Korean Job Discussion Forums

[K-in-C]

Greetings,

For those of you that have taught, or are teaching in M.O.E. positions in Ulsan, what areas would you reccomend? As well, were you able to get your airfare/flight ticket up front or did you have to collect it after you arrived in the ROK?

Also, were you able to make some revisions in the contract and do you have single housing?

Any feedback about life in Ulsan will be welcomed. I have read a few posts about the city.

Thanks for all the help.

Best,

K-in-C

[ScottyG]

Mugodong is nice. Close to the university and hiking areas. Not too far from okyodong. "Ulsan" is huge, and supposedly the biggest city in land area in Korea. Be careful what part you end up in. If in Namok for instance, it will take you forever and a huge cab fare to go and hang at the bars in Okyodong. Plus that is where most of the pollution is. Mugodong is on the periphery and deceptively close to countryside. A great place to have a scooter.

[jajdude]

Hi K,

I was in Ulsan back when there were dinosaurs around. I think they're gone now though.

Not a bad spot.

Are you actually coming to Korea, or just thinking about it?

[SpedEd]

I lived and worked in Ulsan for about four months. I was placed in a dodgey "gagwon", and paid (literally) a heavy price for working there. The managment deducted the full roundtrip airfare, as it was stipulated in the contract, because I terminated my position with them before the six month period as is often standard with many ESL jobs. Small changes in the contract aren't a big deal, but obviously there's issues between you and the school if a lot of changes to the original contract need to be made. Eventually, the school may tire of bending its back for a particular hire, and look elsewhere.

At the academy I worked for, the managment paid for the roundtrip upfront (it was also an open return ticket valid for 10 months with an extension available for a small fee). It's an employee's market over here, so don't take less than the above regarding airfare. Some schools will want "leverage" by wanting the ticket agent to book only a oneway rather than the roundtrip. Don't go for this - roundtrip or nothing. On the other hand, I guess its reasonable if the school purchases a roundtrip ticket to your originating country and retains the return portion until completion of the contract, but its your call.

As for Ulsan, keep in mind its the industrial mecca of Korea. Hyundai has its headquarters there along with a big presence from Korean oil refinaries. I noted some heavily polluted areas where an "overhang" of dirty air could be clearly seen. I resided in the Namgu urban district, and it wasn't too bad in terms of Korean city areas. I had a cozy studio and there were plenty of Family Marts and the like within spitting distance. Strangely, the "PC King" room was the best one I've used in the many Korean cities I've been to. There's also a tight-knit foreigner community in certain corners of the city for whatever reason (maybe they've drunk too much of the tap water). Overall, I'd rank Ulsan below average compared to the other choices in Korea based on the pollution problem there. You won't see brown coming out of your showerhead or anything, but Ulsan isn't recognized as either a tourist destination or a clean city.

Cities I've liked since coming over to Korea have been as follows: Central Seoul, Busan, and Ansan (a satellite of Seoul), so good luck with your search.