Korean Job Discussion Forums

[wonkavite62]

I have applied for public school jobs. A rural position was offered. But how rural is rural? How remote does it usually get? I am talking about jobs in small towns, and so on. I was offered a job in Chungcheongnamdo.
I would like to hear from people who have recently taught in public schools in small towns (or even hagwons). How good is the transportation? What are the facilities like? How might you avoid boredom if the area turns out to be boring? If I finish at 5 p.m. on Friday, is it easy to hop on a bus or train and get to a big city? I am not going to an island, which makes it a bit easier.
I previously taught in Yeosu. It is a small coastal city-or rather 3 large coastal towns with one mayor. Yeosu is not really rural. My new job will be in a slightly smaller place than that.

[le-paul]

'How bad is it?' is sort of up to your state of mind isnt it? One mans meat and all that...

[Steelrails]

What are your beliefs and expectations coming here?

I've taught in a 'rural' area before. I thought it was great. Other people, not so much.

I'd say the biggest thing with Korea is to clearly understand your expectations and familiarity with this place. If there is one thing that I have noticed that correlates to people's enjoyment of this place, it is their expectations and preparation beforehand. If you look at negative posters, and ask them what their expectations and understanding of this place was before they came here, almost always they poorly researched this place, had little understanding of the people and the culture, and had unrealistic expectations.

Every negative thing people talk about is right on these and other forums, and has been talked about extensively. Yet the people who complain seem to be taken by surprise that those problems exist. Clearly, they had inadequate preparation.

[young_clinton]

I taught in one of the most rural areas that there are in South Korea, Cheongyang County. It was a shock for a few days, then I quickly got over it. Even rural areas have "greasy spoon" Korean restaurant eateries, pizzarias, small stores, chicken and burger shops etc. They also have extremely cheap medical clinics, that were stocked 24 hours with doctors. The town I taught in had a fortress area right in my backyard, unknown to most people and very interesting. It had Medieval statues and small pagodas out in the open. The bus system in Korea is such that it's easy to go to cities on weekends. The people who gave up at their rural jobs not completing their contracts didn't strike me as being particularly smart or adaptable. It all depends on you.

[edwardcatflap]

Well in that case, you could argue that smart people wouldn't have found themselves living in rural Korea to begin with.

[wonkavite62]

The school is a private elementary school in Gochang county in Jeollabukdo. I now know there will be some shops, supermarkets and so on within easy travelling distance. I am still concerned about whether there will be a gym-because I kind of need to go. I will be able to go to Seoul on Fridays and come back on Sundays by bus. Having high speed internet will also help. The apartment seems to be inside the school, and I'd prefer it not to be. But I would certainly be able to meet my friends-who are in Korea now-at the weekends.

[hellofaniceguy]

Remember....you are coming to another country of your own free will....you are not forced to teach/live in the rural area of korea....having said that....you have nothing to lose by trying it out for a year. Just like back home...some folks are country folks and others are not.
Transportation is always an issue but it seems in korea....buses go all over and into smaller towns at all hours.
Smaller towns...EVERYBODY will know about you, when you fart, brush your teeth, who you're seeing or trying to see, how good of a teacher you are, etc...some folks will like you and 1/2 will not. Just like back home.

[Steelrails]

[metalhead]

If you're the type of person who always needs people around I can't see you enjoying the rural life. If you are fine with being alone for days on end and can keep yourself busy it is fine. Having things to look forward to (upcoming vacations, meeting friends in cities etc) helps as well. If you do go rural, set goals for yourself (learn a new skill, learn a language, write, etc) and besides saving more you'll leave a better person.

Or just get drunk every day and fall asleep in the fetal position. So many options it's mad.

[Strode]

I lived in Seosan for 5 years and survived. At the time, it was in the middle of nowhere, lots of rice fields, etc... I did a lot of hiking and the scenery was great. Spent at least 2 weekends a month out of town, just to get out of town. Sometimes, I would just pick a place and head there to hang out for a day or so. Sometimes, I'd visit friends in Seoul. I actually liked living in a small town, people are nicer and not as crowded. I taught at 2 schools, one of them was a small school in Palbong that had 45 students. I have to say, sometimes I miss that. It was so laid back it was fun.

[SinaloaPaisa]

This is simple OP

1) Do you like to party / nightlife regularly (conventional Western style)?

2) Do you like to sleep around with many sloots (if your a guy)?

or

3) Homebody or outdoorsy type who doesnt party?

4) Don't date and sleep around a lot or seek one person for a relationship?

If you are in the first category then go to a major city. Preferably Seoul, Daegu, or Busan.

If you are in the second category then you could make it in a rural setting.

[yodanole]

Some people are willing to make sacrifices or even pay extra to live in their idea of paradise.

The phrasing of the question; "How bad is it?" seems to lend some support to the idea that the OP might need to be in Seoul to hope for some degree of contentment.

[wonkavite62]

Thanks for all your replies. Ideally, I would have liked to teach in Gyeonggi-Do. Why? I have lots of friends in Seoul, and while I like cities, Seoul got to be way too noisy at night while I was staying there, and not just at weekends. I lived in Beijing, which was even worse. Yet I found Seoul to be tremendously stimulating. Gyeonggi would have offered the best of both worlds. I think I might be able to settle for a rural position, provided I can get away at the weekends and meet people then, and provided I have internet, which I will have. I think that's very important. The job is in Gochang County, Jeollabuk-do.

[SeoulNate]

Obligatory

[wonkavite62]

Unfortunately what would happen is that if I did go out boozing on Friday night and got stuck in Seoul, I might carry on boozing until the wee small hours of Saturday morning and possibly sleep in an internet cafe or PC Bang.
It will be cheap to get to Soul, and cheaper to get to closer cities. Let's compare this to Japan. Teachers in Japan dread the word "inaka," 田舎. This word 田舎 means deep countryside and it can be very rural indeed. You can be a lot further from a city in 田舎 Japan. Public transport and hotels being much more expensive in Japan than Korea, it is harder to just go away for the weekend.
Where I am going there will be cultural relics, hiking trails, museums and pansori performances. I will enjoy these things.