Korean Job Discussion Forums

[meu06184]

Well not quite. I'm currently the only foreign teacher in my school in Geomdan 3, Seo-gu, Incheon. I don't really know the area that well since I've only been in Korea for a grand total of five days. Looking for friendly advice on things I could/should do, anything I should avoid and perhaps most importantly ways I can start to integrate myself into something that resembles a community. Of course any and all information is welcome but I'd love to hear more anecdotal stuff such as "I had a great time in the bar on the corner of..." rather than "take a Korean language class."

N.B I really do want to take a Korean language class so any tips on the best way to go about this would be great.

(also this is my first post. I did a search looking for the most appropriate place to post this. If I'm on the wrong forum then advance apologies to moderators.)

[joelove]

Learn to read the language if you can't right now. You can do this by yourself in a matter of hours. An online chart can show you how. Then get an E-K/K-E dictionary . It's a good start anyway. Sometimes when I was bored I'd just learn vocabulary from the dictionary.

[lawyertood]

http://www.eatyourkimchi.com/bucheons-rhythm-and-booze/

Give Rhythm and Booze a try in Bucheon to meet other teachers

[sojusucks]

It all depends on your interests but it won't happen in your apartment. You gotta get out there and do things with people.

[headache]

Depending on the coworkers you have, some may help you a lot.

Like another poster said, learn the alphabet. It's not that hard and a lot of words in Korean come from English, so when you know how to read Korean you can understand words at many places.

[phareign]

Find out where the E-Mart and the Home Plus is.

[sallymonster]

If you don't mind going into Seoul to meet people, try finding groups on Meetup and Facebook.

These are the links for the group I run:

http://www.meetup.com/lost-in-seoul/

http://www.facebook.com/lostinseoul

There are lots of other groups, too. I suggest you get searching!

[lalartu]

depends on whether you're shy or not too


After a year or so in Korea, I just started chatting to random people in random places and make friends that way.

koreans love foreigners..use that to your advantage


also, foreigner community is usually a hit or miss here. either you will get in with a bunch that chooses to drink/party every day/night and pretty much makes it their daily life in Korea, or a group that likes to hike/explore and go to remote locations and pretty much never step into a bar except for after a hike. There are also the avid church goers that chill with Christian brothers only and the lonely PC bangers that...stay lonely

I'm sure there are other cliques out there, but in personal experience these four were sort of always around.

[cwflaneur]

[refugee]

[meu06184]

Thanks for the advice everyone. Had a great weekend in Bucheon. Also refugee I'm pretty sure we are living close together. PM me, apparently I can't PM until I've posted 25 times and this is post number 2 so that could be a while.

[Lolimahro]

Hey, I live in bullo-dong which is not far from you. I am married with a kid so I stick close to home and do nerdy things like crochet and go to the park on the weekends. But most of my single co-workers skedaddle on Friday evenings and spend the weekend in Seoul. You're not terribly far from there by bus (or train - go to Geomam station on the airport line and you can get to Seoul Station in 30 minutes from there; there are several express buses about that go into the city as well). It will be the best way to meet a diverse group of people and find friends who share your interests. Really, this neck of the woods is scenic, but often downright boring.

I second what other people have said about learning the language though. And there are hiking trails here and there if you know where to find them, if you like a walk in solitude or that kind of thing. But socialization in English in these parts is rare.

Hope you find a community you can really get involved with and enjoy! Keep reaching out; if you give up and stay isolated, it could be pretty difficult.

[refugee]

[Dazed and Confused]

I know a guy who is trying to start Ultimate Frisbee games in Incheon. Would you be interested?

[Jotun_Symph]

If you have faceook, I'm sure you can find an organization under "teachers in Incheon", or something like that.