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Cities in South Korea - Page 2

post #16 of 30
2/22/11 at 12:02pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by bentusian View Post
Being a Korean myself, I truly admire your keen observations, which all ring so true.

Although they can be pretty far from central Seoul especially when you're coming back home from a good night-out, you may also consider some of the satellite cities around Seoul like Ilsan or Bundang as recommended by other members. Each of them are pretty much self-contained so you may not need to come all the way to Seoul for example to go to a movie or something.

The other advantage of living in South Korea is, to me, cheap, short and frequent flights to Japan.

The cheap Japan flights brought something to mind. One thing that you should also be aware of is that if you want to go to China any time during your stay in Korea (tickets are extremely cheap from Korea -> China...like 500ish round trip after tax, at least that was the case for me), they recently changed the law for foreigners. You would need to get your visa in the US because the Chinese embassy in Korea will not issue it to you unless you've visited China in the last two years. Don't ask me why they implemented this law, but it is what it is.
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post #17 of 30
2/22/11 at 12:13pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by nahneun View Post
The cheap Japan flights brought something to mind. One thing that you should also be aware of is that if you want to go to China any time during your stay in Korea (tickets are extremely cheap from Korea -> China...like 500ish round trip after tax, at least that was the case for me), they recently changed the law for foreigners. You would need to get your visa in the US because the Chinese embassy in Korea will not issue it to you unless you've visited China in the last two years. Don't ask me why they implemented this law, but it is what it is.

Actually, when i was there this summer those rules were only in place for the Seoul embassy - the Busan consulate still issued visas.
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post #18 of 30
2/22/11 at 12:23pm
I remember the Seoul-Shanghai flight from Kimpo being like 150k KRW when I was using that route a couple of years ago.
ICN-HKG is indeed more like 4-500 bucks.
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post #19 of 30
2/22/11 at 7:01pm
and when u buy airplane tickets, make sure u buy them from a korean website, i used nextour. its amazing the difference in price for the same flight depending on whether u use an american site vs a korean one.
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post #20 of 30
2/22/11 at 8:56pm
Americans need to get a Chinese visa for $150. Kinda sucks, cause other countries only have to pay $50 for the visa.
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post #21 of 30
2/22/11 at 8:59pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by bbhewee View Post
I remember the Seoul-Shanghai flight from Kimpo being like 150k KRW when I was using that route a couple of years ago.
ICN-HKG is indeed more like 4-500 bucks.

Quote:
Originally Posted by greasypeanut View Post
and when u buy airplane tickets, make sure u buy them from a korean website, i used nextour. its amazing the difference in price for the same flight depending on whether u use an american site vs a korean one.

Damn, really? I went to a travel agency to book my flights :|
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post #22 of 30
2/23/11 at 3:21am
Quote:
Originally Posted by bentusian View Post
The other advantage of living in South Korea is, to me, cheap, short and frequent flights to Japan.

I don't know why this is so funny to me, because I agree, but LOL. I guess you don't see that statement prefaced with 'being a Korean myself' that often.
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post #23 of 30
2/23/11 at 11:12pm
Busan is a nice city and Daegu has a decent foreign population. Be aware though that that action is in the Seoul Metro area. More than half of Korea's population is a reasonable distance from a stop on that subway system. Subway line runs to Seoul, Uijeongbu, Guri, Goyang, Bucheon, Incheon, Anyang, Suwon, Guro, Gwacheon, Seongnam, Bundang, Hanam, Yongin, Uiwang and probably a few I didn't mention. Seongnam is amazingly cheap for the location btw.
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post #24 of 30
2/24/11 at 7:35am
Quote:
Originally Posted by impolyt_one View Post
I don't know why this is so funny to me, because I agree, but LOL. I guess you don't see that statement prefaced with 'being a Korean myself' that often.

I stated so because all the observations seem surprisingly precise, even to the Korean nationals. Or maybe they may as well be so because of the objective, third-person viewpoint from outside?

Cheap flights to Japan should be regarded as a great advantage because being a member of this forum means you're very likely to have something to buy in Japan..
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post #25 of 30
2/27/11 at 10:16am
Naturally Seoul is the place to go. But I really have to disagree with the others who say you're going to have issues with the culture barrier elsewhere. I lived in Daegu my first year here and never had any issues. There's a decent sized expat community there and some clubs and whatnot for foreigners if you feel that homesick. But personally I never had any issues and had no problem making English speaking friends. Hell where I'm at right now the population is only around 300k, and I still have Korean friends and a Korean gf that speaks English. I don't speak Korean, nor do I read hangul. It's simply a matter of getting out and talking to people. If you're not in Seoul, you'll find that it isn't a matter of people not knowing English, it's a matter of them being shy about it. Yes, there's alot less English speakers, but as long as you are not in the middle of bumfuck nowhere, you'll be fine. You just need to remain outgoing and you'll enjoy yourself. Give it a go.
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post #26 of 30
2/27/11 at 10:34am
you can't read Hangul but you've lived here over a year? really? It literally takes 30 minutes to learn to read Hangul, and half the signage in Korea is in Konglish, so you can get tons of practice without even thinking about it. You don't need to be fluent in Korean, but learning Hangul is not the greatest of feats.
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post #27 of 30
2/27/11 at 10:58am
Can't say I've ever sat down and made an attempt to. Frankly, I don't find it difficult to navigate without knowing it. But eh that's just me and my laziness.
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post #28 of 30
2/27/11 at 11:11am
Korea is a great place to spend some time, and as everyone has previously said, Seoul is really the place to be. If you can't be in Seoul proper, you may look at some of the outlying areas that are still on some of the extended subway stops - like Uijeongbu (to the north, and home to a US Army base) or Bundang to the south. Both are very near Seoul, but will be cheaper to live.
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post #29 of 30
2/27/11 at 11:58am
just chiming in as the umpteenth person to suggest that if you move anywhere in korea, move to seoul. other places in korea can be charming, but for a full year of expat living seoul is the only place that offers consistent adventures. my general advice if you choose to work at a private school is to get a position in a neighborhood like mapo-gu or gangnam, since there's a good mix of expats and native koreans who like to go out in those areas. since you're not paying for rent (pretty sure every school covers this) there's a lot of opportunities to save money and travel after your contract ends. final piece of advice -- not sure what kind of job you eventually want to pursue, but keep in mind your career goals beyond korea when you're out there. teaching english is hell of fun, but you'll also meet plenty of dudes out there who have been teaching esl for 5+ years, are in their late 20s/early 30s and are now pretty much fucked for a job outside of the esl industry. if you can find some kind of unpaid/volunteer work with an english-speaking firm in an industry that interests you, go for it, because it will definitely help you when you're home. i worked out there for a year, if you have any questions about things feel free to pm me.
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post #30 of 30
2/28/11 at 2:47am
Quote:
Originally Posted by beach house View Post
but you'll also meet plenty of dudes out there who have been teaching esl for 5+ years, are in their late 20s/early 30s and are now pretty much fucked for a job outside of the esl industry.

<- This guy (3 nonconsecutive)
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