Korean Job Discussion Forums

[dulouz]

Given the same job, same pay, same everything. Is a small town better to live in or Seoul?

[stargazer]

A smaller city ,such as Sokch'o or Kangnung,on the east coast is better because the air and water are better there. Also the scenery is wonderful. The sea on the east coast is deeper and cleaner than on the west coast , so swimming and fishing are better. The night life is exciting,too.

[Manner of Speaking]

I get a big kick out of so many Seoulites who post on this board and assume that Korea = Seoul + countryside. Shows that they don't get out of the city much. There ARE other cities in Korea...Pusan, where I live, is wonderful, and there's Daejon, Daegu, Kwangju, etc.

I keep hearing about all the hostility and demos in Seoul against Americans/foreigners these days, but here in the Southeast things are much more laid back. I've yet to see or experience a single episode of hostility/xenophobia/harassment on the street here.

You can keep Seoul. It's ok for the weekends but too expensive and uptight to live in.

[saw6436]

I live in Suncheon (about 6 hours drive south of Seoul) and I dig it. Not too small, not too big (280,000 people). Clean, quiet, inexpensive (compared to Seoul), a few western restaurants, lots of bars, around 10 nightclubs. And I shouldn't forget the food. Suncheon and the surrounding are is famous in Korea for its cooking. And I believe it. Every 6 months of so I get stir crazy and head up to Seoul but don't think I would want to live in Seoul. Living in a small town is a unique experience for a foreigner. Aside from my co-teacher I can go for months without ever seeing or speaking to another foreigner. Around 30-40 westerners live here but I almost never see then.
What I appreciate the most about living here is the fact that I can completely get into the countryside within a 10 minute walk. Plus I love my house. Typical "modern" Korean house. 1/2 way up the side of a mountain, beautiful view and 5 minutes walk to my school or downtown. Seoul is fine but would not want to live there. That being said, my wife wants to live in Seoul but she is Korean and every Korean wants to live in Seoul.

[Marathe]

I'm in eonyang - 20 minutes outside of ulsan - 30,000 people. Two of whom are western. After visiting the larger cities (pusan, ulsan, seoul) I'd say i still prefer the small town life: large cities are great to visit but living there would be different. Plus, the major thing is that you can visit pretty well anywhere in Korea in under 6 hours: its not like living in a prarie town in wisconson or alberta.

my opinion

[Howard Roark]

my first time here i wasn't keen about living in big ol' seoul all alone. so i chose a smaller town. i live in gumi (pop. 400 000), which is near the city of daegu (~4 000 000). i wanted at least to be near a big city.

anyway, if i were to stay here another year i would definitely want to live in seoul. i don't get to go there often but when i do i love it and i wish i was living there.

why? it's convenient, exciting, more modern, more variety of everything, people don't stare as much, no end of things to do and places to go.

i opted for small town life and occasional big city weekends. if i were to do it again, i'd go the opposite route.

[lighthouse1971]

[J.B. Clamence]

[Imbroglio]

There's a place I know
Where not many a teacher go

Where the beaches and the trees and the shade
make the day seem almost like Ko tao

of course not like Ko tao but when you use your imagination....


Kangwha Eup is the main town, I think there a few hakwons there...with a scooter you can be on the other side of the island in 20 minutes. Along the way you'll pass checkpoints, fences, you'll see north korean propaganda. It's about a 90 minute ride to Seoul, if my memory serves me right...the bus station to and from Kangwha is near Sinchon.

http://cont2.edunet4u.net/~kks5709/kanghwa_history.html

http://soback.kornet.net/~pixeline/heeyun/korea/kanghwa.html

http://www.korealink.co.kr/kt_culture/200211/t2002110117302646110

[kimcheeking]

I've lived in Seoul for six years, but try to get out to the countryside as often as I can. I could not live in a small town. Not a Korean one, Not a Canadian one, I coud not live in a small town anywhere...

I visited some friends for a week in a small town and couldn't handle it.

city mouse, country mouse which are you - make a decision on that. I'm a city mouse.

[VanIslander]

I don't think the distinction between city and country life is very distinct when it comes to the experiences of daily living.

I have found that small Korean cities can capture all the feel of a much larger city elsewhere.

It's been posted elsewhere that you can gauge the services and activities of a Korean city by knocking off a zero from the population stat (e.g. a 400,000 city is like a 40,000 city elsewhere, America or Canada presumably).

I suggest you add a zero to capture the FEEL of hustle and bustle experienced here. There's about 60,000 in my Korean community, yet it feels like 600,000 with all the comings and goings, outdoor markets, walking, night-time street life, and bar hopping. In terms of shopping, restaurants and nightlife, a small Korean city outdoes a Canadian city by anywhere from a factor of two to ten. I've spent time in the small Canadian cities of Kamloops, Kelowna, Nanaimo, Red Deer, Lethbridge, Brandon and Laval, and I tell you, those cities feel dead in comparison to my Korean city on Geoje Island; adding a zero, my thesis holds: There's no more shopping and nightlife in Windsor or Winnipeg, even though the later has over 700,000 people!

Of course, I'm only commenting on the feel of a small city, not on the access to a variety of recreational and entertainment services. (That said, at least this small city has a few fitness clubs, several saunas, lots of PC rooms and plenty of opportunities to sing songs or watch movies.)

I work, shop, eat and drink in what is distinctively a city atmosphere, yet I've the benefits of country living such as friendly people, considerate drivers, little spitting, no shoving, fresh air, beaches, etcetera.

Oh sure, the big cities have live theatre, concerts, climbing walls and the like, but I only really did those things when I visited a metropolis like Toronto or Montreal anyway.

Let's talk about metro versus small city versus countryside, for all those posters who don't live in Busan, Seoul or Daegu, yet don't exactly live in the countryside.

[weatherman]

In Korea it is all about finding a happy niche somewhere. A big city like Seoul can feel small after a bit, while a smaller city can give you everything that a large city can give you, except for a lot of other foriegners. What do you want? What do you need? These are questions you need to answer before you make your move.

[tokki]

Well, having lived in Seoul and a small town on the southern coast, I would have to say that the small town is a better place to live. Seoul has its advantages. You have easy access to all the western things like food, bars, books, other foreigners. You also have a lot of entertainment options as well. The thing about Seoul is that its so huge. Getting from one cool place to another involves a long and exhausting subway ride. With our teaching schedules you pretty much only have the weekend to go and enjoy what Seoul has to offer. Seoul can also be pretty expensive.

I used to live in Jinju, which is a small town of about 250 thousand people. The town is close to beautiful places like Namhae, Koje. Busan is really close. The air there is so clean, and the city is so easy to live in. It can get a bit boring at times, but if you meet a cool group of people, it shouldnt be a problem. I am really considering leaving Seoul and going back there with my wife. I dont think I would miss Seoul too much. I also have a car down there and when we visit every month we drive up and down the coast.

[Yaya]

There's something to be said for clean air. A report says bad air affects a man's sperm count. Ugh!

[kangnam mafioso]

it really depends on what you are looking for. i chose seoul as my home 2 years ago and haven't regretted it. i was never looking for the small town/village experience where you are even more of an oddity than in seoul. seoul has plenty of foreigners but i still get my share of unwanted attention. i can't imagine what it would be like in some hillbilly town where you are the only foreigner. i guess i consider myself more of a city person. i like the 24hour nature of the city and the diversity of things to do. yeah, it's a little more expensive and dirty, but you can always escape on the weekends. most of the people i know who live in the boonies spend a considerable amount of time travelling up to seoul on the weekends.