Korean Job Discussion Forums

[natural]

hey guys

Just accepted a position in Bundang and start at the beginning of september. Can anyone fill me in on what there is to do in the area? Ive heard there are a few western bars which would you guys recommend?

Thanks hope to meet a few of you out there

[FistFace]

Monkey Beach bar in Seohyun/Samsung Plaza.

[Captain Courageous]

I hate that bar.

[FistFace]

If you hate that bar, you're either too old, or anti-military.

[IncognitoHFX]

My friend has lived in Bundang her whole life. She says nothing but good things about it.

[FistFace]

Tis a very nice city. One of the newest and best in Korea.

Not a lot of fun things for young singles, though, and the trip to Seoul grows increasingly long with so many people flocking to live there (traffic back-up is excessive).

The subway takes the same amount of time, but you do a lot more standing than you used to. Hate standing for 45 mins!

When they finish the dedicated Kangnam to Jeonja subway in 2009 (just one stop in between, I hear), life will be much better.

[Smee]

There's a ton of information on this site and elsewhere about Bundang. Try a search, and also take a look at http://wiki.galbijim.com/Bundang for a nice overview.

I lived there for a year in 2005-06. It's a very pleasant area, fairly pedestrian friendly, with a lot of nice parks. Shopping is easy to do as there are several department stores, grocery stores, and tons of boutiques. Each section of Bundang has its own Western and non-Korean restaurants, and there are plenty of bars. There's a bus terminal on the northern end of town (in Yatap) that goes all over the country, and Seoul is of course very accessible by bus.

I opted to move to a smaller area for my 2nd and 3rd years, as I wanted to improve my Korean language skills and as I found like in Bundang could grow rather stale, and I found the people kind of boring. I do miss my modern apartment there though, haha, and the variety of resteraunts, coffee shops, stores, etc . . . after spending time in rural Korea, I see I took those amenities for granted.

[Square Cracker]

I just arrived in Bundang just over a day ago, and so far I am too intimidated to enter a restaurant. I haven't seen one yet with an English (or picture) menu, except apparently Lotteria, which is around the corner of the hotel I am staying in.

However, right now I am still jetlagged, thus being up for two hours now since 3:30 AM after falling asleep around 7:30 Pm and again around 11:30 PM. Ugh.

There appears to be a lot to experience. While lost trying to re-find my hotel on foot after being transported to and from there by car before, I saw quite a bit. The mountain range in the distance is beautiful, especially for someone from flat, wet land (South Louisiana). On the not-so-bright side, Bundang is a lot busier than I imagined it. I thought I was moving to a suburb of Korea, not another major metropolis.

[The Perfect Cup of Coffee]

[pidgin]

Sunae - Wa Bar

Seo Hyun - The Dublin & Monkey Beach (as mentioned). The Beatles (live music) Walking on same street from Seo Hyun Bus station, up and away from sunae....immed. after papa johns pizza and flyover... off to the left)

Yatap - A couple of live music bars - easy to find. (a little pricey = get to drinking beforehand)

Jeong Ja (?) ...anyone?

Miguem : Beyond the atypical American restaurants (ala TGIF and Bennigans [i think] ) I'm not sure.

[IncognitoHFX]

[mack4289]

First the important question: do you play poker? We have a game around here (near Ori station or in Suji) every Friday but a few of the regulars have already gone home or will be doing so soon. If you or anyone else is interested, send me a message.

For eating, the best Western places I know of are Franky's Deli and Daily Kings Diner in Jeonga and La Merce Mexican Food and Kraze Burger in Seohyeon.

I've only been in Monkey Beach twice. Once there was no one there and the other time it was lame. But it must be the best dance club for foreigners in Bundang because it's pretty much the only one. The clubs in Hongik (usually called Hongdae) or Itaewon in Seoul are much better but much further away.

The Dublin bar is good for meeting people. Wednesday is open mic night and they get a good turnout for that sometimes. The weekends can be good there, too. But it can also be empty- it's a crapshoot.

Further out of the way is Suji, which is out of Bundang (and further away from Seoul). There's a lot of foreigners in that area. I've been in Batman bar, Club Exit and Beer Hunter and there's been other foreigners in there every time. Beer Hunter is probably the least popular of the three.

[MANDRL]

We live in the Jeongja part of Bundang and have really enjoyed our stay here. Jeongja is rather quiet and is probably boring for younger single people. We are a 27 and 24 year old couple so we are content with the quietness of Jeongja. Stuff to do around here includes Cafe Street. Cafe Street is a street with lots of little cafes and restaurants, mostly Italian. There are some over priced little boutiques also. There is a bakery called Amapola (sp?) that is pretty good. They have all kinds of little baked goods from macaroon cookies and tarts to slices of pies and cakes. Ilovecookie.com is also around this area. Ilovecookie.com is a little store with an assortment of western goods at a highly marked up price. If you have any other questions about this area feel free to ask!

Here are a few pics of Cafe Street:

[natural]

Think Ive found home now that I know there's a Subway ha ha

Thanks very much to everyone thats replied hopefully get the chance to meet some of you while im out there.

Mack, yeah I play poker well texas holdem if thats what you play. Ill message you when im settled into Bundang cheers for the offer.

Any other activities you guys have set up like football (soccer) teams?

[mack4289]

Yeah the game is holdem. Hope to see you there.

I have friends who play soccer on Sundays, the same guys I play poker with. I play basketball around here as much as I can if you're interested in that.