Korean Job Discussion Forums

squirrelandgman · Joined: 20 Aug 2006

Well, if Manchester University pull their fingers out I will be there pretty soon.
So, having never been to Hanam, or South Korea for that matter I have some questions.
Cheers if you can help.....

Is Hanam close enough to Seoul for a (school night) out?
Are there decent places to drink? Doesn't have to be western style boozers, just anywhere with a good atmosphere for a beer?
What's it like for places to eat?

Any other snippets of advice/things to do would be appreciated!

Cheers

jaderedux · Joined: 10 Jan 2003 Location: Lurking outside Seoul

Hanam Gyeonggii do or Hannam-dong in Seoul.

Hanam Gyeonggii do is a bedroom community.

Family orientated. DEFINATELY not a party city. No western places to drink. No dance clubs per se. 30 minute ride to the closest subway stop that can take you to Seoul proper. There are a few "fusion" restuarants but no western restuarants. There are some hofs but again they cater to local clientel.

You see your students everywhere so you have to be cognizent of your actions and behavior.

I like it. Quiet clean lots of nature trails and small mountain trails. Party central NOPE not even close.

If you want more information P.M. me.

Jade

Gwangjuboy · Joined: 08 Jul 2003 Location: England

Hanam city is about 30 minutes from Jamsil station by bus, and 20 minutes from Cheonho station. A night out in Seoul is possible but the tranfers are annoying. The return in a taxi will eat a lot of your money too (30-40k). It will take you an hour or so to get to Itaewon (3 transfers) and an hour and a half to Hongdae (3 transfers). The city hall area of Hanam is by far the best part (middle class suburbia) but the rest of the city is extremely peasant like. The people who live in those parts are loathsome and it smells foul. Putting it mildly; it's a cesspit. If you like going out even during the weekdays give Hanam city a wide birth. Seriously.

Some good points (in my opinion far outweighed by the bad)

- frequent bus services into Seoul (every minute)
- Good selection of Korean restaurants
- Dominoes pizza
- from September a direct bus to Incheon airport
- Geomdan mountain

Bad points (summary)

- largely very dirty (City hall area is exception)
- far from central Seoul
- no subway
- no good places to drink
- supermarkets are very average
- nights out in Seoul will cost a fortune in taxi fares
- very few expats live there
- Korean friends are difficult to make there
- It smells
- the Korean people who live there are largely peasant like

bobbyhanlon · Joined: 09 Nov 2003 Location: 서울

yeah, try and get somewhere actually in seoul. its really not hard to get a decent teaching job, so don't settle for anything less than what you actually want. back when i was teaching, i made that mistake and regretted it later.
by the way, great to see a mondays fan on here!

jaderedux · Joined: 10 Jan 2003 Location: Lurking outside Seoul

Hanam city is about 30 minutes from Jamsil station by bus, and 20 minutes from Cheonho station.

20 Minutes to cheon-ho on a good day or light-ish traffic. Lived here 5 years I have never made it to Cheon-ho in less than 30 minutes. (Gangdong station). 30 minutes to Jamsil...you are dreaming! Again, maybe at 11 at night or 6 or 7 in the morning but Jamsil is normally about 45 minutes. You can get to gangbyeon (Technomart in about the same time)

A night out in Seoul is possible but the tranfers are annoying. The return in a taxi will eat a lot of your money too (30-40k). It will take you an hour or so to get to Itaewon (3 transfers) and an hour and a half to Hongdae (3 transfers).

Absolutely! But from Cheon-ho to Itaewon: Transfer at Cheongu to get on Line 6 not sure where the 3 transfers come in.

The city hall area of Hanam is by far the best part (middle class suburbia) but the rest of the city is extremely peasant like.

Peasant like??? What the heck does the mean? There is some growth but the city business association is fighting any large "marts".

The people who live in those parts are loathsome and it smells foul. Putting it mildly; it's a cesspit. If you like going out even during the weekdays give Hanam city a wide birth. Seriously.

My students and their parents are not loathsome. Most the people are nice and leave you to your business. No they are not overly friendly but I have nice relationship with lots of the shop owners. It is not a cesspit any more than Anyang or any other older city.

I like that fact there is a real lack of chrisma men and pu$$y hounds out here. Most of the foreigners have a good rep out here and I for one like the quiet nature. The foreigners meet now and again especially to help the new folks. But generally speaking most of us keep to ourselves.

We have nice nature/bike trails. It is similar to a bedroom community. So if you want to party and chase tail please go somewhere else. I don't want to explain a puking, staggering wayguk to my students. It is easy to phone service and cell service because we have a bit older group out here. By older either in age or responsibility. So yes I guess it is loathesome in that we don't get drunk every weekend and have to have bars on every corner that cater to foreigners...fine with me and most the people I know that live out here.

Jade (from the loathesome cesspit)

squirrelandgman · Joined: 20 Aug 2006

heh, cheers people.

Wasn't really wanting to know if I could get mashup every night and eat burgers and throw em up on my shiney new teaching shoes.

I can save that for the weekend trips to Seoul eh.

Thing is, I like a couple of cheeky beers out of the house so all I need is an establishment where I can do this. All very respectable and grown up like. Food wise I want to dive right in, so no need for Western gaffs, I want to eat with the locals. So presumably there are plenty of places like this?

hey, I am older, maybe I will fit in. We all like to party sometimes though right?

Whats a hoff?

billybrobby · Joined: 09 Dec 2004

HOF, i think, is German for "backyard" or something like that. So naturally, in Korea it means "bar."

Captain Corea · Joined: 28 Feb 2005 Location: Seoul

Gwangjuboy · Joined: 08 Jul 2003 Location: England

Gwangjuboy · Joined: 08 Jul 2003 Location: England

JongnoGuru · Joined: 25 May 2004 Location: peeing on your doorstep

Ya-ta Boy · Joined: 16 Jan 2003 Location: Established in 1994

Whoa, boys.

There is also a Hanam just outside Masan way the heck down south.

Maybe someone should ask the guy for a clarification.

ilovebdt · Joined: 03 Jun 2005 Location: Nr Seoul

tiger fancini · Joined: 21 Mar 2006 Location: Testicles for Eyes

In relation to the Hanam that Jade, Gwangjuboy and ilovebdt are talking about (Hanam-si, Gyeonggi-do), I actually quite like the place and enjoy living here. Sure, getting into Seoul (and back again) is a bit of a mission, but I would say that if you want to spend a lot of time in Seoul, then probably best to look for a job there.

If however, you want to live in a relatively relaxed place, close to some good mountain hiking trails and in a place with a good community of foreign teachers (jade was spot-on about this) then Hanam isn't a bad choice at all. I go to Seoul pretty much every weekend - allow an hour for the journey there but a lot of the time it depends on traffic.

Oh and squirrelandgman, if you are coming to Gyeonggi-do Hanam-si, can you bring a good supply of 'mondays tunes and some pork pies for me?

Cheers mate! Very Happy