Seoul City Info

Seoul Metropolitan City

The centre of Korea
As all teachers know, a capital city in Korea is Seoul. 10 mil people are living in Seoul. Because of numerous population entertainments are very well developed such as night life, shopping, art galleries, etc. In old Korean words, “People should go to Seoul, and horses should go to Jeju.” Like these words, Seoul is the center of most fields. (Ex: Education, arts, business, entertainment, etc)
Seoul is surrounded by Gyeonggi province, which has attractive cities like Ilsan, Gwacheon, Bundang, Bucheon and Incheon. All these cities are connected to Seoul by subway. You can get to cities of Gyeonggi proince within 1 hr.

The city that Never Sleeps
Seoul has plenty of entertainment options, Night clubs in Hong-dae, Exotic & fancy restaurants in Iteawon and Overnight shopping in Donddae gate Multi-plex shopping centre and so on! For the night owls amongst you Seoul is the place to be.
Not only these modernized parts, Seoul also has traditional attractions, Such as Palaces, Temples in the city.

Insadong street-Insa-dong, located in the middle of the city, is an important place where old but precious and traditional goods are on display. There is one main road in Insa-dong with alleys on each side. Within these alleys are galleries, traditional restaurants, traditional teahouses, and cafes. The shops in Insa-dong are very popular among all age groups, because each store is unique. The galleries are the heartbeat of Insa-dong. There are about 100 galleries in the area and you can see every example of Korean traditional fine art from paintings to sculptures. The most famous galleries are Hakgojae Gallery, which functions as the center of folk art, Gana Art Gallery, which promotes many promising artists, and Gana Art Center. The best way to visit these galleries is to use the “Art Center Bus.” It will take you over 10 of the most famous galleries at a very reasonable price.
Shopping-There's Dongdaemun Market in the vicinity of Dongdaemun Gate. Namdaemun Market and Dongdaemun Market most popular traditional markets in Seoul are good places to experience the shopping culture of Korea literally for 24hrs. You can also purchase items at reasonable prices literally
Don’t miss try snacks, like ‘Deokbokki, Odeng’ from Dongdaemun’s street restaurants. It’s incredibly cheep and Delicious!!

Teaching Job in Seoul Metropolitan City in Korea!

Cost of Living in Korea

Cost of Living in Korea
The cost of living in Korea is quiet low and reasonable compared to western countries. General costs like transportation and food are low. What is expensive in Korea? Housing which is provided by school is really expensive in Korea. That’s why you can save lots of money teaching in Korea. The cost of living in Korea varies from cities to rural areas. The cost of living in rural area is lower than big metropolitan cities. How much you can save depends on you.

Eating out in Korea is cheaper than western countries, which you can have a full meal for around $5. If you have lunch at a western restaurant like T.G.I.G or Outbag, you can get drink and main entrée for around $13~15. If you need to save money, it would be good to cook at home.

Taking buses and subways costs abound $1.(Bus Fare varies, small bus: 7C, Big bus:9C, and long journey bus:$14) If you need a long journey, you may need to pay extra chares.

Even it is cheap, you can get at least $2000 a month!

For more information: www.worknplay.co.kr

Kimchi

If you are interested in Korea, many of you may hear about Kimchi. I thought there is one type of Kimchi, but there are lots of kimchi. My Friend said that there are now more than 160 kimchi varieties.

When I tasted Kimchi in Korea, the taste of it was different to what I had in us. The color of Kimch in Korea was redder and looked delicious and spicy. Yes, it was spicy! I drank 1 cup of water after eating one piece of Kimchi. My friend said,” Hey, Susan, you need to eat more as you are Korean!” “ I can train you to eat Kimchi well.” I laughed a lot. I said, “Thanks, but no thanks! “
There is another Kimchi which I like, Bakkimchi. No peppers are in! White one! Delicious! If you are in Korea, try!

4 Distinct Seasons in Korea

Humidity in Korea (Weather)
I had never been in this humidity before I came to Korea, which was not great experience, but I could stand it as it was short!

Korea has 4 distinct seasons and I like spring and autumn, I don’t like winter and summer. Spring begins in late March or early April. Warm breeze makes you feel good. If you like to get tan, it is good to go to rooftop of your home with some beers. (I did and sometime I invited friends and had parties)

Cheerry Blossom Festival

Summer is in August and very hot and humid. Many Korean have vacations in late July and early August. If you go to Haeundae in Busan during this time, you might be surprised! It is so crowded. While you are in Korea in July, I would recommend Boryeong Mud Festival. Lots of foreigners go there and local residences are so kind.

Boryeong Mud Festival in Korea

There is monsoon season in Korea before summer in June. I don’t like this season because there is nothing to do except for staying at home.

Autumn is from Sep to Nov. Many of you are coming on Sep or at the end of Aug as many public schools in Korea start in Sep 1st. And I think the weather is best to settle in Korea. If you have free time over the weekends, going to mountains in Korea is best time because the hills are ablaze with autumnal tints.

Winter is from Dec to Feb. It is cold and snows during that time. If you like to ski, you can enjoy skiing for this season. Even I don’t like to get cold, but skiing is my favorite sport in Korea.

Skiing in Korea

Things to bring in Korea

If you are ready to come to Korea, what is needed to bring? You have no idea if you come across South Korea due to your jobs of teaching in Korea. Korea has distinct seasons, Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter.

Clothing (Bring clothing for 4 seasons):
-Business casual clothes at work (There is a dress code in a class, but some schools want teacher to wear a tie) – Male: button down shirt, dress shirts, dark color pants or a pair of slacks
– Female: blouses, sweaters, pairs of slacks, skirts ( not to short one )
- A winter jacket (down jacket) – winter in Korea is cold. - 2 sweaters or more as you want.
- Underwear – I don’t know men, but women have your favorite underwear fit well.
- Socks – it is not easy to find big size in Korea.
- Shoes for work
- Athletic shoes – over size 9, you may look around many stores to find it.
- Boots – Korea snows in winter and they are good for fashion.
- Towels – Korean use small one sized hand towels or you can buy it in Korea.
- Swimming suit – who knows you go to beach and have fun in Korea in summer vacations.

Food Stuff
- Bring your favorite Gum and Chocolate (I love M7Ms, I brought 1 box of it)
- If you like to cook, it would be good to bring some spices preferred. (I used Costco to get some spices from my country)
- If you want some food in your home, you might go to Costco.

Personal Stuff
- Deodorant – Not many Korea use it, so it is not easy to find the same one in Korea.
- Products of women – I have my preferred brands for stuff of women like tempos and deodorant. So bring any stuff preferred.
- Eyeglasses/contact lenses
- Sunglasses
- Digital camera lap-top
- Novels that you want to read (Here is a bit more expensive because of import tax)
- Backpack – I brought small one for work, it’s also useful for short trips.
- Cosmetics that have not Korea branches.
- Jeans – It’s not easy to find right one for me.
(Here in Korea, everything is smaller than my home)

I brought them when I came to Korea, but I am sure that you may think of more stuffs for living in Korea. You may get some more information through WorknPlay Consulting.

Become an ESL teacher in Korea

Teach English in Korea – Part 1

I taught English to Elementary School students in Korea for 2 years. My school was a Korean public school in Korea. When I found this job, I thought it was bogus, because the recruiter who placed me told me that I could get free housing, medical insurance, round flight tickets, and bonus if I took the job. And also I did not know about South Korea among Asian countries.

Everything she told me was true! I do remember how I felt it. “I am so lucky!” If you like to travel and experience new adventures, teaching overseas is right for you! There are lots of jobs avail in Japan, China, Taiwan, and Korea. But if you need to earn money to payoff your loan, Korea is the great place to save money. If you have university degree in any field from US, UK, CA, AU, NZ, SF, Ireland, you can earn money and travel countries in Asia.

First, I would like to recommend you to do online research whether it is right for you or not. If you read some stories in English teacher forum, you would be faced with bad or good stories. As you know it, everyone has different aspects. Event though it is a bit hard for you to live in a totally different country for 1 year without any idea of a country, teaching job is easy and make you earn money. Are you ready?

The jobs in Korea can be divided into 2 sectors, a public school and a private school (private institute). Each school has different benefit. A public school system gives you lesser teaching hours and longer vacations, and also you can really experience Korean school system, but you are the only one foreign teacher in a school. A private school gives you higher salary and foreigner co-teacher, but teaching hour is longer and vacation is short. If you would like to know about the differences, click!

Fun in the Mud

I have found a new way to escape and have fun. Every year, a special kind of festival is held in Boryeong City in Korea. In Daecheon Beach, thousands of people, both Korean and non-Korean come together for one purpose: to have fun in the mud! Yes, I go to Korea every year during summer to bathe, swim, ski, dance in mud!

I didn’t know what to expect the first time I went there but good thing I went with my best friend so both of us had a lot of fun. The next year, we brought our families and friends with us and it was double the fun.