Suwon Travel Forum

Hi all,

I am an Australian that is going to be teaching English in Suwon for a year starting November. I have read a few things about Suwon and it seems to be nice place. I live with some Korean people and they also say it is nice.
I have a few questions that I would appreciate some answers too. How are foreigners perceived over there? Do we have to watch out when buying things so as not to get overcharged? Will people want to talk to us or will they avoid us? Is it true that I would be able to buy shoes over there? (size 12-13 aus)
Also I love soccer and am hoping to play soccer over there. Are there any teams that would allow a foreigner to play? Is there an indoor soccer field?

Any answers to these questions or any other information would be much appreciated. If there are any foreigners (or Koreans for that matter) over there and want to meet up, give me an email.

Cheers.

First congrats on getting a teaching job in Korea. My sister-in-law is there teaching at a girl's middle school right now. She will be there at least until next August. I also lived there for more than 8 years myself so I guess I can answer most of your question pretty well.

First, I am not sure by what you mean as to how are foreigners perceived, but let me just say that you are a foreigner. They are used to "us" in the big cities since there is a large foreign presence in South Korea. There are about 37,000 US troops as well as another 150,000 or more family and civilian support. Add to that foreigners from other countries doing business, going to school, or just living there and I would estimate about 500,000 foreigners in Korea. That is of course up against 50 million Koreans. There are at least 12 million in Seoul alone and maybe another half million in Suwon and the surrounding area so I hope you don't have a problem with crowds. Personally I consider Suwon a suburb of Seoul anyway, but it is it's own city. The Koreans are going to pretty much stick to themselves until they get to know you.

As far as shopping, Korea is not a third world country full of rip off artists. There are shops and malls just like anywhere else in the industrialized world. In fact, some people consider Korea one big shopping center. You can do some bargaining in the big markets, but prices will be fixed in the department stores. You shouldn't have too much problem with shoe size. Besides, whatever they don't have, you can have made for a very reasonable cost.

Soccer? No problem. Your best bet is to go to a college campus and see if they will let you into a pick up game. You can also try the YMCA and see if they can hook you up. As far as indoor soccer, not too sure about that one.

Any other questions you may have about Korea feel free to ask me, or Robert (Vita500 on VT) or go to this site:

www.tour2korea.com

Let me just say as much:
I know a lot of English teachers who came to Korea for 6 months and have now been living here for 2, 3, 4 years and more... so it can't be too bad. ;-)
Actually, I should take myself as an example as well cause I originally came to Korea for 8 months and have been "stuck" for more than 5 years so far...

Personally, I think Koreans are extremely nice people and living here is rather comfortable. However, you might want to prepare for learning some Korean language as Koreans usually don't speak much English and tend to be a little shy at first. Especially being able to read the Hangeul (Korean alphabet) is well worth learning and it's much easier than it looks like...

You might want to cruise through some of my tips and read through my "Signs you have lived in South Korea for too long" for ideas on what to expect. ;-)

As Suwon is connected to Seoul by subway, traveling to the "city" is easy and fast.

Enjoy,
Robert

PS: Don't have false hopes for the shopping by the way. Korea is a pretty expensive country, especially for branded goods!

If you have any interest in learning Korean, you might want to check out:

http://www.onlinelearnkorean.com/

also

http://korean.sogang.ac.kr/

Suwon is a cool city, but you are probably going to wish that you moved to Seoul instead.

Koreans will be be pretty closed to you except for your coworkers, and maybe people you will meet at expat bars or online who are looking mainly to learn some English, and to varying degrees will be wary of you.

Want the best advice anybody can give you? Don't drink, find some under the table work ASAP, and date a nice girl who likes evenings at home.

Also be a little wary - a certain number of posters online who claim that Korea is a wonderful place, that Koreans are very friendly, etc. are recruiters...

And just who are these "poster" Al? I see you are new here so let me say this. You get what you give out of life if you are a "wanker" to people they will be one back to you; doesn't matter your culture or where you come from. That said, people also have preconceived stereotypical notions about some cultures and peoples and will initially treat them how they assume they are going to act at first meeting. It's why people may say "G'day mate" to you. So to assume just because someone says Koreans are friendly means they are recruiters is somewhat false. I lived in Korea for many years and they are perhaps some of the most friendly people you can find. True they aren't going to come up to you on the street and say hello and will probably run right into you when walking on the street, but that doesn't make them less friendly. It's just their way. They just become friends in a different way and this is due to culture and historical influences. The language barrier is a part of that also and it is good that you added those links. The girlfriend route could be very dangerous too by the way, but the expat bar could be a good start I guess. Robert...do you have any comments?

I do wonder about the motivation to register at VT just to drop off the above post...

Anyway, it's always good to be vigilant (or wary) in life as long as it doesn't extend to unreasonableness. Usually, a healthy amount of common sense and adaptiveness is all it needs to get along well within a new culture, country and language environment.

Korean recruiters on the web? Well, luckily not on this website!

Cheers,
Robert

I wasn't pointing fingers, but I was stating a fact. Most of the guys I've met in Korea who are teachers and who have been here for more than a few years are doing numerous things besides teaching, one of which is recruiting. At 1,000 dollars per teacher, recruiting can be a lucrative side-gig. As recruiters, they have a vested interest in presenting a positive image of Korea, especially on the web, which is the first place newbies look.

So if you're someone who is reading this and thinking of teaching in Korea, just be aware that there are foreigners residing here who have a financial incentive to tell you that this is a wonderful place and that you ought to come here. And yes, they do post on the internet.