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White American man planning to move to Seoul in August 2025 to teach English. What should I expect?
What should I ex… Hello! I (31M) am planning to move to SK next year to teach English. I plan to spend my time until then learning Korean, so hopefully I will have at least some fluency when I arrive.
What should I expect? The consensus seems to be that life for men in their 20s and 30s is difficult for a variety of socioeconomic reasons. But I'm finding that also to be the case here in America.
All I need, truly, is a little apartment, a bicycle, and enough money to pay bills and buy groceries. Or at least so I think.
What can I expect as far as dating? I'm a typical English-looking man in my early thirties. And what about making friends? And traveling throughout the country/region?
I don't expect it all to be super easy. I know there will be challenges. But I'm willing to at least make an attempt.
Thank you!
Learning Korean before you arrive is a solid move, it will make a huge difference in everyday stuff like reading menus or navigating the subway. For a bike, stick to the Han River paths on weekends for a relaxed ride, the main roads in central Seoul like Jongno are not bike-friendly and you'd be weaving through buses. Dating as a foreign teacher is pretty straightforward in the expat-heavy areas like Itaewon or Hongdae, but be ready for a lot of first dates centered around drinking soju. For travel, the KTX gets you to Busan in about two and a half hours for around 60,000 won if you book a week ahead, and you can take a ferry from Incheon to Jeju for a cheaper alternative to flying.
The bike thing is doable but you'll want a lighter one because carrying it up subway stairs gets old fast. For friends, look into hobby clubs on Meetup or Kakao group chats, way easier than trying to bond with coworkers at work dinners.
You'll probably adjust faster than you think if you're cool with a simpler lifestyle. The bike thing is doable but Seoul's pretty hilly and drivers can be aggressive, so just be careful with routes.
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Dogdogdog's Secret?
the whispering thing is real but its not about the sauce lol. that guy runs a 2am handoff with the chicken supplier, they drop off fresh birds from a farm near Chuncheon three times a week instead of using the frozen stuff most hongdae spots rely on. thats why the texture hits different, not the sauce itself. if u go back ask for the neck & wing combo off menu, its cheaper & honestly the best cut they do
the thing nobody mentions is that Dogdogdog's sauce gets its body from cheong, the Korean rice syrup, not sugar. thats why it coats the wing so thick and stays glossy instead of going sticky. i asked a guy who worked there and he said they also add a splash of maesil (plum) extract at the end off the heat. that fruity tang under the garlic is what you're tasting. go on a weekday before 6, weekends the wait hits 40 min easy.
honestly the "secret sauce" thing is prob just marketing. every fried chicken place in Seoul has a version of that story. the real difference at Dogdogdog is they double fry in rice bran oil and toss the wings in the sauce twice, once right out of the fryer and again after a 30 sec rest. thats where the crunch comes from, not some mystery ingredient. if u wanna taste the actual base, order the banban half plain half spicy and dip the plain one in the spicy sauce yourself.