Seoul is a huge city, but is usually clean. The subway is extensive and easy to get around, especially with all the new lines that opened. Buying a 10,000 won ticket (about $12- 15), you never have to worry how much it costs to travel from one place to another - just use the one ticket each time. The subway map is printed in English, and often English signs are at each station. I was first in Ori, the last subway stop south of the city. I've moved into the city. So, rather than it taking two hours to get to Kyobo Bookstore, it now only takes an hour. However, I prefer the bookstore at Ulchiro 1-ga. They seem to have more English-language books. A good friend gets rather sick from riding the crowded subway, and we all get black snot.... Since teachers work weird hours, I've rarely been on a train during the rush hour. Still, the trains are very crowded, and overheated in the winter.
Your biggest worry is your employers: are they legal, will they honor the contract, etc. If the company does not ask for the ORIGINAL of your college diploma, they may not be legitimate. The government requires this, and for legal teaching positions, your *must* have at last a BA or BS. The paperwork takes about one month, and usually is done before you leave the States. If the contract is for less than 12 months,. you don't qualify for the year- end bonus of one month's salary. Even a Buddhist temple purposely hired someone for a 10- month contract.
Your next biggest problem will be fellow ex-patriates. Korea likes to hire young, inexperienced people as teachers. If you're a professional, too often these young people haven't been out of their own country before, so they can go through their whole first year complaining, and resenting credentialed teachers. The power-tripping and small-town games and attitudes I've endured has been petty, and the worst part of my experience here.
There's an International Clinic in the Seoul Chung Ang Hospital, a large, new hospital, near the Green Line, Chamsil Station. You need to take a taxi from there to get there, or a bus. Their phone number is 224-5001/2. They cater to Westerners, and charge basic prices. If your job is legal, you're charged for medical insurance, so the prices are, I guess, cheaper. The doctor in charge at the clinic is Korean, but worked and practiced in the States, including Seattle, where I just came from.
Yes, there are supermarkets all over the place! And Tony Roma's, TJ Fridays, Bennigans, McDonald's, Burger King, Pizza Hut, (Little Caesar's here is better). In the grocery stores, not much food is labelled in English. I'm not much of a cook, so I don't miss much, but a friend of mine is and she does. Koreans aren't used to "stoves". So we get microwaves, when we're lucky, and gas-hot-plate like cookers. You can buy little stoves, I guess. There's also toasters, etc. Electricity is *generally* 220, so don't bother to bring much electrical stuff from home.
Yongsan Electronics really is a good place to buy electrical stuff. The prices are cheaper - it's listed in guidebooks, and is at the Yongsan Station on the subway, were the Red and the Grey lines intersect. Follow the crowd, or look for the signs that will take you directly to the Market, rather than go outside and get lost like I did. A Korean was kind and walked me the five-ten minutes it took to find the place.
Money? You can legally send home 2/3rds of your monthly pay, without any problem. If you live in Seoul. Many people have complained of bizarre requests from bank officials, like stamping a passport, etc. You can wire the money home, or buy a certified check, made out to yourself, and mail it *Express* to your bank with your deposit slip.
Our employer helped us open our bank accounts, so I don't know for sure if you have to be legal, and what paperwork is required, for having a bank account. The bank did ask for a statement on our income to verify we weren't sending home more than 2/3rds.
Social life? I don't know 'cause I work six days a week, and then work on the newspaper, and surf the Net.... I've been here since July and I'm finally getting the hang of it. One problem was when I had lived a two hours' subway ride from the heart of town, and the subway stops at 11:30 or ll:49.... Taxis to where I lived cost way too much....
Housing is ridiculous. Have you lived overseas before? Your job should give you paid housing. You shouldn't have to pay for rent. But you'll pay for utilities, garbage, doorman, etc. So far, this amount has come to about $100-150 dollars a month for me (in shared and my own place. Depends on one's use of the electric heat and air conditioning). "Key money" is a year's rent, but used as a deposit. I just heard of a Westerner being cheated out of A LOT of money. A house in Seoul rents at $9,000 US dollars monthly. Really. The school had us living outside of Seoul cause of the rent - very nice, large, spacious places, terribly expensive to heat since we were on the first floor, and as one of three women, I never felt safe. Rape is possible in Seoul, and the police have an American 1950s attitude towards it. Through lots of politicking at school, and a friend, I got this little smaller than "cozy" studio, with own bathroom place, 20 minute walk from the subway, and I haven't bothered to learn how to get around on the bus. Yet.
Clothes? In-country Asian clothes aren't as good as the exports, as true in many newly developing nations. I pay the extra to buy from Lands End or other catalogues. Since my credit card is dead, I have to send a check, etc... Takes longer. So it's good to have a credit card for ordering things from the Net or catalog. If you're small, per American size, you will probably have no trouble buying clothes. If you tend towards the large size - lots of trouble.
Bring your own sheets and towels. Koreans aren't used to using them, so they are *very* expensive. Mail yourself a comforter - they cost too much here.
Seoul is a modern city. If you want to surf through Seoul, try the newspaper-turning- into-a-monthly that I help edit: http://www.login.co.kr They have links to connect you to Korean newspapers, the Korean Connection - a good site for ex-pat info, and other links.
The two things I miss from Taiwan are: the cheap, buffet-like restaurants that were soooo good! Not much of that here. The other is riding a motorscooter. There aren't many now because of the cold weather, but even in the summer, motorscooters and motorcycles were not even one-tenth of what was on Taiwan's streets.
TV- the US military forces have a radio and tv station, AFKN. The tv station has US shows on it, if you can get it. There's cable tv too, if you want it and can afford it. Using local Cyber Cafes might be more fun and sociable. There's quite a few of them. I'm glad I don't have a tv, sometines. (Computers, obviously, cost *a lot* here, just as in Japan. BYOComputer if you can.
Take care. I hope this has been helpful. Write more if you want more details. The more specific the questions, the better. Alice Dana Walker Log In Seoul Assistant Editor Seoul, South Korea veritas3@elim.net