Korean Job Discussion Forums

[alistaircandlin]

Hi,

I'm wondering if anyone lives in or around the Sillim area? If so could you recommend good websites or agents for finding accommodation?

Also - what do you think of the area as a place to live? Where, specifically, would you recommend looking for flats / apartments?

Thanks,,

alistair

[TpaK]

I lived in Sillim during my stay in Korea last year. Personally I liked it for the following reasons.

1. The location is convenient. Pretty easy to get to places such as Gangnam and Hongdae because its right in between.

2. Good amount of places to eat. They got some pretty good restaraunts all around. I swear the donkatsu restaraunt in sillim 9-dong is the best donkatsu ive ever had in my life. Man I miss that place.

3. Lots of bars, the Grand Prix Nightclub if your into that stuff.

Idk too much about the housing but you shouldn't have that much trouble finding a place because there's plenty available

[jdog2050]

I don't live there, but I've been working in the area for about 2 years now. Absolute dump. I hate even coming here. How the last poster said it was convenient, I don't know. Everything interesting is *at least* 30 mins away. The Korean food is the worst I've had in the city, and the people are really trashy.

[missty]

I live in Sillim now. I can't help you with the accommodation as mine is free with my school. But I can tell you what its like to live there.

I actually really like it. Yeah its not one of the cleanest places in the city, its busy and there are lots of shady love motels around the station. But I live in the Nokdu area which is near Seoul National University. Its quieter up where I am.

I love going to Sillim station area though, there's a real vibe down there. There's cool shops, a cinema, and bars etc... It depends on what you want whilst living here. Sillim doesn't have many foreigners here, (or at least none that I've met) but it is on the green line, and I have found it to be convenient for getting around Seoul.

Okay, so its not Hongdae, and its not really central. But its good enough for me.

[TpaK]

[PeteJB]

I've lived in Sillim for 3 years... (the original Sillim, not the other knockoffs) and it's pretty nice. It's not exactly state of the art like Gangnam but in my time here alone it has really come along. That new department store (complete with bookstore) that shot up recently has really improved the atmosphere, too.

[Slowmotion]

신림 is pretty ghetto. I lived near the station for 6 months. Not many good places to eat, mostly drinking places or places where you'd have to eat with a friend (not convenient).

The new podo mall they added makes it a lot better though.

[toby99]

Spent some time recently in Sillim eating Sundae-guk, which the area's famous for. The place is definitely a dump, but it has a gritty feeling which you may find appealing. Think a dirtier version of Jungno. Seemed like there were a good number of bars, and there's even another Woodstock bar (there must be one within a 5 mile radius of anywhere in Seoul and Incheon at this point.)

There is a nicely-developed stream that cuts through the area. And, being on the green line, you're not too far from Hongdae or Gangnam. All in all probably not a terrible place to live. There are certainly worse areas. Of course this doesn't answer your question at all.

[Slowmotion]

[alistaircandlin]

Thanks so much for your answers guys.

To me it sounds like a pretty good place to live from what you've said - it's always nice somewhere with a good atmosphere. I guess that even if it's a bit grim in places it can't be worse that the place in Incheon where I first lived - it was covered in industry, smog and despair.

At least I hope it's more interesting than the small town in Cambridgeshire where I've been stuck for the last two and a half years. We will certainly miss the clean air and the space here but are looking forward to living in the city again.

The last place I lived in Seoul was Sungshin - which I've really missed. I thought it had a vibrant atmosphere - there are loads of nice cafes to eat in and it's fairly central. I expect Sillim to be pretty similar?

[TpaK]

[cj1976]

Saying Sillim is 'ghetto' is a bit misleading without some context. 'Ghetto' in Seoul isn't like ghetto back home. You won't run into many knife-wielding crackheads or kids selling rocks on the corner.
In this context, 'ghetto' presumably means a poor neighbourhood, maybe looking a bit rundown.

[toby99]

True, ghetto in the case of Shillim is more like an abundance of alcoholic bus driver taxi driver adjosshi types.

[eamo]

[mstrum]

Hey, I also live in Nokdu (wow, never would have thought I'd see so many other people here lol). Yes, it is considered the 'ghetto' of Seoul but I still like living here. I just found a cheap place for 500,000 Won deposit and 280,000 month rent with a bathroom, desk, air conditioner, etc. I don't know about around Sillim station, but a room like mine is usually 3~400 in Nokdu from what I've seen. Since I speak Korean I just walked around and called the numbers in front of the apartments until I found a place which seemed like a good deal. I'm a Seoul National University student so living here is pretty convenient. Living off of line 2 is definitely a plus, it's pretty easy to go anywhere (but yes, since you're at the bottom of Seoul it'll take a while to get anywhere in the Northern section).