Korean Job Discussion Forums

[gummychoco]

I was recently offered a job teaching here. Does anyone live here or are you at least familiar with the area?

I'm partially concerned since I know it's a new city and I'm worried that there might not be much to do.

Any info is appreciated. Thanks.

[chrisinkorea2011]

well here is the info that i know. My gf actually worked there as a part time hagwon teacher. She said that it is pretty foreigner centered with a lot of hagwons and the such being there. And that since it is in incheon it is accessible to certain things. She said that overall she saw quite a bit of foreigners there, so im sure that there is something there that applies to them. And seoul is only an hour or so away. did you secure Public school or hagwon?

[highstreet]

I stayed in Songdo for two days at a hotel. The place is pretty empty from what I could tell. I think it's considered a "failure".

[gummychoco]

Darn. That's what I'm worried about... it seems pretty barren and empty from the photos I've seen. I mean I'm sure it's not a FAILURE yet hopefully, but so far it still looks pretty sparse...

Chris, it's a hagwon job. It's cool that Seoul is pretty close, but I want to be able to do stuff near home.

[chrisinkorea2011]

its not a failure persay YET. but like from what the gf says its still building more and more each day. I do know that renting an office-tel there is EXPENSIVE. lol

i say just go there and see what its like to you. I (and a lot of people on this board!) will tell you, simply get off ur butt, come here and just jump in lol. thats the best thing to do, if you dont like it, then find a different job in a different city lol. Of course i dislike hagwons lol but good luck to you!

[jamesy]

Most teachers that I know working in Songdo don't actually live there. The prices are on average 30-50% higher than other parts on Incheon, so a lot of institutes tend to have their teachers housed in Yeonsu. Yeonsu is about 10-20 minutes by bus or subway from Central Songdo, and is a decent area to live - it has plenty of local bars and restaurants, as well as a few foreign bars. Songdo is also only a 10-15 minute subway ride to Incheon Arts Centre, where you can find lots of stuff to do, and a larger foreign population. A further 10-15 minutes along the same subway line is Bupyeong, which is the busiest area in Incheon.

Songdo itself is still a work in progress. The financial meltdown hasn't really helped its progress, but I wouldn't call it a failure just yet. The roads are wide, the buildings are very modern, and the air is much cleaner than other areas within Incheon. There isn't that much to do there with the exception the downtown area which is quite small, and doesn't really offer anything you won't find in other areas of the city.

[FDNY]

I'm not sure what "failure" means either. It is meant, primarily as a business center. It also is supposed to be very well planned with lots of green space, parks, bicycle lanes etc. However, and I have been there, it is REALLY boring. Itaewon probably has a hundred times the nightlife, variety and culture of New Songdo. I went to the "World Beer Festival" there a few months back. UNBELIEVABLY bad. The only thing they had was Cass on tap and a few cans of warm Tsingtao. Pathetic.

[jamesy]

I heard about the beer festival, and luckily avoided it. A few of my friends went and said that it looked like a few stallholders had gotten together, taken a trip to homeplus/Emart and just bought whatever foreign beer they had in stock. That kind of event doesn't do Songdo any favours when trying to establish itself as an international hub.

[gummychoco]

[Stan Rogers]

[slwille]

I moved to Songdo in July with my family and it is great. It is certainly not as busy as Seoul, but very livable and it there are new restaurants and shops opening everyday. You can bike all over and you can find everything you need close by. It is a quick subway ride to malls and EMART or Homeplus and there is a direct bus that takes 45 minutes to get to downtown Seoul if you want some more lively bars and things. Overall, I have found it to be a great place to live and work.