Daejeon

Daejeon (대전, 大田, formerly Taejon) is the capital of South Chungcheong province. Yuseong Hot Springs Resort and Daecheong Dam are amongst the city's most popular tourist attractions.

Understand


Daejeon is the 5th largest city in South Korea, with a population of approximately 1.5 million. It is in the centre of Korea and is at the crossroads of national rail and road transport routes, the Gyeongbu railway, Honam railway, Gyeongbu Expressway, and Honam Expressway.

The city has been promoted as a city of science and education centred about Daedeok Science Town, more lately called Daedeok Innopolis. The Daejeon municipal government dubs itself a core city of research and development and the cradle of Korea's cutting-edge science sector.

More than 200 research institutes, including the research and development facilities of Samsung, LG, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), are located within Daedeok Science Town in Yuseong-gu on the far outskirts of town, locally referred to as "Daedeok Techno Valley". This, plus the "Daedeok Innopolis" cluster of KAIST, Chungnam National University and government research institutes lend themselves to the city's local nickname: the Silicon Valley of Korea.

The local image is generally good enough to rank fourth after Seoul, Busan, and Jeju in 2019, first in quality of life, health, environment, transportation, and administrative capacity index in 2021 and second after Seoul in the comprehensive sector.

It is also a city with a very well-established local autonomy system. As a result, the World Federation of Local Governments was held in October 2022. More than 1,000 local and local government councils from 140 countries participated as members.

Climate
Daejeon has a monsoon-influenced, 4 season climate that lies within the transition between the humid continental and humid subtropical climatic regimes (Köppen Dwa/Cwa respectively). Monthly mean temperatures range from −1.9 °C (28.6 °F) in January to 25.5 °C (77.9 °F) in August.

Orientation


Daejeon is 167.3 km from Seoul, 294 km from Busan and 169 km from Gwangju. It is also close to the proposed site of a new administrative city, Sejong City

Daejeon is separated into 5 administrative divisions or gu (구), (districts), all of which maintain their own tourist website in English. The divisions are largely run along rivers bisecting the city.


 * Daedeok-gu  (대덕구; 大德區)
 * Dong-gu  (동구; 東區)
 * Jung-gu (중구; 中區)
 * Seo-gu (서구; 西區)
 * Yuseong-gu  (유성구; 儒城區)
 * Dunsan is not a gu, but is the central business district and where you will find the majority of the shops and restaurants. The area is served by three stops on the subway: City Hall, Government Complex and Galma stops 111, 112, 113 respectively. For more upscale shopping and accommodation, head over to the Yuseong hot springs resort town (Yuseong-gu), which is the northwest part of the city, and is serviced by the Yuseong-spa subway stop. The former city centre is located in Jung-gu and serviced by the Jungangno subway stop.

Gyeryongsan National Park straddles the city border to the west. Three streams which eventually join with Geum River, called Gapcheon (갑천), Yudeungcheon (유등천), and Daejeoncheon (대전천), flow through the city from south to north.

Tourist information
To pick up a map you can visit the information desk in EXPO Park or in Daejeon Station. For district tourism offices please see



Get in
Daejeon is a road and rail transportation hub in South Korea. Two major expressways, Gyeongbu Expressway and Honam Expressway, and two major railways, Gyeongbu railway and Honam railway, are joined here. Travel time between Daejeon and Seoul using the high-speed railway system, otherwise known as KTX, is about 1 hr. The nearest airport to Daejeon is Cheongju Airport in the neighbouring city Cheongju and at least 30 min by road to the north of Daejeon.

By plane
The local airport provides a few options for international travelers, with Cheongju International Airport (Hangul: 청주국제공항; Hanja: 淸州國際空港)  just north of Cheongju city. There is a railway station next to the airport, called Cheongju Airport station, which is on the Chungbuk Line although it is 600 m from the airport. The usual way to reach Daejeon from the airport is via intercity bus.

Nevertheless, most travelers will arrive in South Korea via Incheon International Airport and get to Daejeon via the plentiful high speed train or bus services.

Parking for 1,100 vehicles is available opposite the passenger terminal. The facility is open from 06:30-22:00.

Cheongju International airport has a very limited schedule, with flights to Jeju for a few times a day.

Korean Air has two flights a week to Hangzhou in China and two flights a week to Bangkok in Thailand.


 * Buses to Daejeon Dongbu Terminal, Cheongju Airport ↔ Daejeon Dongbu Terminal - ₩3,500
 * Buses to Daejeon Dongbu Terminal, Cheongju Airport ↔ Daejeon Dongbu Terminal - ₩3,500

By train
Daejeon lies on the main train line connecting Seoul and Busan. There are two principal train stations in Daejeon, the main Daejeon Station and the secondary Seo-Daejeon Station. Both are served by the KTX, the Korean high speed bullet train rail service. It takes about 1 hr from Seoul to Daejeon (₩23,700; Economy Class; Feb 2019) and 100 min from Daejeon to Busan.

Conventional trains take about twice as long but come at a considerably lower price. As an example at the other end of the spectrum an unreserved "deluxe floor" seat on the Mugunghwa from Seoul will set you back less than ₩9,000 and take almost 2 hr. A similar train from Busan to Daejeon will take almost 4 hr but costs under ₩15,000. If these sound unreasonable, bear in mind that trains down the main line in Korea do sell out, especially on Sunday afternoons and into the late night so you may no have a say in the matter. On the bright side, the last Mugwanhwa from Busan terminates at Daejeon, so if stuck on its cold, cold floor, you can usually upgrade yourself (to 1st class even) after Daegu.

There are several railway stations. The station you will arrive at or leave from depends on where you're coming from or where you're going. If using the KTX Gyeongbu Line or the KTX Honam Line you may want to try and get off at Shintanjin Station to the north of the city or Seodaejeon Station to the southwest if using the KTX Honam Line.


 * Arriving on the North-bound Line—intermediate points are Cheonan·Asan ⇒ Gwangmyeong ⇒ Yongsan ⇒ Seoul (northern terminus)
 * Arriving on the South-bound Line—intermediate points are Dong-Daegu ⇒ Miryang ⇒ Gupo ⇒ Busan (southern terminus)
 * Arriving on the North-bound Line—intermediate points are Cheonan·Asan ⇒ Gwangmyeong ⇒ Yongsan ⇒ Seoul (northern terminus)
 * Arriving on the South-bound Line—intermediate points are Nonsan ⇒ Iksan ⇒ Gimjae ⇒ Jeongeup ⇒ Gwangju ⇒ Naju ⇒ Mokpo (southern terminus)
 * Arriving on the North-bound Line—intermediate points are Cheonan·Asan ⇒ Gwangmyeong ⇒ Yongsan ⇒ Seoul (northern terminus)
 * Arriving on the South-bound Line—intermediate points are Nonsan ⇒ Iksan ⇒ Gimjae ⇒ Jeongeup ⇒ Gwangju ⇒ Naju ⇒ Mokpo (southern terminus)

Tickets for Korail (Korea National Railroad) services can be purchased at station windows, travel agencies, or [www.letskorail.com/ebizbf/EbizBfIndex_eng.do online].

By bus
To add to the confusion, if entering via bus, there are three intercity bus terminals, and several pick up stops for the airport bus express.


 * Dongbu inter-city bus terminal connects to major cities in South and North Chungcheong province. Dong-bu express bus terminal connects to most major cities in South Korea via express way. They are share a building in Yongjeon-dong, Dong-gu.
 * Seobu bus terminal in Yucheong-dong, Seo-gu, connects to western regions of South Chungcheong province such as Nonsan, Buyeo, and Daecheon. Yuseong bus terminal located in Bongmyeong-dong,
 * Yuseong-gu, connects to northern regions of South Chungcheong province such as Gongju, Yesan, Dangjin, and Cheonan.

There are two bus stop around government complex, some of express buses depart from Dong-bu and Yuseong stop by as well as the bus destined for Incheon airport (the ride takes 3 hr 15 min).

Incoming buses terminating at Dong-bu terminal drop all passengers off at a random one of a few petrol stations or empty carparks near the terminal. Don't be alarmed. Whilst inconvenient for those transferring on, this does leave you on the right side of the road to grab the local express bus #2 down to the central Korail/subway station.

Get around
Locals and those staying for a longer time can purchase a Hana bank rechargeable transportation card, which offers free transfers. When you open an account at Hana bank, this smart bank card can be charged with money to be used on buses, taxis. "Hankkumi" transportation cards are also available at manned booths within the subway stops. These cards cost ₩2,500 and are rechargeable at the station or at many GS 25 locations. Its one subway line bisects the city and runs south-east from the north-west corner. Only central Daejeon, old downtown (Daejeon station area) and a handful of sites are convenient to reach solely by subway. The subway is compatible with Seoul T-money passes. Hankkumi cards or tags contain both Hankkumi and Seoul T-money functionality.

By bus
The inner-city bus service is extensive, but a bit slow. Most buses pass through Daejeon station which does not have a bus rank. Instead, they all leave from one of about 10 stops dotted around the area. Note that bus routes 1 and 2 are express stops and annoyingly not even typically marked on the handful of bus shelters where they do stop. City bus services in Daejeon buses are divided into four types.

Each type of bus has a different colour; red, blue and green (2).


 * Red buses express cover 2 routes (1 and 2). They stop at major bus stops, ensuring a rapid transit service.
 * Blue buses regular connect the downtown areas with the suburbs.
 * Green buses there are 2 types of green - coloured buses:
 * One of the green buses connects all districts within Daejeon, and the other connects Daejeon with its neighboring areas.

Bus fares vary depending on the passenger's age group. Children, middle and high school students, and adults. A Traffic card is available and offers discounts and free transfer. T-money also works for discounts and free transfers,

Each bus has two doors:
 * The front door for entry and back door for exit.
 * Place your transit card close to the card reader upon entry and exit. Cash payment is also available.

Routes

 * Expo Park - 121, 301, 606, 705, 911, 918
 * Daejeon O-world - 301, 115, 311, 314, 318, 315
 * Bomun-san (Mt.) - 119, 619, 618, 108, 313, 620
 * Gyejok-san (Mt.) - 103, 617, 311, 314
 * Daecheong Dam - 72, 73
 * Gubong-san (Mt.) - 210, 114, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26
 * Jangtae-san (Mt.) - 22
 * Sikjang-san (Mt.) - 611, 619, 607, 313, 60, 61, 62, 63, 71
 * Manin-san (Mt.) - 501
 * Uam Historial Park - 311
 * Jangsu Town - 312, 313
 * Donghak-sa (Temple) - 107, 48
 * Daejeon Korail Station - 1, 30, 31, 52, 60, 62, 63, 102, 311, 501, 511, 512, 603, 605, 606, 607, 612, 616
 * Seodaejeon Korail Station - 119, 201, 202, 314, 612, 613, 701
 * Shintanjin Korail Station - 2, 71, 72, 75, 703, 704, 705
 * Dongbu Intercity and Express Bus Terminal - 2, 102, 105, 106, 201, 501, 601, 602, 607, 611, 616, 701, 802
 * Seobu Intercity Bus Terminal - 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 31, 32, 34, 41, 42, 43, 45, 46, 47, 113, 316, 916
 * Yuseong Intercity Bus Terminal - 109, 911

A full bus route map is printed on practically every last bus shelter in town. Navigation may be easier if used in combination with a pocket-sized printed copy of the numerical list above.

Two city tour buses also run, doing daytime trips between "science" sites such as the Currency Museum, Expo park and KAIST. Night time trips between "night" sites include Yuseong Spa and Daecheong Dam. They wind across town via various pick-up spots prior to the tour and tend to end at Yuseong, but perhaps the most convenient pick-up point is at the park at the rear (south side) of City Hall.

The City Bus Free Transfer System allows bus passengers holding a traffic card to transfer to another bus or subway three times at no additional cost. When using this system passengers are only required to pay a single fare for up to 4 segments of travel in a single direction. The traffic card allows 3 free transfers within 80 min of the first boarding, with 30 min transit time subsequent to the passenger placing the card on the card reader when exiting. Another service will need to be boarded and the card read again within the specified 30 min (off the bus) period. Check the city website (English version is available) for the latest schedules, departure times and costs.

By subway
Daejeon's first subway line opened in 2006, connecting Daejeon Station to both the western and eastern parts of the city. The subway stations are fed by buses, and the fare is ₩1200-1,400 a ride, with tickets easily bought from machines (select the price according to the map it displays, enter money, get a token). The subway itself is extremely clean and tidy, and the stations are regularly decorated with art courtesy of local university arts students or schoolchildren. Small musical performances aimed at the older generations of Koreans (often some quite pleasant jazz actually) are sometimes held in Daejeon and Seodaejeon-negori stations.

Daejeon Subway Line 1 is the first of a planned 5-line subway system for the city. It connects Daejeon station in the original city centre, with the newer sections of this city, including Dunsan. The other lines have not yet opened and future plans for the extra lines appear to remain speculative.

By taxi
Daejeon is quite spaced out, so taxis fares can run up quickly. For a cross-town trip, expect to spend up to ₩10,000, far higher if travelling to the lesser developed outer regions west of the bisecting mountain range, north of Yuseong, or around Shintanjin. The width of town can be covered usually in ₩4,000-5,000. Daejeon experiences near city-wide gridlock from 17:00 to almost 00:00 on Fridays and 17:00 to 19:00 on weekdays so use the subway to cross the length of the city and catch a taxi from there to cover the width. Unregistered taxis are a common sight around the Dongbu bus terminal, so keep a keen lookout for the "It's Daejeon" logo on the side of the vehicle or a meter in the front if you don't wish to be mislead or deceived by unlicensed operators in un-metered vehicles.

By bike
Daejeon has a system of public-use bikes Tashu, which is available for a nominal fee for short rentals, although it can rise quickly for extended use (>1 hr as of July 2014). The system requires a mobile phone number and Alien Registration Number to use. Note that stations are present mostly in the central valley, and may be empty or filled (thus preventing returns). Check for stations near your destination via the station's computer before renting a bike. Although bikes are maintained, they are quite often broken, so be sure to check the bike before renting. Bicycle roads exist in larger roads and riversides but tend to be filled with pedestrians and tend not to yield to cyclists.

On foot
Daejeon is mostly far too spread out to be convenient to walk between attractions. However, Expo Park, the National Science Museum, Hanbat Arboretum, Dajeon Museum of Art, Mannyeon-dong, and even Dunsan-dong (although this last one is pushing it) are situated close enough to one another to wander back and forth.

See
There are 8 specific localities designated by the city government as scenic attractions, these are the Eight Sights of Daejeon.







Many of the other cultural centres and sight seeing places are located in Yuseong-gu district with the exception of Ppuri park and Daejeon Zoo.


 * Q20919 Daejeon Station A01.jpg
 * Gazebo in Ppuri Park.jpg
 * Q20919 Daejeon Station A01.jpg
 * Gazebo in Ppuri Park.jpg
 * Gazebo in Ppuri Park.jpg
 * Gazebo in Ppuri Park.jpg
 * Gazebo in Ppuri Park.jpg
 * Gazebo in Ppuri Park.jpg



Do



 * 대전시민천문대 Daejeon Observatory.jpg
 * 대전시민천문대 Daejeon Observatory.jpg
 * 대전시민천문대 Daejeon Observatory.jpg
 * 대전시민천문대 Daejeon Observatory.jpg
 * 대전시민천문대 Daejeon Observatory.jpg
 * 대전시민천문대 Daejeon Observatory.jpg
 * 대전시민천문대 Daejeon Observatory.jpg
 * 대전시민천문대 Daejeon Observatory.jpg

The Dreamland theme park up on Mt. Bomun, despite being marked on many maps, has-been closed and demolished.

The river flood plain adjacent to Expo Park is where a lot of expatriate action takes place on the weekends outside of the festival, and also makes for a nice stroll.

Whilst Dunsan downtown tends to cater to the retail-loving crowd, the downtown area in central Daejeon (Jungangno subway station) and particularly the area a few blocks south tends to be rather artsy, including many small, often privately run art galleries. Some of these are attached to independent coffee shops. Occasionally on Sundays there are street stalls run by local arts students.

Festivals
Daejeon has a history of attempting to jumpstart annual festivals (a Winter lights festival in Jungangno for example) only to have them fall on their face after one year. Signs still promote some of these on the outskirts of town.



Hike


Any, or all, of 5 mountains designated by Daejeon tourism amongst the city's eight most popular sites:


 * Mt. Sikjangsan (southeast)
 * Mt. Bomunsan (south)
 * Mt. Gubongsan (southwest)
 * Mt. Jangtaensan (south)
 * Mt. Gyejoksan (northeast)

Most have either a typical Korean gazebo at the top or a historic fortress wall, or often both. Jangtaesan has a treetop walkway. Springs offering drinking water are marked on the local maps. To find the start of the myriad hiking trails, a good rule of thumb is to look for burial mounds on the hills, as they are often lurking just behind them. Once on the trail, trail marking and intersection signposting is really good, but the actual start point locations are almost never announced.

Sports
Watch baseball, the national sport, at Hanbat Baseball Stadium (Hanwha Eagles) or football at Daejeon World Cup Stadium (Daejeon Citizen FC).

Watch volleyball at Daejeon chungmu Stadium (Samsung Bluefangs Club)

Buy
The city's traditional market is located next to the train station. The market by Daejeon Station is the general market, really nothing to write home about as far as appearances, the speciality stores are excellent, and you can get plants (from seeds to pots) which are not always easy to come by. Some household goods, and cheap clothes. The street to the southeast, outside the market perimeter, specialises in tools. South East Asian import canned and packet food including Mi Goreng (Indonesian-Malaysian dried instant noodles) and phone cards can be found at the International Food shop. Exit Daejeon Station through exit #3 and go straight for less than a minute. It's a very small shop that's located right in front of the traffic lights.

A second, slightly smaller traditional market exists in Yuseong. Further traditional markets still can also be found near Seodaejeon Korail station, opposite Hanbat stadium, and a little further east of the Dongbu Intercity bus terminal.

For further discounts, Nouen wholesale market is located north of Yuseong. Take the subway line and get off at the World Cup Stadium stop (the subway plays a little soccer theme song so you can't miss it).

There's a Costco directly beside Seodaejeon station. Costco offers OK discounted prices, and most everything is in bulk, but you can get some hard to find goods imported from the USA. You will need a personal (Gold Star) membership for ₩35,000, or you can use your card from home. It can solve dry food purchasing for a month or more in a single trip; watch out for seasonal specials, the November truffles make for nice, and cheap, gifts. For those without CostTo membership, E-mart Traders offers similar services with no membership requirements (not to be confused with E-mart proper). The Seodaejeon area also has the stock standard Home Plus, as well as some clothing department stores. The area is becoming rapidly one of the most affluent in the city so expect to see fancier outlets opening here over time. Uniqlo (Japanese unbranded clothing chain) is also located nearby on the basement floor of the Say Two Department Store (good to know in winter as it sells cheap thermals). The Lotte Department Store in Yongmun-dong has a Uniqlo as well (2nd floor).

E-Mart and Home Plus is relatively ubiquitous, and a bit dear too. It does, however, offer a variety of basic house goods for settling into a new home, deodorant, as well as basic general produce (both fresh and dry), which are marginally cheaper than the prices in most corner stores, as well as offering it all in one stop. If you can't afford to set up your new home here, perhaps try tracking down a Daiso, a Japanese "1,000-won store" chain that stocks all sorts of kitchenware and just general use plastic items.

For cool summer shopping and warm winter shopping head underground. Underground shopping can be found connected to subway stops at Daejeon Station and Jungang-no, stops 104 & 105 respectively, on line 1.

If looking for general Korea souvenir-items, two shops, quite literally opposite one another are underground at subway Exit 2 of Daejeon station (stop 104 on Line 1). They specialise in a wide variety of trinkets including from mass-produced items from elsewhere in the country.

Also, department store shopping is popular for the more affluent of Daejeon at Timeworld Galleria, Lotte Department Store and CGV; each of which also have a movie theatre on their top floor. Timeworld plays host to an array of full price brand outlets such as Burberry and Louis Vuitton, which despite the lacking crowds, still insists on having its patrons queue up to enter. The basement sells a wide variety of imported foods.

Most electronic needs can be found at TechnoWorld, which is close to KBS tower in Manneyong-dong, Seo-gu. For further consumer electronics, try the street running between Government Complex Daejeon subway station to Timeworld Galleria in the vicinity of Dunsan E-Mart: this street has no fewer than 3 electronics department stores Hi-mart, Jeonja Land plus smaller speciality stores LGgoodshop. Apple has a retailer called Frisbee outside Jungangno subway station, Jung-gu.

For funky independent-made items, keep an eye out for university-run arts fairs. There's no real way to know when you'll find one, but they are seemingly quite common.

Eat
In addition to the copious amounts of Korean restaurants and Koreanized "Japanese" izakayas scattered all over town, some foreign restaurants, including some offering Italian cuisine, can be found around the two main downtown districts of Dunsan-dong (opposite Timeworld) and near Jungangno station. Some nicer restaurants also still exist up near the World Cup Stadium.

Oddball theme restaurants are scattered around town. For example, there are a couple of eateries in Dong-gu near the Intercity bus terminal subscribing to the "hobbit mushroom" school of architecture, a restaurant called literally Nameless (이름없음, Ireumeopseum) in front of Woosong university whose decor could be best described as "clusterbomb of ropes", and a full military themed chicken joint on the wrong side of the tracks in Shintanjin (follow the road/lane due south from the Loving Hut listed below).

Sit-down sushi roll restaurants (as opposed to sushi trains) are scattered about Jungangno and Dunsan and can be a good option as the generic copy-cat business model typically involves picture-menus and prices under ₩10,000 a meal. Options go beyond sushi to salads, pastas, gratins, and Japanese style omu-rice. Korean-style sushi, not to be confused with kimbap is extremely flamboyant in appearance.

Finally, if just looking for a quick snack, don't be afraid to try the street food. In central Daejeon around Jungangno there are at least 1-2 of the standard Korean odeng stands. Standard etiquette is to literally just grab a stick, eat it, and pay after you finish, the most common price is ₩500. Topokki (떡볶이tteokbokki) is a spicy ricecake and eggs in red spicy sauce. Stalls plus a handful of vendors with permanent shop-fronts can also be found here. The funny looking "buns" you may see the owner frying up are in fact essentially an inside-out pancake with syrup and nuts.

The following are a few of the more outstanding or unusual eateries:



Drink
There are two major "downtown" areas for drinking in Daejeon. One is in new-town in Dunsan-dong, opposite the Timeworld Galleria shopping complex, and a short walk from Government Complex Daejeon subway station. The second is in the city centre of old Daejeon, down by Jungangno subway station.

In addition, two further large drinking quarters exist in Yuseong and around Chungnam University as well as opposite Seodaejeon Korail station. Smaller areas of bars naturally exist beside each of Daejeon's universities, such as Hannam in the far east and Woosong in the far south.

Budget
Jjimjilbangs are not ubiquitous, but they are there. Check that they allow overnight sleeping first.


 * Another jjimjilbang is available in the Rodeo Town building, between City Hall and Tanbang subway stations, and walking distance (~1 km towards and beyond City Hall) from downtown Dunsan.
 * A Youth Hostel has dorm accommodation for ₩7,000-8,000 per night. It is located in southern Yuseong, approximately a 10-min walk south from Hanbat Nat'l University or you can take the 102, 103, 104 or 113 bus to its western termination and then walk east for its approximate location. You will then take the left fork and going away from the terminal, which is adjacent to the restaurant buildings, and you will see a left turn, about 250 m, which leads to a very big youth hostel. It appears to be intended mainly for conventions and conferences. There are just rooms where you get a blanket to sleep on the floor so don't expect beds. Showers are shared.
 * A Youth Hostel has dorm accommodation for ₩7,000-8,000 per night. It is located in southern Yuseong, approximately a 10-min walk south from Hanbat Nat'l University or you can take the 102, 103, 104 or 113 bus to its western termination and then walk east for its approximate location. You will then take the left fork and going away from the terminal, which is adjacent to the restaurant buildings, and you will see a left turn, about 250 m, which leads to a very big youth hostel. It appears to be intended mainly for conventions and conferences. There are just rooms where you get a blanket to sleep on the floor so don't expect beds. Showers are shared.

Mid-range
You can look for love motels which vary in quality, price and cleanliness. Many of these are centred in Dong-gu, near the Dongbu Intercity Bus Terminal or in old downtown in Jung-gu, south of the Jungangno nightlife district. Most western-style hotels with close proximity to the subway line are in the Yuseong Spa vicinity. This is also where you will find the splurge hotels so inquire ahead. Outside of Yuseong, chain hotels also exist around the Government Complex Daejeon.



Learn
A few of the universities in town accept considerable numbers of international students.



Work
Daejeon has numerous job openings for ESL/EFL teachers at public schools and private academies. Most teaching jobs require applicants to be a native English speaker and to have a 3-4 yr college degree. Salaries for teaching jobs generally start between ₩2.0 and 2.5 million per month and often include free housing and round-trip airfare on a 1-year contract. Since the Korean won has dropped precipitously in value relative to other major currencies, salaries are starting to rise.

Connect
PCbangs (internet cafes) are peppered over the entire city and dirt-cheap to use, plus complimentary internet-enabled PCs are a common sight in independent coffee shops.

An immense range of international calling cards are available from the International Food shop outside Daejeon Korail station, as well as from smaller shops located beside universities catering to international students, such as the one outside Woosong West campus' main East Gate.

Stay safe
Daejeon is a very safe city by global standards. Note that Daejeon does not play host to a US military base, and as such, anti-American sentiment (and by extension, anti-Westerner sentiment) is low. If anything in town could be deemed dangerous, elderly drunks occasionally congregate around the front of Daejeon Korail station at night, including weeknights. Ironically, they are more inclined to hurl abuse at or chase down groups of obvious foreigners than individuals.

Daejeon's tap water is "drinkable" however residents tend to boil their water or purchase affordable bottled water, or fill their own bottles at local parks or at the mountain springs that surround town.

Cope
For a police emergency, dial 112. For a fire or ambulance emergency, dial 119.

For various help, consider visiting the DICC.

Cleaning services will exist at high-end hotels, otherwise, find a local dry-cleaner by looking for the sign setak (세탁).

Go next
According to the city government, you can get to anywhere in South Korea from Daejeon within half a day.

Seoul and Busan are less than an hour and two hours away, respectively, on the KTX. Gyeongju is also now rather accessible courtesy of the new Shin-Gyeongju KTX stop between Daegu and Busan. Seo-Daejeon Korail station will similarly link you up to Gwangju.

There are several pick-up spots around town for the airport bus, which charges a princely sum of about ₩14,000 for the ride (₩3,500 for the regular inter-city bus). Also, see this articles Get in section for information on travel to Jeju. Another option to get to Jeju would be to take KTX to Busan and catch a ferry but this would be both less economical and efficient.

Closer places of interest include:


 * Mt. Daedun, one of Korea's more famed mountains (you may have seen photos of its suspension bridge) is close by at a 45-minute bus trip away. Buses depart from the Dong-gu Intercity bus terminal at 10:30. Miss it and you're out of luck.
 * Gongju, adjacent city and former capital of Baekje, known for its Beakje tombs. Also the gateway to hiking a nearby national park.
 * Cheongju, Daejeon's airport, and historic town in its own right. Birthplace of jikji, the world's oldest moving metal type print book.

During festival season, Daejeon is the natural transfer point for travellers from the south end of the country heading to Boryeong for its expat-oriented mud festival.