seems to compete on who gives me the best office space etc. Down side is you only see some of the kids once a week so I am not sure if any of my teaching sinks in. Oh well.

But don't discount the multi school scenario, it has its pluses...oh also the week goes really fast! Very Happy

rothkowitz · Joined: 27 Apr 2006

Andong is famous for its kick-ass booze.

Go there.

Still closish to larger cities-Daegu,Daejeon,Busan.

passport220 · Joined: 14 Jun 2006 Location: Gyeongsangbuk-do province

I emailed the recruiter with Andong City as my pick. If you are keeping score�.that would make me a boozing pedophile. Can you give me any more details about the place rothkowitz or was your post a joke?

Thanks for the perspective on multi school kiwiliz. The only reason I am against multi schools is due to the advice of other posters on this board. I will still tell them up front I prefer one school. If they insist on multi schools, I will see how it suits me before I pitch a fit.

rothkowitz · Joined: 27 Apr 2006

I was being a little facetious,but,Andong Soju is North Kyoungsan province Intangible Cultural Property no.12.

I like going to places like that.haven't been to the one in Andong though...

Anyhoo,if you want a bit of culture go there.Andong has some famous mask festival too.Bulguk Temple in Gyeongju shouldn't be too far away...

Where'd the paedophilia bit come from???

passport220 · Joined: 14 Jun 2006 Location: Gyeongsangbuk-do province

That�s cool. The people of the area seem very proud of their cultural heritage. I am willing to give it a go.

passport220 · Joined: 14 Jun 2006 Location: Gyeongsangbuk-do province

As a final follow up post� I told my recruiter up front that I only wanted to work at one school. My biggest concern was transportation. I had read posts from other posters who had to move around to several schools and had to deal with any headaches or expense that might entail. My recruiter vigorously assured me I would be assigned to only one school.

I arrived in my town on Tuesday and was promptly told I would be shared between two schools. It turns out both of my schools are conveniently close to my apartment and I think having a second school will break up the monotony so its all good.

I am a late hire to a public school. Due to the short time frame I could see there would be some problems with my paperwork that would need time to resolve. I put my concerns in writing to my recruiter along with proposed solutions. I ask to have positive conformation that the issues could be handled before I booked my flight to Korea. My recruiter vigorously assured me everyone was in agreement on how handle the issues. Turns out my school district was in the dark about all of this and was going to refuse accepting me into the program. It required a scramble, some expense, and a lot of diplomacy to keep everything on track.

News Flash: �MANY RECRUTERS SUCK�

laogaiguk · Joined: 06 Dec 2005 Location: somewhere in Korea

passport220 · Joined: 14 Jun 2006 Location: Gyeongsangbuk-do province

matthews_world · Joined: 15 Feb 2003

Yap, you might get urself in a heep of trouble and make your year unbearable from the get-go by posting that. Do yourself a favor and delete it before anyone reads it.

passport220 · Joined: 14 Jun 2006 Location: Gyeongsangbuk-do province

I am not looking to grind an axe, I have been posting all along about my experience for my own enjoyment and for others to gain information who might consider teaching in Korea.

Eh! It is truthful so let the chips fall where they may. If this individual had been up front with me it could have saved a lot of stress and money. If this individual had been up front with me I can assure you I would have posted or made otherwise public a positive recommendation for them. If you want a good business reputation you should earn it. If somehow retribution is taken against me for posting my truthful thoughts I will deal with it and make that public as well.