Types of Cities in Korea

One of the most common themes we hear from new applicants is: “I want to be in Seoul, because I want to make sure I’m around other foreigners and be in a city environment. I don’t want to be stuck out in the countryside somewhere.” We agree completely. We feel unless you specifically ask for a small city, we will focus on finding you a great placement in an excellent, modern, urban city in Korea. What some people don’t realize is just how developed Korea is as a country. Most people live in high-rise apartments since the standard of living is very high since it has the 9th largest economy in the world. Since Korea is rather small geographically you can get from end to end of the country in less than 5 hrs.

*As with most things in life, attitude is key. If you think you’ll have a great time in city “X”, you will.

"Nervous there won't be enough fun things to do in a certain city, or not enough other foreign teachers, check out this listing of the most popular Facebook groups for some of the best cities in Korea!!!" - [Click here- list of Facebook groups for all of the different Korean cities]

Here are the main choices for different types of cities in Korea. Please click on the name to see more detailed info on this type of city:

Seoul
It’s easy to understand why so many people are intrigued by Seoul:
- Capital of Korea so people are familiar with its name
- More than 10 million residents
- One of the best subway systems in the world
- Deep expat community
- Amazing selection of nightclubs and bars
- Almost any type of group or activity you can think of from back home is available in Seoul.
- Korean friends in Seoul will likely speak excellent English.
- Keep in mind your costs of living will be 20-40% higher if you live in Seoul compared to other cities.
- Saving money in Seoul is also hard due to being tempted to enjoy western options more often, or just going out for drinks more often. Transportation after 11pm on weekends gets really expensive after the subways stop running, since the city is so spread out.
- Seoul has some of the best museums and cultural sights in Korea. No matter where you live in Korea though, you’ll enjoy some fun road trips to Seoul and easily see all of the major sights at least once.
- Seoul can be such a big magnet, if you live there, it can be challenging to pull away and explore the rest of Korea.
- Many people feel the air quality in Seoul is pretty low due to the smog and pollution.
- You can get to Seoul in under 4 hrs from pretty much anywhere in Korea. Most teachers will spend a few great weekends in Seoul during their year in Korea now matter where they live. Many people find it’s a great city to enjoy and experience, but nice to leave for your normal work week.
- EPIK public schools for inside Seoul has cut all middle and high school NET’s, and may cut them from elementary schools soon too.
Seoul Area
Busan Area
Daegu
- Population 2.5 million people
- Very large foreigner community
- Wide variety of activities developed for foreigners such as a softball league, Ultimate Frisbee league, Flag Football league, running & hiking clubs, as well as several other non-sports related activities such as chess clubs, and photography clubs.
- Surrounded by 4 significant mountains, which makes it easy to blend in a hike even during the weekdays.
- Very well developed network of “foreign bars” in downtown Daegu, as well as in the various suburbs.
- 2 subway lines combined with a seemingly endless array of frequent buses taking you where you need to go.
- Just over 1hr to Busan
- Costco store!
- Several – VIPs Steakhouse, Outback Steakhouse, Pizza Hut, KFC, Burger King, McDonald’s, Domino’s Pizza, Bennigan’s, Thai, Indian, Vietnamese restaurants and a very large number of Italian restaurants.
- Home of the Daegu FC soccer team and Samsung Lions baseball team
Gwangju
- Population 1.5 million
- One of the most connected and friendliest foreigner communities in all of Korea – a TEK promise!
- About 1,000 teachers
- 2.5 hours to Seoul by train
- Easy access to beaches within 1hour
- Mudeung mountain on the east edge of the city offers 4-5hr hike to the main peak, with several peaks around the edge of the city that offer beautiful 1-2hr hikes.
- Several large, modern green spaces with well maintained walking/biking/running paths.
- Some very popular western bars – MIX Lounge, Speakeasy, Bubble Bar, Tequila’s.
- Koreans feel the food in Gwangju is the best in all of Korea.
- Deep cultural history
- Gwangju FC pro soccer team and KIA Tigers pro baseball team
- Gwangju International Center, Running Club, Yoga, Ultimate Frisbee, soccer, Board Games Club, acting groups, Korean lessons and a very large community of artists are all easily available to help everyone feel welcome.
- VIPs Steakhouse (3), Outback Steakhouse (3), Indian restaurant, Thai restaurant, Vietnamese restaurants (5+), McDonald’s, KFC, Burger King, Pizza Hut, Domino’s and lots of Italian restaurants.
- TEK sends at least 70 teachers a year to Gwangju! We’ve almost created a perfect storm, since everyone is enjoying it so much they aren’t leaving! This is reducing our volume of available jobs.
Daejeon
- Population – 1.4 million
- Costco store
- Wide selection of excellent beaches along the western coast of Korea, less than 1 hour from Daejeon
- Centrally located 2hrs away from all of these places: Seoul, Busan, the west coast of Korea and Gwangju making it easy to explore any part of the country on a weekend road trip!
- Wide variety of western restaurants, excellent network of city buses, pro soccer
- Pro soccer team is called Daejeon Citizen and Hanhwa Eagles are the baseball team
Medium/major
- At Teach ESL Korea we normally consider this to be any major city with at least ½ million people. Such cities will have:
- Well-developed and connected communities for foreign teachers
- Excellent public transportation
- Amazing food
- Low costs of living
- Within an hr of Seoul/Busan/Gwangju or Daejeon
- There will be mountains for hiking or temple viewing on the edge of the city.\
- Beaches, island or shoreline will be within 1 hour
Coastal
Small
Busan
- Population - 5 million
- Has the most popular beaches in Korea – Haeundae Beach, for example
- International Airport, as well as ferries to Japan
- ***It is extremely hard for new ESL teachers to secure a job in Busan. We would rank it as the most difficult market to break into. It is likely the toughest ESL destination in the world, not just for Korea. Even teachers with a few yrs of experience have a hard time securing anything here.
- Excellent subway and bus system
- Wide variety of people in the expat community – not just ESL teachers.
- Clean air considering the size of the city.
- Huge bar and nightclub scene.
- Busan International Film Festival
- Pro soccer team – I’Park and baseball team – Lotte Giants
Other
Southern half of the country
SE Corner of Korea
Open

Our suggestion would be to focus on making sure you’re within 1-2hrs of either Seoul or Busan, and to give serious consideration to Gwangju (1.5 million), Daegu (2.5 million) and even Daejeon (1.4 million). We feel these cities actually offer exactly what most teachers are hoping for in their city – when they ask for “Seoul”.

Note – we find the information on these cities that you’ll first see on Wikipedia or Official city pages not to be very relevant to an ESL teacher venturing to the other side of the world. While it might be interesting to know which Dynasty ruled Daegu in 1543, or what the main crop in Jeonju is, or which companies have factories in Pohang, foreigners considering a city like Gwangju want to be confident they’ll have: other foreigners to easily meet and hang out with, a few western restaurants, cultural things to see, some green space or mountains nearby, fun nightlife, a place to learn Korean and good public transportation. These things are all very easy to find in all major cities in Korea. Teach ESL Korea had an extensive project to have teachers help us create pages for some of the key cities in the country, so the info you’re seeing is from the eyes of another native English teacher.

Eleven Amazing Cities in Korea - Click on the name of the city for more detailed info –