Any PHer's live(d) in Seoul? Whats it like?
Discussion
MrsTD has been offered a role heading up a team in Seoul for 6months, fully company sponsored with plush flat & living expenses covered etc..... very very tempting opportunity to see a different part of the world. So if you know Seoul I'd love to hear your opinions, I literally know nothing about the place other than where it is! What would you do?
cheers,
Steve
cheers,
Steve
trackdemon said:
MrsTD has been offered a role heading up a team in Seoul for 6months, fully company sponsored with plush flat & living expenses covered etc..... very very tempting opportunity to see a different part of the world. So if you know Seoul I'd love to hear your opinions, I literally know nothing about the place other than where it is! What would you do?
cheers,
Steve
As in Korea mate? If so FAR EASTENDER is your man. cheers,
Steve
Six months should just about be tolerable. I was out there for 6 weeks at Kyung Hee university.
It's a very weird place / work ethic. I found it very bizarre getting into the lab at 8:00, doing 30 mins work, then rice for breakfast. More work until lunch. More rice. Then more work until 6. Then out for a meal, with rice. Then back into the lab at 8 for another cheeky hour and a half.
This is how they work. Students are 'lucky' as they get every sunday off. If you work, you only get every other sunday off.
I'll say that again. The guys in Samsung etc. work 13 day on 1 day off, 12 hour days. No wonder we import their goods / can't compete!
They treat women like s
t. Your wife may find that tough. However a professional woman is accepted. All the wives of the PhD students I hung around with were literally neglected and unloved, it was very very weird.
Stay clear of Kimchi. (rotting cabbage)
Head for hotel bars when you need a more civilised hit, there are some nice places in the centre, piano bars etc which can soothe a bit of homesickness as I did find the whole place pretty alien.
I love noodles and dumplings though, found a great restaurant for them just down the street where I lived - good to get away from canteen RICEEEEEE.
Oh, and the cars are comedy, every car is a carbon copy of a western car, bm 5 series / Jag / Merc, but all hyundai / kia etc.. as the copyrights don't hold out there or something, most bizarre and quite hilarious.
Anyway, weird place, glad I don't live there, but a fun experience. Gambling is illegal but I managed to hook up with some western poker players for evenings in which was a good giggle and kept me sane!
It's a very weird place / work ethic. I found it very bizarre getting into the lab at 8:00, doing 30 mins work, then rice for breakfast. More work until lunch. More rice. Then more work until 6. Then out for a meal, with rice. Then back into the lab at 8 for another cheeky hour and a half.
This is how they work. Students are 'lucky' as they get every sunday off. If you work, you only get every other sunday off.
I'll say that again. The guys in Samsung etc. work 13 day on 1 day off, 12 hour days. No wonder we import their goods / can't compete!
They treat women like s
t. Your wife may find that tough. However a professional woman is accepted. All the wives of the PhD students I hung around with were literally neglected and unloved, it was very very weird.Stay clear of Kimchi. (rotting cabbage)
Head for hotel bars when you need a more civilised hit, there are some nice places in the centre, piano bars etc which can soothe a bit of homesickness as I did find the whole place pretty alien.
I love noodles and dumplings though, found a great restaurant for them just down the street where I lived - good to get away from canteen RICEEEEEE.
Oh, and the cars are comedy, every car is a carbon copy of a western car, bm 5 series / Jag / Merc, but all hyundai / kia etc.. as the copyrights don't hold out there or something, most bizarre and quite hilarious.
Anyway, weird place, glad I don't live there, but a fun experience. Gambling is illegal but I managed to hook up with some western poker players for evenings in which was a good giggle and kept me sane!
Hi - OK, I haven't lived in Seoul but I did spend a week there at the end of 2003; this wasn't purely as a tourist, it was a church conference which meant I got to meet some local residents and so on. Also (still establishing credentials here 
) my brother lived in Singapore for a number of years so I've some second-hand experience of the Asian lifestyle, as well as having visited him a couple of times.
OK so, personally, I would absolutely jump at the chance of a sojourn out in Korea. South Korea is an exceptionally beautiful country, and the people there are very nice. Be warned though, English is not as widely spoken as you might think. You'll get by but you may have to resort to sign language at times. You'll no doubt find a community of ex-pats so you won't feel altogether like a stranger.
Seoul is quite a city - 12 million people or so. But it's clean, law-abiding, interesting and has an excellent public transport system. I hope you like spicy food. The food out there is great but sometimes unidentifiable and often very hot.
I can't say too much about the business / work side of things but if your Mrs has been offered decent terms then there's not too much to worry about eh. Aside from nuclear invasion on the part of North Korea I suppose
but then there's an argument for saying that it's better to be at the heart of such an event and go quickly than to suffer the aftermath...
Seriously though, South Korea, despite my short time there, made quite an impression on me and is one of the places I resolved to come back to one day.
Hope this helps.
) my brother lived in Singapore for a number of years so I've some second-hand experience of the Asian lifestyle, as well as having visited him a couple of times. OK so, personally, I would absolutely jump at the chance of a sojourn out in Korea. South Korea is an exceptionally beautiful country, and the people there are very nice. Be warned though, English is not as widely spoken as you might think. You'll get by but you may have to resort to sign language at times. You'll no doubt find a community of ex-pats so you won't feel altogether like a stranger.
Seoul is quite a city - 12 million people or so. But it's clean, law-abiding, interesting and has an excellent public transport system. I hope you like spicy food. The food out there is great but sometimes unidentifiable and often very hot.
I can't say too much about the business / work side of things but if your Mrs has been offered decent terms then there's not too much to worry about eh. Aside from nuclear invasion on the part of North Korea I suppose
but then there's an argument for saying that it's better to be at the heart of such an event and go quickly than to suffer the aftermath... Seriously though, South Korea, despite my short time there, made quite an impression on me and is one of the places I resolved to come back to one day.
Hope this helps.
Thanks for replies so far! Regarding work, Mrs will be heading up a dept for a well known global bank so terms will be as per UK with nice flat paid for and food / cleaning expenses covered. I do like spicy food and I love big cities so definately appeals to me..... wish it wasn't so close to the nutters North of the border though!!!
trackdemon said:
MrsTD has been offered a role heading up a team in Seoul for 6months, fully company sponsored with plush flat & living expenses covered etc..... very very tempting opportunity to see a different part of the world. So if you know Seoul I'd love to hear your opinions, I literally know nothing about the place other than where it is! What would you do?
I'd run a mile - Eastern Asia is *quite* some way from Western Europeand keeping in touch with the nearest and dearest back home
will be a challenge. You can't just pop back for the weekend.
Are there any sons & daughters to consider ?
How will they like being put into a totally alien
non-Western European culture ?
Whereas the Western European culture puts the individual first
and the team second, in a lot of East Asian cultures the priority
is the other way around - leading to quite some cultural difficulties
shall we say.
I worked with a few South Koreans once. To be blunt, lovely folks,
but never again - bullying appeared to me to be a standard management
technique and fifty hour weeks the norm, for example.
You could always nip down the public library or surf your
local book selling site to get books written by folks who
have lived out there to get more detail.
Ive not lived in South Korea but I spent a month traveling there a few years ago.
Korea turned out to be much more fun than I expected, the countryside outside of the citys is very beautiful.
I eneded up spending almost two weeks in Busan as there was a typhoon and I couldnt go hyking as I intended. Exploring the more seedy side of Busan was pretty interesting and I met alot of "interesting" people.
Although I didnt work there myself I met alot of people who were there teaching english. Although the wages were good alot of them complained about different management and working practices. I suppose it depends on what you are doing and who you will be working with.
You should try the Kimci, I got to have quite a taste for it after a whyle. The food out there is very spicy which may be a problem for some people but I enjoyed it.
I think for 6 months it will be a great experience.
Korea turned out to be much more fun than I expected, the countryside outside of the citys is very beautiful.
I eneded up spending almost two weeks in Busan as there was a typhoon and I couldnt go hyking as I intended. Exploring the more seedy side of Busan was pretty interesting and I met alot of "interesting" people.
Although I didnt work there myself I met alot of people who were there teaching english. Although the wages were good alot of them complained about different management and working practices. I suppose it depends on what you are doing and who you will be working with.
You should try the Kimci, I got to have quite a taste for it after a whyle. The food out there is very spicy which may be a problem for some people but I enjoyed it.
I think for 6 months it will be a great experience.
OK a little more info - first of all it looks more like being 4 months with a two week break in the middle..... We rarely see the folks more than once every couple of months anyway so no big deal there And no, we have no kids so we can be kinda selfish about it and look on it as a semi-holiday. As my Mrs will be leading up a team in a global bank I dont foresee there being working / interpersonal issues - and 50hours a week would be heaven considering she's doing nearer 60 in London!!
Sounds like we'd be in an apartment in the same area as all the US & UK expats / long term working away, so that would hopefully help with the culture shock. Tokyo & Shanghai being only a 3hour flight away is very appealing too - will be much cheaper to go see these places!! I cant help but think its an opportunity we'd regret passing over if we didn't take it up; even if I don't like Seoul we're in a great appartment with gym, bar etc and budget for dinner out most nights. Would be nice to hire a car and go have a look around come the weekend too.
And no, we have no kids so we can be kinda selfish about it and look on it as a semi-holiday. As my Mrs will be leading up a team in a global bank I dont foresee there being working / interpersonal issues - and 50hours a week would be heaven considering she's doing nearer 60 in London!!Sounds like we'd be in an apartment in the same area as all the US & UK expats / long term working away, so that would hopefully help with the culture shock. Tokyo & Shanghai being only a 3hour flight away is very appealing too - will be much cheaper to go see these places!! I cant help but think its an opportunity we'd regret passing over if we didn't take it up; even if I don't like Seoul we're in a great appartment with gym, bar etc and budget for dinner out most nights. Would be nice to hire a car and go have a look around come the weekend too.
I've been in Asia for 20 years and the past three in Seoul. If you know where to go and what to do, it's a FANTASTIC place to live. Koreans treat foreigners very well and their working commitment level is very high.
If you don't like eating chili and garlic, you might find the food a bit tough, but stories about having to eat rice all day are a bit like saying British people only eat chips (that's not true is it?).
There aren't that many expats here (compared to HK or Singapore), as a result you'll get invited to everything and anything that's going on. If your wife is with a leading bank, they are bound to take care of all such things. Don't forget you are only an hour from China, two from Japan, three from Hong Kong. If you're a bit more adventurous, Mongolia and the wilds of Eastern Russia are not too far away.
Accommodation is quite good. I have a modern three bedroom flat overlooking the the main river through Seoul, with a gym, swimming pool, etc - that would be standard if your wife comes on an expat contract. This costs about GBP 2,000 a month, but you could pay up to GBP 4,000 in one of the more expensive area's, for a similar size.
Finally, if you want to keep driving, the amateur car racing scene is a good crack. I know the heads of all the car companies here, who will lend you a car for the weekend if you need it (it's not who you are, it's who you know).
Feel free to e-mail me directly.
If you don't like eating chili and garlic, you might find the food a bit tough, but stories about having to eat rice all day are a bit like saying British people only eat chips (that's not true is it?).
There aren't that many expats here (compared to HK or Singapore), as a result you'll get invited to everything and anything that's going on. If your wife is with a leading bank, they are bound to take care of all such things. Don't forget you are only an hour from China, two from Japan, three from Hong Kong. If you're a bit more adventurous, Mongolia and the wilds of Eastern Russia are not too far away.
Accommodation is quite good. I have a modern three bedroom flat overlooking the the main river through Seoul, with a gym, swimming pool, etc - that would be standard if your wife comes on an expat contract. This costs about GBP 2,000 a month, but you could pay up to GBP 4,000 in one of the more expensive area's, for a similar size.
Finally, if you want to keep driving, the amateur car racing scene is a good crack. I know the heads of all the car companies here, who will lend you a car for the weekend if you need it (it's not who you are, it's who you know).
Feel free to e-mail me directly.
I lived in Seoul for 8 months when I was 11, my Dad lived there for 3 years, admittedly out of a hotel. The culture is definitely an interesting one, if you can get up into the mountains about 2 hours drive out it is some of the most stunning scenery I have ever seen. As for the city itself it's like any other developed far eastern city; crowded and expensive. Don't try boiled silkworms whatever you do. Trust me on that one. They are easily identifiable because they smell like the end of the world.
GlenMH said:
Hi Trackdemon - if you are coming over to Tokyo to do a bit of sightseeing, give me a shout!
Glen
We are certainly thinking about it!!Glen
Noted on the silkworms, apart from smelling 'quite bad' they look disgusting too... so no danger of trying those! Looking forward to Bibimbap & Bulgogi though!
As they say Just Do It
Asia is such a great place to travel and hopefully you will a chance to see the neighboring countries too. I am just at the tail of a two week Asian biz trip which has taken me through Tokyo, Seoul and now Beijing. In some ways Seoul is the most Western of the three due to the relative strong American influence. If you miss the west from time to time just Itchewon which is full of Western bars, American soldiers and tourists.
PS! Kimchi tastes great, but smells a little foul.. Guess it is like Marmite, you either love it or hate it....
Asia is such a great place to travel and hopefully you will a chance to see the neighboring countries too. I am just at the tail of a two week Asian biz trip which has taken me through Tokyo, Seoul and now Beijing. In some ways Seoul is the most Western of the three due to the relative strong American influence. If you miss the west from time to time just Itchewon which is full of Western bars, American soldiers and tourists.
PS! Kimchi tastes great, but smells a little foul.. Guess it is like Marmite, you either love it or hate it....
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