Korean Job Discussion Forums

[annuayim]

Who either currently works/lives in a small/mid-sized Korean town, or has done so in the past?

I recently came over from Tokyo and really would like to get away from extremely crowded places. I am interviewing with EPIK tomorrow afternoon, and would like to stress that I would like to be placed in a smaller/mid-sized town.

What was it like for you? Were the people in smaller towns friendlier? Did you learn more Korean? Was it harder/lonelier? More xenophobic? Was it a complete bore?

I don't want to get into a debate about which is better, I would just like to from those who have personal experiences with towns outside the big cities.

Thanks.

[gmarthews]

There are towns outside big cities and then there are small towns.

I live in a really small town down south, there isn't much here at all, no train station, no big supermarket, no movie theater... I like it here in general but there are only 10 foreigners in the town and not all of them are the type I wanna hang out with!

If you're coming alone then a medium city might be better, you wont have the crowds of somewhere like Tokyo but you'll also have a bit of civilization, things to do, people to meet, Korean classes to go to. If you live in a small town then although you'll have immersion it can be hard to find someone to help you learn the language.

As long as you avoid the major cities; Seoul, Daejeon, Daegu, Gwangju, Busan, maybe Ulsan and Inceheon too, then you won't find yourself in a thriving metropolis even if where you're going is billed as a city.

If you want to live somewhere where you can see the rice paddies outside your window and just live off Korean food and make the journey to the nearest city/large town to stock up on foreign food basics then by all means request a small town, but you may find it sleepy and a little...backward.

[caylia]