I'm looking at two jobs teaching ESL outside of Seoul just wondering has anyone taught in Kimhae or Ulsan and what their thoughts are on the cities and things to do and number of other teachers around. Is it impossible to find westner food or things to do on the weekend?

Thanks in advance!

Where's Kimhae? LOL.

Hello

I haven't spent much time in those areas in particular but i can speak to Korea in general. The further you get from Seoul, the fewer western food options are available. That being said, I'm sure that you will be able to find something western to eat in those areas. WRT finding other teachers and things to do, that is a definite yes. It is quite easy to make friends and more specifically western friends that are teaching English in Korea. It can be argued that with an open mind and energetic friends, there are more new things to do in Korea than your country of origin.

Good Luck!

Thanks brizite, makes sense. But is there anyone else that has actually lived outside of Seoul as a foreigner?

I live outside of Seoul in Wonju,a nice city of about 320,000 people. I've made a lot of Korean friends here and I really enjoy the Korean food. There seems to be plenty of "western" food here for me as well, although I'd like a greater variety of spices. There are many foreigners here, but if you're coming to Korea to be with expats, then you'll probably be disappointed anywhere you live.

More important is to find a good school to work for where you enjoy your job teaching and enjoy the students you teach. I've been really blessed with that as well. I work for a hagwon called International English School - Wonju, South Korea and it's the best. We have no problems with pay, we have the National Health Insurance and pension, the tax rate is under 2%, good housing, great students.

www.internationalenglishschool.org/

www.internationalenglishschool.info/

If you only want to be around expats and other foreigners,then maybe you should focus only on Seoul and the other giant cities. For me, these places are just too big, crowded and dirty. Life is much cheaper, you can save more, and the people are friendlier in the smaller cities. There is almost nothing in Seoul I need that I can't find here or have sent in one day free. I can walk, occasionally take a cheap, quick taxi ride and get anywhere. I've got lots of Korean friends. I can get out for skiing and go to the beach easier than I could from Seoul or one of the other megacities. And on those rare occasions when there is something only in Seoul that I have to go there for, I can go by bus or train in 90 minutes. Many things in Seoul are closer timewise from here than for people living on the other side Seoul.

In the end, you have to decide how you want to live. Each person is different.

Living in Seoul is like living in any other major city in the world, except instead of being surrounded by Spaniards, Turks, Mexicans or Singaporeans you are surrounded by Koreans.

Kudos to you for exploring other parts of Korea.

Pizza Hut is a national chain. So is Outback. You can find Chinese, Indian, Western style bars etc. also. Even in Ulsan. You'll get a bit more of the "stranger in a strange land" treatment, but what's the point of an adventure overseas if you leave out the adventure.

Go for the jump, you won't regret it, and what's 12 months that may just change your life.

Three thumbs up, if you get my drift.