Korean Job Discussion Forums

[sluggo832004]

Im in the EPIk program, and I think I will be placed in either Incheon or Deagu.

Just curious, for a young single guy, which is the best city overall to live in.


Transportation is important, Things to do, and a descent amount of foreigners.


Anybody have any experience with these cities?

[FDNY]

A great friend of mine wrote this. It is GOSPEL. Incheon is closer
to Seoul and, therefore, much superior.

"Cohiba's Rule"

Think twice before you live outside of Seoul. "In Seoul" and
"outside of Seoul" are like two different countries. Seoul
is an interesting place with variety and venues for most
tastes. Outside of Seoul you will find a homogeneous Korean
culture. I don't mean this in a bad way, but you will never
find things like: French, Greek, Indian or any other ethnic
foods. Markets that sell sherry, pate, pastrami, ricotta cheese.
Specialty shops that sell Cuban cigars, European pies, cold
cuts or rye breads. Just to name a few things. Also clubs such
as photography, drama, public speaking, sailing are 99% in
the capital city. If you want to experiment with a very Korean
culture, which unfortunately means "closed", then choose the
countryside. If you want to make money and have the lifestyle
choices similar to a western country, then there is no other
choice than Seoul.

The FFF RULE: FFF=Fun For Foreigners.

If FFF in Seoul = 100, then FFF decreases at
1/distance. So 2km from Seoul FFF=1/2(100)=50;
10km from Seoul FFF=1/10(100)=10. This rule is
a rule for nightlife, food and foreign products only.
Nature etc. is on a different scale altogether.

This means you will be wasting a lot of time commuting
to Seoul. This is especially a drag if you have been
boozing on a Friday night and there are no buses or
trains.

I, unfortunately, live near Seoul where the FFF factor
is almost in the negative range. I know!

[Radius]

[FDNY]

[Radius]

[sluggo832004]

I guess I might go with incheon.

[definitely maybe]

I've always lived in and around Seoul, but I don't think Daegu would be a terrible place to live. It's one of the larger cities in Korea, the downtown area is pretty busy and easy to get around, and more and more western-friendly amenities seem to be popping up. Incheon has proximity to Seoul going for it, but in many parts of the city it'll still seem like Seoul, as well as anything worth while, is still an eternity away.

[NYC_Gal 2.0]

Go with Incheon. You can find ethnic foods here, and, if you are lucky enough to be in the right part of the city, it can take as little as 35 minutes by train to get to Seoul. It takes me about 40 minutes.

[rickpidero]

Hey buddy, I lived in Incheon last year for EPIK. Seriously had one of the most fun years of my life.

There are lots of things to do there (for young single guys: bars, other foreigners, girls). Plus like people mentioned before, the vicinity to Seoul is awesome. It really just feels like you live in Seoul, some parts of Incheon are quicker via subway to the 'cool' parts of Seoul than other places in Seoul (if that makes sense).

If you have any questions DM me I guess.

[sweet_potato]

I would choose Daegu for these reasons:

Daegu is one of the biggest cities in Korea. There are subway lines, KTX, airport, etc. You can get to Seoul Stn in less than 2h by KTX. You can also go to the sea fairly quickly. It's close to Busan, which is another big city with a nice coastline. There are a few military bases and many English teachers in and around Daegu, which means that there are foreign-friendly places. The downtown area is pretty fun to wander around, eat, shop, go drinking, etc. Geographically speaking, I'm sure it's a bit warmer than Incheon. It has all the comforts of a big city, and when you get bored, you can head out to the nearby mountains/coast. In terms of living expenses, it's a bit cheaper (but not much).

When I was choosing my top places for EPIK, a lot of people wanted to be close to Seoul, so they were choosing Incheon because it's close. Well, it's not that close. If you want to get into the city, it's going to take at least an hour on the subway (and that's if you're near a subway in Incheon). Also, if you stay past the hours of subways, you'll spend a lot of money on cabs/motels.

I've been here for a year and a half (I'm in a city smaller than Daegu) and frankly, a lot of places kind of look the same after a while

[Lolimahro]

Some parts of Incheon are rather rural. We live in northern Incheon near Gimpo city and I have seen maybe 5 foreigners besides my co-workers; most of them are older married guys. Daegu is also warmer, and the fact that it is close to Busan is a plus. Incheon is close to Seoul if you are near a subway station or you are comfortable with taking the bus (some express buses get there in less than an hour). If you want to stay in Seoul until the wee hours of the morning, however, you'd better have a place to crash or else the cab fare back home will be quite expensive.

Furthermore, getting to other parts of Korea can be kind of a pain in the butt. By express bus it takes at least an hour to get to the Express Bus Terminal in Seoul, from which we usually depart to visit other places such as Busan, Daegu, Gangwon-do, etc. So if you want to travel around the country a lot that will play a part, as well.

Incheon gets a lot of precipitation and it's been ridiculously cold this year. I like it because I am from Minnesota so I can handle the cold, I like the small-town-ish feel of my rural-ish location, and I have a young family which means I like a quieter atmosphere and I'm at home for the evening after 7:00pm almost every night of the week.

[definitely maybe]

Since a few people have mentioned that Daegu is warmer than Seoul, I think it's also important for you to know that it is one of the hottest and most humid areas in South Korea during the summer. I still think it would be fine to live there though

[NYC_Gal 2.0]

On those occasions where I want to stay out late in Seoul, I just crash at a jimjilbang. They cost about 8-12k, depending on the place, and you can soak in hot tubs, sweat in saunas, sleep, or, for extra, get snacks or a massage.

Daegu's nice, but I prefer the option of being next to Seoul. Again, it only takes me 40 minutes by train. I can still get to Busan in 3 hours by KTX for weekend getaways.

[rickpidero]

[InDaGu]

Ah the good 'ol "Show Everyone How Ignorant You Are About The Rest Of Korea Thread."
It has been a couple weeks, I guess we were due.