Korean Job Discussion Forums

[nicholas_chiasson]

I found out this week that the local economy depended on mushroom hunting, which went up in smoke in the gangwon-do forest fire of 2000. So I live in a ghost town. great. 3,000 people, 10 da-bangs, and no women. So yea the country is death.

[bejarano-korea]

[King Baeksu]

[bejarano-korea]

[King Baeksu]

[inukshuk]

suwon is not a good area. Most of suwon resembles some kind of ghetto. I've lived here 5 years. The Korean women are painfully naive to westerners. Any professional minded western dude is a boogie man, whereas I see heckling, joe six pack military guys scoring multiple digits from the korean ladies. They are amused by the school boy antics, as a fish lunges at a lure.

There are 3 distinct party areas in Suwon. Suwon Station, Ingaedong (sp?), and Hwaseo. Each are relatively close to each other (10 minute car ride), but all suck for the following reasons. Suwon Station is one street of restaurants and bars, and the subsequent 5 square blocks behind it is filled with a red light district of prostitutes. If you are into this.. they won't touch you for fear of aids. If you tell any local you are going to Suwon Station, you'll see an interesting chuckle for obvious reasons.
Hwaseo is for people too young for western teachers. (under 21 crowd).
Ingaedong is probably the best but it is so isolated from foreigners that you can expect to chat with the people you brought to Ingaedong.
If you are a military guy with a tatoo and the persona of your favorite WWE character - then Suwon Station will be fine, you'll score a phone number if you try.

2) You can get to Seoul in 30 minutes if you take the commuter train (to yongsan) instead of the subway (45min to 55min)

3) Very few western women but they all seem to know each other so if you meet one or two, they will lead you to many more. But it's a simple bunch out here. Hof sit down bar every weekend is the scene (outside of major party areas) and it's kind of a tight group so it can take a while to gain merit.

If you have a pair, I recommend going to Suwon Station and going to the kocktail bars by yourself. I've done it a bunch of times and I had the best time ever! Basically, after the booze starts flowing - the suwanians become very friendly and start chatting in a very genuine way. I scored digits this way

[wylies99]

Ilsan is the best.

[caniff]

[plus99]

why would anyone need to do this 4 years?

[the_test]

Maybe because they earned better money there than at home...? Or couldn't get a job back home...?

[robbie_davies]

[markness]

Necroooooo'd

[sirius black]

[wigglytuff90]

Hello!

Hate to revive a dead thread but had a quick question.

I'll be going to teach abroad in Febuary and Im quite excited.

I understand that Seoul is the place to be, according to alot of people. The thing is, Im not sure I want to live in a place that is extremely loud, cramped, etc. I want to play and meet people in Seoul def, but I want a area thats quiet for when I have to go home and relax.

What cities/districts are close to Seoul via train or whatever but also (this is very important) very safe and aren't the ghettos. Im a Korean-American and know how to get around a bit if need to but I rather just start off living in a safe area. A friend recommended Gyeonggido, but the area is so big. Which parts of Gyeonggido is the safest/most accessible to Seoul?

I value safety but that doesn't mean I want to live in the forrests and the country haha.

[yodanole]

If you don't want to be in a place that is loud and cramped, then it might best to avoid Korea altogether. People prefer Seoul primarily because there are familiar styles of bars and restaurants available, not because the rest of Korea is unpopulated and quiet.