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daz1979
Joined: 29 Apr 2006
Location: Gangwon-Do
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 Posted: Sat Jul 15, 2006 12:45 am Post subject: Geoje Island? |
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Hi
I am considering an offer from a school on Geoje Island and wondered whether anyone has any experience of living on the Island?
Anyone ever who visited who can tell me a little more about the place?
What I do know or think I know so far is...
I can catch a ferry to Busan for the weekend and be there in 20 mins
The island has 2 large ports
Geoje has a population of around 50,000
Geoje is Korea's second largest island behind Jeju
Parts of the Island are very scenic and beautiful
There is little nightlife to be found on the Island
Fish is cheap!!
There are many nice beaches
There are many foreigners on the island for such a small place
What I would like to know are just basic really
How easy is it to get round the Island? Are scooters easy to pick up on the island?
What sort of climate does Geoje have
Are there many internet cafes?
What is the nightlife like? I don't want to go out clubbing at all but a few bars and restauraunts would be nice!
Sports facilities on the island? Gym? B Ball court?
What can't I get on the island?
If anyone has spent a year teaching on the Island I would love to hear your opinion of the place! Would you or did you spend more than a year there? How did you spend your free time? |
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ajuma
Joined: 18 Feb 2003
Location: Anywere but Seoul!!
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| Posted: Sat Jul 15, 2006 4:58 am Post subject: |
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| PM VanIslander. He knows all the scoop on K/Geoji |
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daz1979
Joined: 29 Apr 2006
Location: Gangwon-Do
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| Posted: Sun Jul 16, 2006 12:13 am Post subject: |
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jacl
Joined: 31 Oct 2005
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| Posted: Sun Jul 16, 2006 12:33 am Post subject: |
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| If the salary is good enough, it sounds like an ideal place. You could save cash easily and head for the big city when you're bored. Kind of cool, actually. 20 minutes on a ferry is nothing and more fun than the bus. Timing the ferry would be the difficult thing, but that's where the money saving factor comes in. "Ahh. Do I really feel like catching that last ferry?" |
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zappadelta
Joined: 31 Aug 2004
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| Posted: Sun Jul 16, 2006 12:37 am Post subject: |
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| ajuma wrote: |
| PM VanIslander. He knows all the scoop on K/Geoji |
bump |
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daz1979
Joined: 29 Apr 2006
Location: Gangwon-Do
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| Posted: Sun Jul 16, 2006 12:46 am Post subject: |
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| ajuma wrote: |
| PM VanIslander. He knows all the scoop on K/Geoji |
Ta! I will pm Van Islander now! I seem to remember he gave me some useful advice when I was offered a position in Nam Hae a while ago! |
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daz1979
Joined: 29 Apr 2006
Location: Gangwon-Do
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| Posted: Sun Jul 16, 2006 1:54 am Post subject: |
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| jacl wrote: |
| If the salary is good enough, it sounds like an ideal place. You could save cash easily and head for the big city when you're bored. Kind of cool, actually. 20 minutes on a ferry is nothing and more fun than the bus. Timing the ferry would be the difficult thing, but that's where the money saving factor comes in. "Ahh. Do I really feel like catching that last ferry?" |
The salary is a basic 2.0! Nothing special but it should be enough!
The last ferry home scenario hopefully wont come into play too often as I plan to spend most of my time on the island with an occasional weekend in Busan! I will work 1pm - 7pm Mon - Fri so I can leave for Busan early Saturday morning say 9.00 am and return Monday around the same time and with plenty of time to get prepared for class!
Hopefully! |
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Son Deureo!
Joined: 30 Apr 2003
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| Posted: Sun Jul 16, 2006 2:05 am Post subject: Re: Geoje Island? |
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| daz1979 wrote: |
What I do know or think I know so far is...I only spent a long weekend there once, but since Van Islander isn't piping up I'll tell you what I know.
I can catch a ferry to Busan for the weekend and be there in 20 mins
Geoje has a population of around 50,000
There is little nightlife to be found on the Island
Fish is cheap!!
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All of these items are not quite right.
I've never lived on Geojedo, but I did spend a long weekend there once. Since Van Islander hasn't piped up yet I'll tell you what I know about this unusual place.
The ferry from Busan to Geojedo takes more like 45 minutes and it costs about W40,000. That's still easy enough to do any weekend you want, though. The island is also connected to BUsan by a very long bridge. I think it takes close to two hours by car, though.
There's plenty of nightlife to be found on Geojedo. In fact, it reminded me of Itaewon on the ocean. There are a lot more men than women, though, because of the shipyards. There are a lot of sausage parties and kept women to be found on Geojedo.
Fish is cheap everywhere in Korea.
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| There are many foreigners on the island for such a small place |
This is very true. Geojedo is dominated by two large shipyards, so there are a lot of foreign engineers, mostly European.
| daz1979 wrote: |
What I would like to know are just basic really
How easy is it to get round the Island? Are scooters easy to pick up on the island? |
It's a pretty big island, and the buses are fairly infrequent, you would probably want a motorbike or a car.
| Quote: |
| What sort of climate does Geoje have |
There is not much variation in climate in South KOrea, but Geojedo is off the southern coast so it's slightly warmer than the rest of Korea. That means that in the winter it tends to hover at slightly above freezing.
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| Are there many internet cafes? |
Of course, it's Korea. THere are PC bangs everywhere.
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| What is the nightlife like? I don't want to go out clubbing at all but a few bars and restauraunts would be nice! |
Fear not, there are plenty of restaurants and bars. There is a suprisingly good variety of foreign restaurants there. I at French, German, and British pub food while I was there. There are also Vietnamese and plenty of Korean restaurants there as well.
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| Sports facilities on the island? Gym? B Ball court? |
I never saw a basketball court, but then again, I never looked. There are health clubs aplenty.
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| What can't I get on the island? |
I understand that there are black markets catering to the European engineers, so it probably wouldn't be hard to find just about anything you want, and you can always shop in Busan if you need to.
| daz1979 wrote: |
| If anyone has spent a year teaching on the Island I would love to hear your opinion of the place! Would you or did you spend more than a year there? How did you spend your free time? |
I went to Geojedo expecting a fairly quiet little vacation, and was surprised to find that Geojedo was like being in Itaewon, but on the ocean. I was planning on eating a lot of sashimi and samgyupsal (and could of had i wanted to), and ended up eating steak and bratwurst instead. There was definitely nightlife, but the expats I met there seemed to be very starved for female companionship unless they went there with their wives. There are plenty of beaches there, including a really beautiful pebble beach.
It seemed like it could be a really fun and interesting place to spend a year, but I'd definitely recommend getting a car or a motorbike while you're there. |
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daz1979
Joined: 29 Apr 2006
Location: Gangwon-Do
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| Posted: Sun Jul 16, 2006 2:30 am Post subject: Re: Geoje Island? |
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Thanks Son
I wasn't aware that Geoje was as westernised as that! Would this just be in the downtown city or across the Island?
I didn't know it was connected by bridge either 
I don't like the sound of Iteawon in the slightest so am slightly worried that you saw a resemblance between the two areas but I have pretty much much (90%) made up my mind that this will be my new home in August/September so I will make sure that I get myself a bike to get away and explore when I can!
Thanks for the info Son even though you have made me question whether I was right to go with Geoje over Jeju 
If anyone else has any experience of Geoje Island whether you have lived there or just visited please feel free to chip in!! |
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daz1979
Joined: 29 Apr 2006
Location: Gangwon-Do
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| Posted: Sun Jul 16, 2006 2:31 am Post subject: |
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Son
As it is so westernised is Geoje expensive? |
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jacl
Joined: 31 Oct 2005
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| Posted: Sun Jul 16, 2006 2:56 am Post subject: |
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Sounds good for the island. Anywhere rural you go, women are going to be slim pickins.
Not so good on the 40,000 ferry and two hours driving although you have a great schedule.
Salary is awfully low to be living on an island, but your hours are wicked. |
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kat2
Joined: 25 Oct 2005
Location: Busan, South Korea
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| Posted: Sun Jul 16, 2006 4:49 am Post subject: |
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http://english.busan.go.kr/culture_tourism/03_03_07.htm
Here is more info about the ferry. One of the things about the ferries is that they shut down if the weather is bad, even if its just a heavy rain. The bus to Busan takes at least 2 hours.
I think it depends on what part of Geoje you are in when you are talking about westernization. I think Okpo has a fair bit to offer of western comforts, but from what I saw when I was visiting, the rest of the place is pretty korean.
http://www.gfra.net/
http://gogeoje.org/about/
I am sure these guys could give you some good info about life in the big towns.
Geoje is really beautiful though. If you arne't into a giant nightlife scene, then I would say go for it. |
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Son Deureo!
Joined: 30 Apr 2003
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| Posted: Sun Jul 16, 2006 4:56 am Post subject: |
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| daz1979 wrote: |
Son
As it is so westernised is Geoje expensive? |
I was in Okpo, which is apparently more Westernized than the rest of the island. I didn't find prices to be any higher than anyplace else in Korea, but going out to Western restaurants gets expensive. |
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daz1979
Joined: 29 Apr 2006
Location: Gangwon-Do
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| Posted: Sun Jul 16, 2006 11:31 am Post subject: |
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| ksonnen wrote: |
http://english.busan.go.kr/culture_tourism/03_03_07.htm
Here is more info about the ferry. One of the things about the ferries is that they shut down if the weather is bad, even if its just a heavy rain. The bus to Busan takes at least 2 hours.
I think it depends on what part of Geoje you are in when you are talking about westernization. I think Okpo has a fair bit to offer of western comforts, but from what I saw when I was visiting, the rest of the place is pretty korean.
http://www.gfra.net/
http://gogeoje.org/about/
I am sure these guys could give you some good info about life in the big towns.
Geoje is really beautiful though. If you arne't into a giant nightlife scene, then I would say go for it. |
Thanks for the info
I don't actually know where the school is on the Island I think the school is based in Soowali or Sinhyunup according to the address but I can't find anything on the internet about either of these so I might be very wrong!! |
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Son Deureo!
Joined: 30 Apr 2003
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