Korean Job Discussion Forums

[snugglezone]

I'm deciding on my final preferences before I submit my packet for Spring placement and was just wondering if people had any opinions or experience with this question!

Although I am going to Korea to teach English, I do want to learn the language decently-well before my return to the US. The most important thing to get a language down is to practice and using it in my every day life would be the best/most efficient/most practical method of doing that. That being said.....

Is everywhere I go in Korea full of people who are trying to speak English?

I read that Incheon has some 'make english the language of incheon' thing going on and it is my assumption that since there is a high population of foreigners in Seoul, plus i assume more people there have a grasp on English that I would be using it less passively.

What are you recommendations/thoughts? I don't want to be in the boons, but I do want to use Korean daily!

Thanks (:

snuggz.

[LL Moonmanhead]

Pohang. Beautiful city too i've heard.

[edwardcatflap]

[LL Moonmanhead]

[snugglezone]

Thanks ed! That's exactly what I was looking for.

ps. Does the search function work for you? After I did one search it wouldn't load any results -____-;;

[edwardcatflap]

[Lionman]

Pick a smaller city.

I first ended up in Cheonan when I first came to Korea to learn Korean.

Most people in smaller cities have limited English, so you are able to practice Korean more.

Avoid Seoul by all costs. Many adults in Seoul speak English to some extent and you will not be able to practice as much.

Language exchanges are a great way to practice. Usually not too difficult to find someone willing to trade Korean for English.

[jonpurdy]

It's totally up to you. Whether you live in Seoul or a smaller city doesn't really matter. If you make the effort to make Korean friends and use the Korean that you learn, the city you choose won't really matter. It comes down more to where you eat, drink, and shop, and who you hang out with.

[Gnawbert]

[littlelisa]

Nothing wrong with Seoul. I've only lived here and learned a good bit of Korean within two years. Most of my friends are Korean. If you want to take classes, Seoul is a good place. There are free classes on weekends in a few areas. Really, anywhere you go, if you make an effort to speak Korean, you will be able to learn.

I'm just waiting now for Tomato to come in and say that nobody anywhere will speak Korean to him.

[carleverson]

Paju City

[northway]

Pyongyang.

[edwardcatflap]

That gag was cracked the last time this topic came up but as I think I said back then, North Korea is not a particularly good place to practise your Korean. Having worked there I have experience of this. You're not allowed to meet the people who don't speak English and the ones you do meet have a generally higher standard of English than those in the South. Through circumstances you are forced to mix with foreigners even more than you would living in the centre of Itaewon as the only bar you are allowed to go to is full of diplomats and journalists. So I would say it's probably the worst place for someone like Tomato to go to. In fact not being able to speak Korean is one of the prerequisites for landing a job there. Although obviously they can't really check up on this. Short of asking one of those Great Escape type trick questions.

[samd]

Seoul is best.

More people equals more potential language partners.

Also, you have access to more university language programs, private Korean schools, free classes, and bookstores selling Korean language learning material than anywhere else in the country by far. By far by far.

Having said that, the most important factor is you, and your personal discipline, if you plan to self-study. Location is not all that important, in my opinion anyway.

[crossmr]