Korean Job Discussion Forums

[ciannagh]

Hey all, I'm going to be applying for the fall semester with EPIK. I'm sure there are already threads about this topic on the forum, but for some reason, the search tool doesn't work with my browser.

So....

As I said, I'm going to be applying for this fall. I've done a little research about Korea, but I'm still unsure as to what cities would be best to apply for. Those of you who have taught, or are currently teaching, what do you think about where you live? Are rural areas bad to live in? What about bigger cities?

I was thinking about applying to Busan, but I've recently heard some negative things about living there.

Opinions?

-Claire

[yodanole]

This is so dependant on your personality.. It also depends on what you like to do with your free time. It depends on how flexible you are with your food choices.

The less flexible you are, the larger city you would want to be in. ( as a general rule ) Pusan isn't a bad choice. However, most every place has something to offer. A lot of cities have English language websites.

[ciannagh]

[Rutherford]

You should request to be in a very small village somewhere in Chuncheon, Jeolla, or Gangwon-do because that way you will experience true Korean culture and you will learn the language faster.

[ciannagh]

[Sister Ray]

[GrasshopperKR]

[yellowdove]

Choose a city that isn't Seoul or Busan. Try Daejeon, Daegu, Gwangju, or Changwon. You get a sense of what Korea is, have options as far as food (granted, not as many as Seoul or Busan), and you can meet more people.

Daejeon was great for me and my husband our first time around - it's in the centre of the country, so it's awesome for traveling, there's a great group of expats with a fantastic facebook group for easy meet-up organizations, and there's quite a bit to do. It's not touristy, however, but you're only an hour away from Seoul on the KTX, 2 hours from Busan (KTX as well), and you can grab a train or bus to any other part of the country if you like exploring.

The other cities still have lots of stuff to do, but Daejeon is definitely a great place to base yourself in Korea.

[northway]

[rickpidero]

[minos]

Seoul is the cultural hearth of Korea.

Pretty much every city, town, and village takes it's cue from that city. Anybody who says it's not true korea is living in fantasy land.

It's the same as someone saying Paris is not real France.

Village culture is like seoul: same food, same markets, same people(albeit older), same fashion(worse), same stores, same chains(less western food). They even live in the same apartment buildings as the city(korean land is too expensive for houses....even in the middle of nowhere).

The difference is, the locals are usually poorer, ruder(in korean), and 20 years older on average.

As far as language goes. Koreans are horrible at speaking English in Seoul. Signs in English are prevalent across the country though. THis isn't the phillipines...you'll want to learn the language. Just don't get lazy.

For smaller cities and towns, the big problem is the extremely uneven age ratio. A small Korean town usually sufers a lack of young women and men....especially women. If you travel around the country and speak korean(I have) you'll notice:

*Nobody in their 20s except for essential jobs(firefighters, cops, nurses,etc.) or college students.
* A number of store fronts that offer bride importation services. In Seoul, I never saw any. In small towns they're common.
* More old people than you can shake a stick at. All the young people jobs are in Seoul or Busan.
*Zero nightlife: Uneven age ratio = Hope you like "Hoffs". Bars are still new and hip concepts to most towns. Forget about decent clubs in any city under 500,000 people. Any city under 100,000 won't even have a place with a dance floor usually. Anything smaller won't even have a bar unless a college is nearby.

EDIT:

Some foreigners will tell you it's easier to meet people outside of Seoul.

What they really mean, it's easier to meet foreigners becuase of the tight knit group(IE: your marooned together). I've experienced this and yeah, you'll make some tight friends just becuase your isolated together.

Seoul is much like living in New York or Paris. Nobody gives a crap if your a fellow non-korean. If they see you on the street, fellow foreigners won't run up to you and try to become friends. It's also easier to get Koreans friends in Seoul. Many more gyopos and koreans who speak english.

Korean is a hard language so don't expect to make tons of friends with ones who don't speak english well until your near imtermediate level. Koreans are absolutely horrible are interpreting non perfectly spoken korean. You can't really cave man korean(me store go!) like you can with english. Misspronouce one syllable and your whole sentence is null and void for some people.

[bekinseki]

The problem with living in a small town isn't that you're alienated from other foreigners -- which you are -- but that you're also alienated from most Koreans, who will be more conservative, more provincial, more closed-minded. Think long and hard before you wind up somewhere in the middle of nowhere.

If you don't want to live in Seoul, there are many decent cities outlying it--Incheon, Anyang, Suwon, Goyang, and so on. That way you'll be out of all the worst traffic, but still relatively convenient to Seoul.

Oh, and while Busan may be Korea's second biggest city, its distance from Seoul puts it at a huge disadvantage.

[seoulsucker]

[quote="Sister Ray"]

[The Floating World]

[minos]