where is the best spot to live and climb?

[yohja134]

Hi yall,
i'm applying to EPIK (english program in korea) for this august. There are no placements in seoul but around the other provinces of Korea. I'd like some advice on the local atmosphere in different locations; where is good nightlife, food, outdoors areas, climbing spots and the like.
I'd want to live closer to climbing spots of course, but i do like going out to listen to music and dance! where do you mostly live?

Also, is it relatively easy to leave Jejudo for day trips? i'm considering it...

Any advice is appreciated!
-deborah

[skinsk]

Hello Deborah,

Welcome to the site and good luck with working in Korea. EPIK can be decent, but you might always try Dave's ESL cafe or other websites. (I've found all my jobs-- all good, Uni-- on Dave's.) It'll open your options and you can negotiate. Make sure you don't work weekends!!

Your question has been raised and buried in this site, so here are some resurrected links! Nowhere has the music scene of Seoul-- so that's worth keeping in mind if it's a priority. Also consider Korea is quite small, so Seoul is doable from many places as a day/night trip if you only want the occassional night out.

http://www.koreaontherocks.com/forums/showthread.php?t=266&highlight=place+live
http://www.koreaontherocks.com/forum...read.php?t=171
http://www.koreaontherocks.com/forum...read.php?t=121
http://www.koreaontherocks.com/forum...read.php?t=110

It's probably time for more input from KOTR members about their cities anyway. Jeju is lovely, lots of climbing outside and inside. Not much for veggie restaurants and it is NOT a day trip. The ferry is long and flights can add up. Great place to visit, but I wouldn't want to live there!!

[Ricky]

You can get a to Jeju flight from Kwanju airport one way for about 60,000 and it takes about 30 minutes. If you take the ferry from Mokpo, it'll cost you 30-44,000W one way and it'll take 4 and a half hours. I'm totally for flying personally. Also, there's a ferry from Busan, but I'm not sure about the price. I would imagine it's more expensive. And flying from Busan is probably about the same amount. If you're planning on going to Jeju very often, it's gonna be a substantial chunk out of your pay check, no matter how you slice it. Day trips are possible but only if you fly, and whether you go by ferry or plane, you MUST book your tickets in advance.
If you just want to travel around a lot, I'd just look for a place that has good mobility. Somewhere that has a KTX station and maybe an airport nearby. So you could try Incheon (about 30-40mins from Seoul), Kwanju(Jeollabuk-do), Busan. Busan (gyeonseong-the little bright green one in the south) is really beautiful, but I'm not sure what the climbing is like...if it's easily accesible without a car, and what the gyms are like. If you go to Busan, I recommend trying to land a job near Haeundae beach, or Jansang area. But I've heard Gyeonggi-do is the place for climbing. All these locations are probably confusing. Check out the map "climbs by province" and then you'll have a better idea of where things are.