|
Don't get busted, yo.
|
#
?
Feb 25, 2013 08:57
|
|
|
|
| # ? Jun 8, 2024 18:26 |
|
|
Cameron posted:Don't get busted, yo. By who, Korean cops?  
|
|
#
?
Feb 25, 2013 09:59
|
|
|
terivinix posted:By who, Korean cops? Oh, those are batons. Not wangs.
|
|
#
?
Feb 25, 2013 12:01
|
|
|
Anyone noticed convenience stores selling drugs now? I've seen little shelves pop up next to the peroxide and bandages at 7-11, buy the way etc the past few months with what appear to be boxes of pills. I haven't really stopped to check out if it's weird herbal poo poo or maybe some legit NSAIDs, because I'm always late or tired and my hangul is slow. So what's that all about? Did Korea relax its "you can only buy real drugs in pharmacies" laws? I'm half tempted to take a trip downstairs and try and figure it out, I have this wild headache and the pharmacists get all judgmental.
|
|
#
?
Feb 25, 2013 15:28
|
|
|
BrainDance posted:
Basically, yeah
|
|
#
?
Feb 25, 2013 15:43
|
|
|
tirinal posted:That's basically like asking if you should have pizza or a sandwich for lunch. What do you want from your phone? Sorry. Just more of a case of wondering what everyone else had and what they like / don't like about it. As far as I can tell, they are all the same.
|
|
#
?
Feb 26, 2013 07:04
|
|
|
Vega S5 (4G) Galaxy SIIHD (4G) iPhone 5 (4G) Galaxy S3 (3G) I'm not aware of any 4G plans in Korea that are unlimited. When my internet goes out and I tether, that 5gb goes in a matter of days. That said, 4G is just so much faster that when I diet and switch to 3G, I notice the delays. Phone nerds love making youtubes about their stupid loving phones. I'd advise you to watch some comparison videos where they talk about the colors on the phone, the processors, and the cameras.
|
|
#
?
Feb 26, 2013 08:32
|
|
|
I found out that EPIK posted me in Gumi. Any of you goons there?
|
|
#
?
Feb 26, 2013 09:26
|
|
|
We all cleared out after the town was scoured clean in a chemical spill. I'd suggest bringing anti-zombie gear.
|
|
#
?
Feb 26, 2013 09:32
|
|
|
Tao Jones posted:I found out that EPIK posted me in Gumi. Any of you goons there? Ask Touissaint nicely and he might tell you about food there. Themata can tell you about the best wafers. vvv No sense in weaning him in. I'm sure he'll figure it out. vvv DontAskKant fucked around with this message at 10:40 on Feb 26, 2013 |
|
#
?
Feb 26, 2013 10:00
|
|
|
Good inside joke answers there, guys!
|
|
#
?
Feb 26, 2013 10:15
|
|
|
Arctic Baldwin posted:Good inside joke answers there, guys! This is Korea, not daycare.
|
|
#
?
Feb 26, 2013 13:12
|
|
|
I appear to have been sent to near Seomyeon in Busan, unless my Daum-fu has failed me. It looks like that's basically the Sinchon of Busan, right? Kind of seems like the universe wouldn't allow me to be that lucky. Guess I'll find out tomorrow.
|
|
#
?
Feb 26, 2013 16:54
|
|
|
I'm almost done with my EPIK application and I just have to list my top two desired locations. When I taught in Taiwan I let the cards fall as they may and ended up in a great location. I enjoy cites but was advised not to apply for SMOE as if you aren't accepted you go to the bottom of the EPIK pile. That being said, since there's surprisingly no discussion of it in the OP, would anyone be up for making a small pros and cons list (like the OP club comparison) on cities you've lived in? Sorry for bringing up actual Korea discussion.
|
|
#
?
Feb 26, 2013 17:39
|
|
|
It's basically lifestyle over money. Bigger cities have more things to do, but cost more to live in; roughly in order of size with Seoul being the most, Busan being second most, etc. Out in a rural province you sometimes get a slight salary bump like I have, and your cost of living is extremely low. So, what you really need to ask yourself is if you're coming to Korea for the money and the need for a job, or to experience Korea. I'm personally here to get two years in working overseas while I finish up my master's and pay off some loans, so I'm just fine here in rural nonsan. If you get to the interview stage just ask to be on the KTX line, then you're never really that far from anything. My town is small, but I can get anywhere in Korea quickly and easily.
|
|
#
?
Feb 26, 2013 17:46
|
|
|
I am coming to experience Korea. Fortunately, money is not a primary concern (although it is nice!) If I could sum up my preferred location, it would be a city with good transportation, city conveniences and luxuries like gyms, places to see live music, and variety in shopping and dining, but also with outdoors activities not too far away, for weekend hiking and exploring.
|
|
#
?
Feb 26, 2013 18:10
|
|
|
As someone who is happy here in daejeon I say just let the cards fall.
|
|
#
?
Feb 26, 2013 18:17
|
|
|
Tao Jones posted:I found out that EPIK posted me in Gumi. Any of you goons there? Good news: If you're an outdoorsy person Gumi is nice. Lots of hiking and sightseeing, the city is open and green. The high traffic areas are Indong and the area near the train station. There's good Italian and Vietnamese there, as well as better Korean food than the Seoul area in my opinion. Bad news: The public transit in Gumi sucks sucks sucks sucks sucks SUCKS! It's mostly Chaebul bigwigs in Gumi and they drive. If you're active I recommend buying a second hand scooter asap. There isn't much culture outside of a Maekguli bottle and the closest city, Daegu, is the most boring Korean mega-city. Ugly news: There was a really severe chemical spill near Ogkyedong (Yuppy area) and the city is still feeling the effects. You may or may not be exposed to carcinogens or things that can melt your bones.
|
|
#
?
Feb 26, 2013 23:53
|
|
|
For the most part there's not a huge difference between the cities. Cost of living differences aren't that strictly hierarchical; my city, Ulsan, is the seventh biggest but also by far the richest, and is noticeably more expensive than Seoul. Maybe not in rent but you don't have to pay that anyway. The country is Seoul-centric and it has the most stuff, but as long as you're in one of the major cities there's plenty to do. Seoul/Incheon, Busan, Daegu, Daejeon, Gwangju, Ulsan. If you're not repaying student loans it won't matter a huge amount, because you'll have plenty of money and the public transit can get you literally anywhere in the country in a few hours. Remember South Korea is the size of Indiana. Be on the main KTX line somewhere and you're no more than two hours from anything. Just ignore anything you see online that tells you Seoul is the only place worth living. It's nice but the rest of the country is too. You won't be living in mud huts if you're in Cheonan. Outdoors is always nearby in this country given the terrain and how the cities are built as a result of said terrain. Variety in dining, well. I hope you can cook. If not it's a good opportunity to learn. If you can cook then you can get anything. If you can't, you're going to be limited. Seoul is the only place that has a real wide variety. But, if you're in one of the seven cities I listed you can find things. For example Ulsan doesn't have a ton of restaurant variety, typically we just have one or two of any particular foreign cuisine, but those one or two are really good. We have one Turkish restaurant and it's the best I've found in the country. Same for our Thai and our Italian. Learn to cook and you won't have anything to complain about. E: With money not being an issue and not going to Seoul, personally I'd pick one of the cities that's around the center of the main KTX line. You're not going to travel on weekends as much as you think you are, but still. Center of the KTX line puts you an hour/hour and a half from everywhere. Grand Fromage fucked around with this message at 01:48 on Feb 27, 2013 |
|
#
?
Feb 27, 2013 01:16
|
|
|
I'd say the worst thing about living in Seoul is you don't get as many chances to visit the rest of the country. There's so much happening all the time, it's hard to schedule time to get out, especially on weekends when so many people from the other cities come up. I'm not a teacher, so Seoul has networking resources for finding more work that you wouldn't expect to find in other cities. I expect you don't see many jobs for writers, editors, or voice actors in Daegu for instance. Well, aside from Sejong City, which is where my work is moving in October. I'm probably going to jump ship because gently caress that place.
|
|
#
?
Feb 27, 2013 01:50
|
|
|
Grand Fromage posted:Variety in dining, well. I hope you can cook. If not it's a good opportunity to learn. If you can cook then you can get anything. If you can't, you're going to be limited. Seoul is the only place that has a real wide variety. But, if you're in one of the seven cities I listed you can find things. For example Ulsan doesn't have a ton of restaurant variety, typically we just have one or two of any particular foreign cuisine, but those one or two are really good. We have one Turkish restaurant and it's the best I've found in the country. Same for our Thai and our Italian. Learn to cook and you won't have anything to complain about. I'm gonna have to pimp Ansan here, we have tons of authentic food from just about any Asian country. My younger cousin is going through an old videogame kick and since I'm in Asia he's asking me about finding old Nintendo stuff. I know Hyundai sold a Nintendo and Super Nintendo clone (the Comboy?) but I've never seen one here or anything, let alone anyone with a console or games older than a Wii/DS. Are there any places in Seoul I can go to find old videogame stuff? Even old Japanese stuff to send him? I thought I heard about some place a while ago but I don't remember what or where.
|
|
#
?
Feb 27, 2013 02:18
|
|
|
BrainDance posted:I'm gonna have to pimp Ansan here, we have tons of authentic food from just about any Asian country. One of the bars I go to near Hongdae has an old Super Nintendo-type system, with tons of games including Super Mario World and Mario Kart, in Japanese if memory serves. It would be a start, and the owner might be able to tell you where to look to actually buy that stuff. It's a small place by the river called Danginri Theatre, kind of hard to find. Because the neighbourhood's a bit quieter, they tend to have acoustic shows of bands that normally don't play acoustic. Earlier this month I saw Rux play there, and somehow they managed to cram all of Kingston Rudieska in.
|
|
#
?
Feb 27, 2013 02:35
|
|
|
I've seen the Yongsan Station underground black markets selling just about everything you can think of for video games. Tons of old crap, even original Famicom systems.
|
|
#
?
Feb 27, 2013 02:38
|
|
|
Seomyeon is the middle of busan and there's no reason to complain. Well done on being lucky.
|
|
#
?
Feb 27, 2013 02:39
|
|
|
BrainDance posted:I'm gonna have to pimp Ansan here, we have tons of authentic food from just about any Asian country. Oh yeah Ansan is amazing. It's just inside my mental Seoul category, I didn't mean to leave it out. Everybody go eat in Ansan if you haven't yet.
|
|
#
?
Feb 27, 2013 03:51
|
|
|
No you're exactly right, Ansan and all the other cities right around Seoul pretty much rely on Seoul. There's next to no decent night life here because everyone just goes to Seoul. Which is fine because it's so easy and cheap to get there. Ansan just has that one special area that's full of migrant workers and all their awesome food that makes it worth visiting if you're in the area. And thanks Cameron I'll check it out this Friday. My cousins been freaking out about old Nintendo poo poo since he found my SNES collection and I gifted him Earthbound. Gonna see if I can find him a famicom, some cool Chinese bootleg games and mother 3.
|
|
#
?
Feb 27, 2013 05:10
|
|
|
Cheongju: Life here consists of Shinae and Chungdae. Shinae is where almost all movie theaters are and pretty much anything fun. Most of the shopping will be done here. There's an open air market nearby. Chungdae is the drinking go-to for natives and expats alike. It has about 5 western-style bars. No subway, but the buses are reliable. Lots of nature nearby: temples and mountains are all like 30 minutes away. It's a comfortable city, but it's easy to get a reputation.
|
|
#
?
Feb 27, 2013 06:03
|
|
|
I wonder if a transvestite teacher is acceptable if they can't find a female teacher. Kant teacher looks good in dresses, would be great for the summer.
|
|
#
?
Feb 27, 2013 06:16
|
|
|
AmbientParadox posted:Cheongju: Life here consists of Shinae and Chungdae. Shinae is where almost all movie theaters are and pretty much anything fun. Most of the shopping will be done here. There's an open air market nearby. Chungdae is the drinking go-to for natives and expats alike. It has about 5 western-style bars. No subway, but the buses are reliable. Lots of nature nearby: temples and mountains are all like 30 minutes away. It's a comfortable city, but it's easy to get a reputation. It also used to have the best punk/hardcore scene outside of Seoul.
|
|
#
?
Feb 27, 2013 06:51
|
|
|
Does anyone have any experience with Avalon? I've been back in Canada for a couple years now (Getting a B.Ed and TESL Certification) and I'm looking to get back to Korea. Avalon looks pretty good so far, pay seems OK, haven't heard any major complaints about the chain.
|
|
#
?
Feb 27, 2013 07:35
|
|
|
terivinix posted:It also used to have the best punk/hardcore scene outside of Seoul. Last month Soundgarden opened up. It's a new bar focused on live music. I don't know much about it, besides that their drinks are reasonable and they don't discern who's performing so long as someone is. Tirius posted:Does anyone have any experience with Avalon? Avalon is huge in Cheongju. I've talked with a couple people employed there and the sentiment is usually the same: they're strict on making you work every minute contracted and sick time isn't okay. But, you'll always be paid on time.
|
|
#
?
Feb 27, 2013 07:50
|
|
|
AmbientParadox posted:Last month Soundgarden opened up. It's a new bar focused on live music. I don't know much about it, besides that their drinks are reasonable and they don't discern who's performing so long as someone is. Let me guess...it's in the former location of Pearl Jam.
|
|
#
?
Feb 27, 2013 08:07
|
|
|
With hagwons it is 100% about the director. There is no way to make a blanket statement about chains. I know people who worked at good Avalons and ones with horror stories. Talk to someone who currently works there. Not when the boss is around. If they won't put you in contact with a current foreign teacher don't work there.
|
|
#
?
Feb 27, 2013 08:11
|
|
|
Tirius posted:Does anyone have any experience with Avalon? I've been back in Canada for a couple years now (Getting a B.Ed and TESL Certification) and I'm looking to get back to Korea. If it's the one in Gumi, giving a wafer as a present is guaranteed to put you at the top of their list.
|
|
#
?
Feb 27, 2013 08:47
|
|
|
My director is a 28 year-old Canadian gyopo who hates the Korean work system and enjoys going with me to casinos to play poker and baccarat. I lucked out.
|
|
#
?
Feb 27, 2013 08:53
|
|
|
terivinix posted:Let me guess...it's in the former location of Pearl Jam. Actually Pearl Jam is now the Bugle, but everyone still calls it Pearl Jam. It's an Irish pub run by Koreans and frequented by Americans to watch English rugby. Soundgarden is right down the road, closer to that skeezy movie theater.
|
|
#
?
Feb 27, 2013 09:18
|
|
|
Maxsmart posted:It's basically lifestyle over money. Bigger cities have more things to do, but cost more to live in; roughly in order of size with Seoul being the most, Busan being second most, etc. Exception: Ulsan, which is both small and expensive. Toussaint Louverture posted:and the closest city, Daegu, is the most boring Korean mega-city. Lies. You tell that to my liver. Actually almost all of my friends from my EPIK intake have left now so this is probably going to be come true very soon. I have an iphone4s now after being on android for my first two years. I'm afraid.
|
|
#
?
Feb 27, 2013 09:38
|
|
|
Man, Korean political history is crazy. And I don't mean all the wars and invasions and anti-communist coups. I'm just talking about counting numbers. Korean society unanimously agrees that Park Geun-hye is the 18th president of Korea. Problem: they've found a new way to count people. For instance, Park Jung-hee is five people because he was "elected" five times. He is presidents five through nine. So if you're counting people, his daughter is only the eleventh. I've talked with a lot of other editors and we've all been butting heads with our Korean coworkers on this. I was actually able to win this argument at work, insisting that we don't mention 18th or eleventh at all, but all my peers are blown away that I've managed to pull this off, as they're all losing the argument whether slightly less than a dozen people is closer to 11 or 18.
|
|
#
?
Feb 27, 2013 13:09
|
|
|
That would be annoying to count in the US. We do count Grover Cleveland twice though since he was non-consecutive. So 44 presidents, but only 43 different people.
|
|
#
?
Feb 27, 2013 13:17
|
|
|
|
| # ? Jun 8, 2024 18:26 |
|
|
Sorry for quoting a post 2 pages backBrainDance posted:I still haven't gotten a straight answer on how much an iPhone 5 costs in Korea. I heard there are discounts because of lovely sales but no one can tell me how much, and no one seems to get that I just wanna buy the drat phone up front, not pay for it monthly. Hey BrainDance, and anyone else interested in this information, here's what I've found regarding getting an iPhone5 and why it's not worth it to buy it outright: I stopped by the KT global store here in Daegu (the expat line said they only spoke Korean and Chinese, but I found someone who managed decent English with my broken Korean) last weekend to see what options were available  As the screenshot states, just in case imgur goes down: A 16GB iPhone5 is 814,000 My figures work out a little differently for the 69,421/month 35,504.33 for LTE-520 plan 250minutes/2.5GB LTE/250sms plan 33,917 is roughly what the device monthly installment costs after all the back and forth discounts work out 1,666,104 is the total cost of the service for 2 years. Yikes! By my reckoning buying an iPhone 5 outright only makes sense in limited number of cases like if you barely talk or use mobile internet, or plan on leaving soon. Plus, you can get insurance through the phone company I think or applecare through either Apple.kr lists an unlocked 16GB iPhone5 as being 890,000. This has like a 100,000 'apple tax' here in Korea that you don't pay in the USA, but you're bound to pay sales tax/VAT back home. This is also higher than the quoted device fee from KT. I assume you can then get whatever bring your own phone calling/data plan KT or SK have or go prepaid. Averaged out over 24 months, the cost of an unlocked iPhone5 from Apple.co.kr is 37,083/month = (890,000/24) If you then sign a contract, say for the LTE-520 then the 월정액 and 요금할인 should be the same 57,200-15,400=41,800. Once you add the 37,083 to the phone price, I come up with 78,883/month or 9,462 more a month (227,088 total) than buying the phone on contract through the phone company Alternatively you could get a 3g plan like the i-lite (200/500MB 3G with rollover/350sms) for (44,000+ 10%) -19,000 = 29,400. Again, add the average price of the iPhone 5 37,083 and you save a whopping 2,938/month and have slower and less data and fewer minutes Or you can go prepaid, but after you talk more than about 90 minutes or use more than 100mb it's better to get on a plan (69,421-37,083=32,338 max to spend on voice/data/sms before it's cheaper to get on a contract). 100mb data = 5,500, ~8,000 for 30 days prepaid medium, - (3.4 won/second*60= 204*90=18000) = 0 figures taken from expatblog.tistory.com/91 If you're talking less than 90 minutes a month and barely using any internet then why bother with an iPhone at all, why not get an iPod Touch? Also to anyone looking to save money I'd also say that buying a used iPhone 4(almost 3 years old) or iPhone 4s for 200,000 or 400,000 won really isn't worth it unless you're super broke. It's only 20-25,000 more for the newest and fastest. Also the iPhone 5 was released 159 days ago, but just came out, what 2 months ago in Korea? Now also, for the hell of it I wanted to see what data tethering from an iPad mini to a cheap prepaid phone might cost, here's the information I received today:  40,682 month for 1.5GB/month for two years 976,368 for the entire 2 years The real price of internet on an mini (going from wifi to wifi+cellular, 570,000>420,000) is 23,182/month Oh, and if you pay 5,000 won more, you get double the data:  So there goes that idea. I have a few questions for you guys: People with iPhone 5's: how much are you paying? People with wibro, how much are you paying? When the gently caress is kakao going to allow multiple log ins? I want to be able to use my "the new" iPad and nexus s at the same time. iMessage lets you do this. Can I use a VOIP/SIP, skype or google voice account over 3g/4g here in Korea? This will help me decide to go nuts and get an iphone 5, sign another 2 year contract on my current broken phone, or go prepaid
|
|
#
?
Feb 27, 2013 13:41
|
|