Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Alias77]

I was browsing job listings and found an interesting position, but it clearly states that a half-shift will occur every Saturday. I like the fact that it was mentioned upfront, but I've noticed some people don't like working on Saturdays. I imagine that makes travel and sightseeing difficult.

Aren't there 3 or 4 day weekends created by Korean holidays that might give me an opportunity to travel anyway? Or does everything shut down during a Korean holiday? And how do I find a good listing of calendar dates that I can count on having off, so I can study this?

Although, I was aiming for a position in Seoul, Busan, or any of the largest cities - there are obviously offers in smaller outlying areas near Seoul, like Anyang. They're purported to be a 30 or 40 min subway ride into Seoul.
For example: If I wanted to go to Seoul to hit some techno Dj type clubs (yes, thats a specific music preference ), if none happened to be in the area in which I live - would I have to stay in Seoul overnight or do the subways run 24/7? How accessible and readily available is travel between these cities? Also, would I be ok as a foreigner perhaps traveling alone in the middle of the night (if the subways do run). I'm concerned that I'll feel confined in an outlying area, if I appreciate ammenities like clubs and other metropolitan aspects, as well as access to national historic sites if I agreed to working Saturdays However, 24/7 access to inexpensive travel might abate this concern.

[Hapkido-In]

You are correct, there are two 3-day holidays in Korea. One is the Lunar New Year and the other is Thanksgiving. They are both based on the Lunar Calender, of course, and thus they don't always line-up with weekends. They also have some about 1 vacation day a month.

Transportation between cities in Korea is easy. Between the subway and buses you should easily be able to get anywhere you want in Seoul and the surrounding cities. It's fairly reasonably priced too.

However, you'll find that public transportation closes down at about midnight. You can navigate this problem by staying overnight at cheap motels ($30-$50)/night, even less if you are willing to sleep on a sauna floor or in a PC room.

[Big Mac]

There are so many jobs out there that don't require you to work Saturdays.

If you're looking for an entertainment scene, I would suggest finding a job in Seoul. It's a bit of a pain if you live in one of the satellite cities. Been there, done that. The subways do not run 24/7, and on the weekends they close earlier, around midnight. If you go into Seoul on a weekend, you'll either have to stay the night or take a taxi. Depending on where your satellite city is, a taxi ride would set you back about 30,000 Won. Taxis are cheap in comparison with North America...but still expensive if you're going outside the city.

And yes, there are a lot of national holidays that will give you some extra travel time. For example, Chosuk is coming up in October and at my school we will have six consecutive days off. On most holidays, most things are still open...but for an important one like Chosuk, you might find that a lot of things will close. You'll also have trouble getting around during a holiday like that because of all the traffic.

[Ya-ta Boy]

Travelling or whatever on the weekend isn't the entire point of people not wanting to work on the weekend.

For me, working Saturday morning ends up taking up at least half the day, if not more, and it really makes the weekend feel short. VERY short.

Korean holidays don't get shifted to Mondays to give people three-day weekends. They fall where they fall. For example, next month we will work on Monday, have Tuesday off for one holiday, work again on Wednesday, then have Thursday and Friday off for another holiday. (There are only 2 big holidays per year.) If a holiday falls on Saturday or Sunday, you are out of luck.

You should also know that it is EXTREMELY difficult to travel on holidays. 48 million people are also travelling those same days. Travel time often doubles or triples--a normal 2 hour trip can easily take 4-6 hours.

Subways do not run 24/7. If you travel into Seoul for an evening of frivolity, you will probably have to stay overnight. (Cheapish motels run about W30,000.)

Being out alone at 2 or 3 in the morning in Seoul is not a problem. Seoul (and Korea generally) is a much safer place than most of us come from.

[Alias77]

Thanks everyone.

Big Mac, your experience in the satellite cities helped confirm that I made the right choice in passing over my first job offer. I only go out once or twice a week, but I'd like to have access to the nightlife I enjoy. I currently live in a city pop 1 mil (if one accepts the BS metro reorganization) and my nightlife scene died over 2 years ago thanks to local politics and bad management of local businesses. I'm fairly certain that I'll have access to my music scene in a larger city.

I found a list of the national holidays on wiki.galbijim.com, but these lunar calendar dates are not entirely clear to me. I'm trying to get a handle on how these holidays work. http://wiki.galbijim.com/Holidays

Hapkido-In mentioned a "Thanksgiving" holiday, but I didn't see that listed, unless it falls under a lunar holiday that I don't recognize yet. Its obviously not the same as the American holiday.

I've seen pictures of a Hagwon that had children dressed up for Halloween - was that for the purposes of the English class or is Halloween a recognized holiday? (It happens to be my favourite )

Ya-ta Boy, point well taken about having separation from work. When you mention that half the population travels on these 4 or 5 day national holidays - does that mean the airports are jam packed too? Or is that a bad time to plan a vacation out of the country?

Also - a couple of you mentioned that public transport shuts down late in the evening. Are taxis available around the clock?

[HamuHamu]

The holiday referred to as "Thanksgiving" is called Chuseok in Korean, and it is essentially a "harvest festival" that happens around harvest time in the autumn, hence it is easiest to compare it to Thanksgiving.

It doesn't fall on a set date each year by the regular calendar, it has its set date on the Lunar Calendar (8/15) -- this means that in the same way Easter changes for us each year, Chuseok changes for Koreans each year. You would have to turn to a Korean solar calendar (ie/ "regular" calendar) to see what the dates are for this year.

Seolnal is Lunar New Year, or in most parts of the world more commonly known as "Chinese New Year" and it also follows the lunar calendar. Again, looking at a regular calendar will show where the dates fall for the current year.

For 2006 Chuseok is on October 5, 6, 7 (The 6th is Chuseok day, but the day befre and the day after are also holidays).

October 3rd is also a national holiday, so many people will take the 4th off work as well. Working in a hagwan you will be at the will of the director if this day is a school closure or not.

In 2007, February 17, 18, 19 are for Lunar New Year (again, the 18th is the actual holiday and the day before and after are also given off work).

http://www.lifeinkorea.com/Calendar/holidays.cfm
There is a drop down menu where it will show you the lunar calendar holidays for the year.

[Ya-ta Boy]