Korean Job Discussion Forums

[djmarcus]

I just got a contract to work in a Gyunggi Public Elementray school in Ansan. Does anyone currently live there and if so, what's it like?

[southboca]

Major caveat: I don't live in Ansan.

Ansan is toward the end of the subway line. I've only been in that area once or twice. My impression was that it had lots of factories and not many foreigners.

If you are seeking total cultural immersion, you should be fine. If you want lots of late nights out on the town with other foreigners, it could be a real problem. Public transit stops running around 11-12pm. A taxi from somewhere like Itaewon to Ansan is going to be very expensive.

Also, Ansan didn't feel very wealthy. (I could be wrong on this tho.) If that's the case, you probably aren't going to be able to line up very many well-paid privates close to your house.

I went to Ansan to check out a school when I first arrived. It was one of the worst run that I've ever seen. Underpaid, overworked teachers. No disciplinary help for the teachers. None of them were happy. The foreign teachers worked from early in the morning til late at night. They had to decorate bulletin boards, make all their own supplies (no student books), clean up the classrooms before they went home AND help decorate and prepare for special events. One of the kindy kids was standing on his desk and kicking his teacher, HARD. The school owner just laughed. YIKES!

[canuck in Ansan]

Well, in a city of 700 000+, with quite a lot of foreign teachers, there are bound to be better schools than the one that Southboca is describing.

I really don't mind Ansan....yes, its far from itaewon, but so are many parts of Seoul. A cab from Hongdae is between 30 000 and 40 000 won, if you have to get home, but a love motel is about the same price.
Living in Ansan is good. While it may take an hour to get to "downtown" Seoul, it could take that long if you were living IN Seoul too. I feel priveledged to be ON the subway line at all!
Anything you need can be bought here, there are western restaurants, movie theatres, and there ARE other foreigners (I'd say moslty between Gojan and Handeap stations)

I'm here for another 3 months, if you have any questions (no matter how small) feel free to PM me

[I_Am_Wrong]

OHMYGOD! It's far away from Itaewon...whatever will I do....


lame...people who think Itaewon (and Seoul in general) is the end all be all remind me too much of high school. When you ask a question about anything outside of Seoul you're bound to get a lot of idiotic responses...


Ansan is fine. It has all the ammenities that you need locally. I'm sure there is a small foreigner scene if you want that. The most important thing is your school and not partying. It's at the end of line 4 so you're looking at about an hour into Seoul...45 minutes into Suwon. You're 15 minutes from Sanbon and 30 minutes away from Anyang.

[Dan The Chainsawman]

the real clincher is the lady boys.