The good news is I sort of have a new job...only I haven't started yet and don't know exactly when I will. The other snag is, it's not in Seoul. It's near Seoul, but near Seoul as you may have deduced, is not the same as in Seoul. My new residence is in Ha-nam city, in Gyeonggi-do. Ha-nam (not to be confused with the Han-nam, discrict near Itaewon) is directly east of Seoul, past the terminus of the purple line. Although it's right next-door to Seoul, it is a world away. Instead of bleeding into the suburbs (as is the case with the Seoul-Incheon nexus) the city just stops suddenly after Olympic park. Ha-nam is decidedly in the country. I'm not saying this is a bad thing, at least not yet, just describing the scene.
The school where I will be teaching is in the western district, while my apartment is in the east. The apartment is two-bedrooms and is located at the end of a corridor on the sixth floor of a block of flats in a typical Korean high-rise apartment complex. Standing on the balcony outside the front door and looking out over farmers' fields and the Han river and distant mountains, it feels as if my apartment is at the very edge of what could be considered the Seoul metropolitan area. It's probably just a psychological reaction...probably.
To manage the distance I'm actually thinking about buying a used car. Something no more than 1-2 million won (1-2 thousand dollars) should do. Also, I learned something yesterday that makes me feel slightly better about the whole thing. the route they originally told me about takes more than 90 minutes from my home to the center of Seoul by bus and subway. However, yesterday I discovered a different route that got me from A to B in about an hour. That psychological barrier of an hour makes a big difference.
There is nothing around me...and I do mean nothing. Just a "supa", a fried chicken shop and a couple of hogwons. It appears though that the next complex over from mine has a decent gym, so I'm going to look into that sometime next week.
I'll be teaching at an elementary school this time, and that's seriously just about all I know about the job so far. Tomorrow I have a meeting with the school and I'll hopefully learn more. Right now I'm waiting for my paperwork to be processed so I can go to Japan to get my visa. That will take a few more days, and then I guess I'll start work around the first of November.
Between you, me and the Internet, I'm thinking I might leave this job in a few months and try to go back to a Seoul public school. Changing jobs in Korea is easier said than done however. So many, many things remain to be seen...
The school where I will be teaching is in the western district, while my apartment is in the east. The apartment is two-bedrooms and is located at the end of a corridor on the sixth floor of a block of flats in a typical Korean high-rise apartment complex. Standing on the balcony outside the front door and looking out over farmers' fields and the Han river and distant mountains, it feels as if my apartment is at the very edge of what could be considered the Seoul metropolitan area. It's probably just a psychological reaction...probably.
To manage the distance I'm actually thinking about buying a used car. Something no more than 1-2 million won (1-2 thousand dollars) should do. Also, I learned something yesterday that makes me feel slightly better about the whole thing. the route they originally told me about takes more than 90 minutes from my home to the center of Seoul by bus and subway. However, yesterday I discovered a different route that got me from A to B in about an hour. That psychological barrier of an hour makes a big difference.
There is nothing around me...and I do mean nothing. Just a "supa", a fried chicken shop and a couple of hogwons. It appears though that the next complex over from mine has a decent gym, so I'm going to look into that sometime next week.
I'll be teaching at an elementary school this time, and that's seriously just about all I know about the job so far. Tomorrow I have a meeting with the school and I'll hopefully learn more. Right now I'm waiting for my paperwork to be processed so I can go to Japan to get my visa. That will take a few more days, and then I guess I'll start work around the first of November.
Between you, me and the Internet, I'm thinking I might leave this job in a few months and try to go back to a Seoul public school. Changing jobs in Korea is easier said than done however. So many, many things remain to be seen...
Labels: The life of Brian
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