New Arrival Information
Be kind to yourself and have grace for yourself when you first arrive in South Korea.
When you arrive in South Korea, you may find yourself scrambling to acclimate. That's ok and that is normal. You are dealing with a new language, new culture, new customs, new foods, new co-workers, and often-times a new career. Culture shock is a very real and often painful experience. Taking the time to inform yourself about the world around you will couple perfectly with having grace for yourself and others.
Be kind to yourself and have grace for yourself when you first arrive in South Korea.South of Seoul volunteers empathize deeply with your struggle.
We have also struggled through that pain as well and our mission is to help minimize the struggle as much as possible. That's why South of Seoul volunteers put together this list of blogs that each shares something we wish we had known in the first three months of our arrival in South Korea. We recommend revisiting these blogs regularly over the first three months because each time you read them something new will stand out.Is there a blog you think we should have on this list?
Information you wish you had? Please leave a comment or message us at southofseoul@gmail.com and we will add it to our list of blogs to post.
-
Adventure Preparedness: Buying A Scooter
Buying transportation sucks but adventures are critical. It also sucks 100 times more when you don’t know how it works or where to get started. When it sucks that much it’s easy to take the path of least resistance and just stay home and not do anything. DON’T DO IT!!! Adventuring in Korea is too awesome to be missed. Over the next few weeks we are going to try and demystify buying transportation in Pyeongtaek, or at least make it seem a little less scary. First on the menu, how…
-
Recommended Air Quality App
We love to be outside and spend most of our time outside, so avoiding smog is important. It’s true. The air quality this year the air quality in Pyeongtaek is the worst we have seen in our seven years here. However, it hasn’t really been cramping our style too much because we have been testing out some handy air quality apps that help keep us headed to the best places to breath. That’s right, you can use your hand phone to avoid the worst air quality. Let’s talk about the…
-
What makes a good mom and pop restaurant?
This meal was filled with 정 and deliciousness. Recently I was asked this questions, “What makes a good mom & pop restaurant in Korea?” When I first arrived here it was one of the most perplexing things for me and I never thought I would ever be good at it. Everything looked the same and I couldn’t deduce what was good and what was bad. I felt helpless when it came time to pick a place to eat. My solution, just start walking into any place I saw and just…
-
The Anatomy of Lotte Mart
Everyone knows that box stores like Emart, Homeplus, and Lotte Mart are where you go for all your foreigner-specific grocery shopping needs – but do you REALLY know everything they have to offer? Do you realize how super easy they can make your life? These facilities are true one-stop-lifestyle-shops that will make a person’s life (especially a parent’s life) in Korea extremely simple and efficient. Yes, the first time you use some of these services it might feel uncomfortable because of the language barrier, but the payoff is immense when…
-
Pyeongtaek Subway, Trains, Buses
Let’s say that you are somewhere with friends and you want to go home, but you aren’t sure what the closest subway is. Or imagine you need to catch an intercity bus but don’t know where to find the closest terminal. Or maybe you want to know what subway stop has the E-mart or which station has the KTX trains (opening December 9th). Well, South of Seoul app has your covered. We’ve created a detailed listing of the main transportation hubs. Just open search and click on the Subway, Trains,…
-
Pyeongtaek FB Groups to Join
Nothing fancy, just a few links to some of our favorite FB Groups in Pyeongtaek. The expat community uses FB to connect, meet new friends, share information, and build relationships.
-
ESL/EFL Educators Welcome Packet, International Student Welcome Packet, New Arrival Information, Tourist and Traveler Welcome Packet, USA Military Welcome Packet
How to Use the Subway and Where to Go
Want to learn more about using the Seoul Subway which goes south past Pyeongtaek all the way to Asan? Here are a few simple videos to get you started. This top is best learned visually for sure. 1: How to Use the Subway If you aren’t familiar with using the Seoul Subway System, here is a great video tutorial from YouTube. The subway system is very easy to use and if you use the app mentioned below, it’s almost foolproof… almost. The first few times can feel overwhelming but stick…
-
Private Tutors in Pyeongtaek
Halloween English Teaching Fun Finding a Korean tutor in Pyeongtaek can be maddening. Thankfully, I know two amazing ones! Introducing Sue and Jennifer! Jennifer Teacher Sue Teacher These two wonderful teachers just finished up an intense two year certification aimed at teaching Korean to foreigners and they are ready to help you get to the next level. If you are just getting started, or you need to get over a learning hump, these women can help you succeed in learning Korean. Personally, I’m lucky enough to have called them friends…
