Korean Job Discussion Forums

[sab7503]

I am just curious but, how difficult is it to travel to Seoul on a regular basis, when you work elsewhere in Korea? For example, say a person needed to make a trip to Seoul about once a month (to get something that is not available elsewhere) or even a couple times a month... would such a thing be practical? Or is the distance too great in certain areas of the country?

[peppermint]

Depends on where you are. Completely impractical from Jeju, and a pain in the butt if you live further South than say, Daejeon or on the East Coast

[Ya-ta Boy]

It so time-consuming. That's the problem with it. Even if you live as close as Daejon (2 hours by bus), it adds up to half a day just to get here...1/2 hour getting to the bus station, the ride, then catching the subway from the bus terminal to anywhere--another hour.

Then you buy stuff. Now you have to lug it around. If you go back home, repeat the process. You've spent pretty much your whole Saturday. If you decide to make a weekend of it, then add at least W30,000 for a cheap yogwon.

Consider internet shopping, even for food.

[seoulsucker]

Whoa, whoa, whoa....wait a minute. People actually live outside of Seoul????

[kat2]

It depends. If you live on the KTX line, then it's not too bad. Even from Busan, it's 3 hours on teh KTX. Sure it's probably better to make it an overnighter in Seoul, but it can be done in one day. If it will be a regular thing, then I would suggest looking at locations close to the KTX stops. For me it's nearly an hour to get to Busan station, so it makes the trip 4 hours. yuck. If you plan right, it won't be too much trouble

[normalcyispasse]

[nobbyken]

Buses use their own quick lane on the expressway, but even driving from Suwon to Gangnam in Seoul takes on average 40 minutes. Using public transport nearly always leads to much increased travel time and inconvenience, I.M.humble O..

[RACETRAITOR]

I have a friend from Gwangju who comes up every weekend. People down in Busan seem stuck there and don't come out much.

[bbonthec]

It'd be easier if you states which place(s) you are considering moving to. It doesn't sound like you live in Korea at the moment, so it might be hard for you to figure out which places are easily accessible. Many places in Korea are actually very accessible to Seoul, but only if you take the right KIND of transportation.

The KTX is an express train, and is the fastest method of transportation, barring air travel. The KTX runs from Seoul to Busan, and stops at all cities along the way.

The second fastest way to travel is express bus. Express buses run between all cities in Korea. They're quite quick, actually, because they don't make many stops in between destinations. Express buses are crap during public holidays, however.

The next fastest is the normal trains and subway, followed by non-express buses. All of these transportation methods stop many, many times along the route, and can be very time-consuming. Taking the subway is still faster than travelling by car, unless you are travelling out of Seoul.

I think what you need is either a city along the KTX, or to figure out the express bus travel times. It is totally feasible to travel from the east sea to Seoul by express bus, but it might take longer than you're willing to spend.

[sab7503]

I guess I am just trying to figure out which areas I could possibly work at. I'd need to travel to Seoul on some type of regular basis,most likely... either on a monthly (or 3 month) basis I would guess.

Thanks for the input!