Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Gom]

Hello!

I am currently living in Jeollanamdo, working in a Hagwon.
Once my contract is up, I will be moving to Jejudo to work in a Public School.

What is the lifestyle like on Jeju? Much the same as everywhere else? More expensive? More/Less to do? Are there decent shops? Decent Gyms?

I adore hiking, cycling and beaches, so Jeju seemed the logical choice. I don't give a crap about being cut off from the rest of Korea if my lifestyle is mostly outdoors and active, me and my girlfriend will be moving there to chill out and save money before buggering off around the rest of Asia

Any info will be greatly appreciated ^_______^

[DorkothyParker]

It's lovely.
I don't know what city you will be living in, but there is pretty much everything that a larger city will have in the Jeju city/Shin-Jeju area. There are good restaurants, nice people, outdoors stuff, etc. The people here plan events like crazy. I don't get out (socializing) much, but it's available.

The one thing I miss about living in the Seoul area is the lack of cheap shopping. I think the boutiques here are awfully overpriced for the quality (what would be 10k in the subway in Gyeonggi-do is like 45k in a shop here. Seriously!).

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/rhymeswithjeju/
These people can help you.

Also, it will snow in winter. Don't believe the hype. It gets frakkin' cold.

[Louis VI]

Shops and gyms? Dunno. Don't do much of that here, other than supermarket stuff.

But beaches, hiking trails and biking lanes galore!

[FDNY]

You will have great beaches and ZERO social life.

[oldtrafford]

Winters are long and cold. Yes, this winter was exceptional for all the snow and cold weather we had. It broke all the records in terms of coldness, records began back in 1985. The weather is more often cloudy rather than sunshine. However, Segwpio fairs better for sunny days throughout the year. The winter months seem to drag and I often compare it to back home in overall gloominess. Spring seems to get shorter every year, and the summer is hot, hot, but not necessarily basking in sunshine. The fall though short, is an exceptionally nice time of the year with the weather cooling down, and the temperature being almost perfect and generally very sunny.

Wherever you live you won't be far from the beach, Olle trails, Oreums and the mountain. It's a real privelge to pack up the car and hit the beach for the day or go camping at the weekend to the beach for example. The beach is the best thing about living here for me personally.

Food that isn't native to Korea is a rare commodity. You have two Indains: one in city hall the other in the new city. I prefer the one in the new city, but I prefer a more Indian style curry as opposed to a Nepalese curry. There's a great pizza place in the new city, it's an independent and the Korean fella was trained by an Italian. It's top notch and you'll be lucky to find a better one in Korea. Yes, there's the usual haunts: BK, Maccy D's, OB, and some fusion places to go to.

There are various beach volleyball tournaments throughout the year, which are very popular with local expats. There are other sporting events for example ultimate frisbee, and football.

Do you like beer? Jeju is lucky in having the best beer in the whole of Korea and I guess Asia. The beer is brewed by a brew master who is originally from Spain. He's got two places: one in the new city, it goes by the name of Modern Times. The other is in the old city, it goes by the name of Boris' beer bar restaurant. He's a top fella who produces top beers at very reasonable prices. Think European beer style beverages. Boris' beer is the second best thing I like about Jeju.

Food wise I either go to Costco in Seoul for a big shop, or use a shopping company who delivers from the mainland for cheeses and such ilk. Meats I get flown in from 'mydeli.com', and pies and sausages are also flown in from Seoul, I use 'gavin'ssausages', all are great in terms of taste and quality.

If you have any more questions let me know. You most definitely can save money, a day at the beach or hiking costs very little. Go to 'rhymeswithjeju' for other information.

You never know I may well run into you whilst having one of Boris' splendid ales.

Ta for now!!

[kdub]

How difficult is it to travel off the island to explore other parts of Korea?

[oldtrafford]

Oh, I forget to add that shops are pissh poor, but there are an abudance of gyms. You have the usual spit and sawdust fayre, but there is a posh one in the new city. It's called 'Hansem waterpia', when I was a member way back when it cost me 700,000 for the year. It's got a fully kitted out gym upstairs and downstairs, and it's got a sauna, steamroom, cold pool, and a jacuzzi. It's opposite the entrance to Lotte Mart, just slightly to your left.

[oldtrafford]

Catching a ferry is possible to islands such as Udo island or Chusa island. Ferries are possible even further field, but I've never had the desire to do so. I use the plane, and with low budget airlines you can get some cracking deals!!

[oldtrafford]

FDNY. I don't think it's true about the zero social life. There are lots of young people here who seem to have no problem meeting people and going out and getting drunk. Apart from the debauchery there are lots of other outlets that are posted on rhymeswithjeju. A Canadian fella is a big organizer of various events that compared to many moons ago were not on the social calendar. So, I would have to disagree with that. When I first came to Jeju there must have been a couple of hundred peole here from the Western world. I recently heard a figure of 1,000 peopel from the western world now reside on Jeju. That was a local government stat, so it may not be entirely accurate, but there definitely seems to be more western folk about than many a moon ago!!

[eamo]

It's exactly like Hawaii except Jeju has even more delicious oranges and pork.

[oldtrafford]

And you my friend are an English man with a sense of humour!!

[MissMaggie]

Don't forget the completely whacked out Korean tourist attractions. You could probably do something different every weekend for a year and not get bored. We've got

3 Sex Museums (Love Land, Sex and Health Museum and Eros Museum)
Elephant Land (elephant rides and shows)
Butterfly land (a bug museum with ziplining, live animals to play with, and historical scenes acted out with dead bugs)
at least 3 botanical gardens (Hallim Park, Ilchul land and Yeomiji)
Ripleys
2 teddy bear museums (Teddy bear museum and Teddy Bear Safari)
Pacific Land (Sea Lion, dolphin and monkey shows)
2 miniature theme parks (Soingook and mini-mini land)
Trick Art Museum
Multiple ATV places
Hot air balloon (tethered)
2 or 3 submarine tours (Seogwipo submarine and Pirate-themed Chagwido submarine)

Not to mention the other bizarre things like "Chair village"

[oldtrafford]

Those 'tourist attractions' are complete tack Miss Maggie and the majority of them hold very little interest!!

[davemon]

Should I consider Jeju as an ideal place to live? Or will I just feel so disconnected from the world that I'll want to be in Seoul?

In the states Hawaii is one of the big "I REALLY want to live there!!!!" places. But even though people say Jeju is similar, I'm not getting that kind of vibe.

[Louis VI]