Korean Job Discussion Forums

[umpittse]

Hi everyone!

I am going to be moving to Daegu to teach in March. I was wondering if anyone could tell me their perceptions about living in Daegu. For example, are there a lot of bars (I do enjoy drinking lol)? Are there many gyms?

Thanks

[EzeWong]

Daegus pretty cool.

I was pretty skeptical about coming here but I'm glad I got moved here from Busan.

There's 3 major clubs that people in downtown go to: bubble, frog, and monkey. The bars are plentiful. You also have "wa" bars which are supposedly western theme bars. you can get stouts like guniess, corona, bud, etc.

There are some gyms around, I'm in sangin dong and I go to a gym/healthclub. Here it's considered "cheap" 80,000 won a month. Obviously compared back at home this is quite hefty.

There's also a lot of spas around. THEY ARE GREAT, if you don't mind doing the full monty. It's weird at first but it's well worth it. saunas, massages, oh god it's so good. Daegu is well known for hot springs too, but I have yet to see them.

There's also some good hiking here.

The great thing about Daegu is that you'll bump into a lot of people you know, and you'll always be meeting new people. It's a huge city with crowded and quitet pockets here and there.

BTW. Where are you moving from?

[crescent]

^^
Well said.

Now, here come the haters...

[JFuller317]

I live in Daegu. I can advise you on a few things.

If you like to go out, there's a pretty nice downtown area. There's a good-sized foreigner community that tends to go out a lot on the weekends. However, the scene is not as varied as it should be. There are basically about 6-8 main bars that all the foreigners go to. You could go to other places, but you'd be interacting mainly with Koreans, so if you only speak English, you'd have a tough time of it. Then there are a few pretty nice dance clubs around the same area that get pretty good around 2am or so. Overall, the nightlife is good. There's enough variety so that it feels like you aren't doing the same thing all the time, but it would be nice if there was a little more. But then again, in most towns you'd live in, you'd end up going to the same bars every weekend anyway, so it's not much different in that respect.

If you live in Daegu, it really helps if you live near the subway. There are only 2 subway lines, not 20 or however many Seoul has. However, these two subway lines do manage to cover a pretty broad area from east to west. I do know a few unfortunate souls who live pretty far from the subway. These people have to learn the bus system, which you should be able to pick up pretty quickly if you have a Korean help you.

I can't really speak with any authority on gyms. There is a good one 2 subway stops down from where I live that I go to, but I don't know of any others (there are lots of other ones, but I just don't know about them).

The weather is the worst part about Daegu. It's the hottest city in Korea during the summer and one of the coldest during the winter.

One thing that seems nice is that I haven't picked up on what a lot of the Seoul based community seems to complain about (racism, some kind of "caste system" where the Koreans look down on English teachers, etc). The people here have been very respectful for the most part with a few exceptions (people who cut in front of you in line because they know you don't know how to say anything about it, old people who give you mean glares on the subway if you look like you're going out to party, etc). Old people for the most part are a lot meaner than the young folks.

I'd recommend Daegu pretty highly though.

[whatever]

[crescent]

[BS.Dos.]

Daegu, like every other city in the red peppered peninsula, appears to have been cut from the same shabby piece of ass cloth as all the others. I'd liken the architecture, planning, absence of any spatial civil spaces and general shabby neon dreariness to something akin to functional brutalism, the likes of which were last seen sometime during the Stalin era.

Actually, that's being a bit harsh. It's okay. That is, by Korean standards. Can't say I know every neighbourhood in Daegu, but as a city of 2.5 million, it has the usual stuff you'd expect to find: movie theaters, bars, one-legged crooked hookers selling rotting fish etc.

If you want the full, undiluted, sparkling Korean experience, with all the trimmings and trappings of home, then there really is only one choice; Korea town, Manhattan, NYC.

[umpittse]

Hey, thanks for your perceptions. Sounds like Daegu will be a cool place to live and work. I actually lived in Korea about three years ago and I remember the Wa Bar LOL. Spent many an evening there! I was like 27ish when I lived and taught there. I left Korea to come back to Canada and have been here almost three years. I miss the lifestyle Korea offers so I'm heading back!

Yikes, the gyms are expensive! But, oh well. I could never live without working out.

Hot Springs, dam, I gotta find those!

I'm moving from Canada.

[JFuller317]

[EzeWong]

[EzeWong]

Umpitsee,

Glad to hear you're making a comeback!

Where did you stay in Korea before?

Oh and if Daegu's not really your thing, the best part is, Busan is 1 hour away, and Seoul is 2 hours away. (KTX train is only like 11,000 won or something)


Oh and 1 thing that is just wonderful about Daegu that I've never heard anyone mention is,

We're in this BEAUTIFUL VALLEY. We are surrounded by veggie covered mountains and you have a constant breath taking view. When it's foggy, it's almost surreal and mystically beautiful. I walk out of my shitty apartement and there it is.

[kiknkorea]

[superpan]

[whatever]

[EzeWong]