Showing posts with label * Choji-dong - Ansan. Show all posts
Showing posts with label * Choji-dong - Ansan. Show all posts

Sunday, July 14, 2013

Sunday, July 14, 2013 - ,, No comments

Nearby KB ATM

Update: Visited the ATM the following week and it worked 100%. ^^

Sadly, most of us teachers that live in our building have been walking about twice as far as we need to.  The two nearest KB ATMs are the KB branch near Homeplus (open 'til 22:00) and E-Mart (open 'til 24:00).  We just discovered one much closer.

This booth is at the entrance of the 13 단지 apartments near the park.






Bad news: the first time I went to try it, it was down.  Not sure what the sign says, but I am hopeful that it will be up and running soon.

I found out later that there is a second KB atm, between this one and the one at E-Mart.  They are hiding in plain site.

 

It's not easy to see, but there are several different bank ATMs outside the entrance of Hosu Maeul apartments near building 129.  In this picture, KB is on the left side.


This is the secondary location.

Location: Gwangdeok 2-ro, Danwon-gu, Ansan-si, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea

Monday, August 27, 2012

Monday, July 23, 2012

Monday, July 23, 2012 - ,, No comments

Dr. Park - English Doctor!

* Updated 11/24/12 - see below

English speaking doctors are few and far between in Ansan.  There is one in Choji-dong.  He apparently graduated from Yonsei University, which is a very good school.  He has been tried and recommended by a few teachers at my school.

Yonsei Pak Negoa Euiwon (연세 박내과의원)
http://health.naver.com/hospital/detail.nhn?siteId=10974498&tab=pic

According to the site, his hours are weekdays 9-7 and Saturdays 9-5.  It isn't listed, but there is usually a 1-2 hour lunch break for the doctors at smaller clinics.


Update:
I recently visited Dr. Park and my experience was great.

1. His office is small and cozy and his staff, although not English speakers, were friendly.
2. After giving the staff a list of symptoms and my ARC card, I was able to see the doctor immediately.
3. The doctor speaks fantastic English and his family are currently living in San Diego!
4. He has a polite and pleasant manner.
5. He did not coerce me into an injection and his prescriptions are easily filled at the drugstore on the ground floor.
6.  I was in and out within about 15 minutes. 

This is my new doctor.

 



Location: 726-5 Choji-dong, Danwon-gu, Ansan-si, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea

Monday, June 11, 2012

Monday, June 11, 2012 - ,,, No comments

Convenience Store Coffee - coffee on the go!

One of the expenses that can really add up for teachers in Korea is coffee!  If you're on the go, you have a few choices:

A bottle of Starbucks coffee will cost about 2,900W.  You can usually find a Korean brand sitting next to it for a few hundred won less.  Starbucks here tastes just like it does in the US.

A cup of Starbucks can be a bit cheaper.  Many different brands make these cup-style coffees.  You might pay between 1,500 - 2,000W, depending on the brand and flavor.

Bag style coffees are the cheapest: about 1,200W.  You can usually find them on a shelf near a special cooler full of ice cups.  Many brands bag their coffee, tea, and fruit drinks.  Just take the top off the ice cup and remove the safety seal.  The coffee bag always tears nicely and pours right in without any spillage.  Did I mention they are 1,200W?  They are a great deal!



Sunday, May 6, 2012

Sunday, May 06, 2012 - , No comments

Guitar Shopping

I had a lot of fun helping one of my adult students buy a guitar for her son.  I've never gone to a guitar store with Korean "backup" before.  On two occasions I've been told that I couldn't take a guitar down to play it; once with an Epiphone Les Paul (~500,000) and once with a Cort acoustic (~200,000).  Both times I thought I had stumbled onto the set of Spinal Tap.


Anyway, one place where you CAN try a guitar is 악기마트.  It translates, as you might imagine, into "Musical Instruments Mart".  It's located about a block south of the Choji-dong E-Mart.


It is a one man shop. The owner is a Lento Guitar dealer.  There were also some Ventures strat guitars, a couple of Schecters and LTDs.  He even had a pretty nice Epiphone Les Paul.


The quality of a beginner guitar has improved A LOT since I started playing.  The Ventures strat he played was very good quality.  The whole package, including a clip-on tuner and small amp, came to around $250. 



Location: South Korea, Gyeonggi-do, Ansan-si, Danwon-gu, Choji-dong, 745

Monday, April 30, 2012

Monday, April 30, 2012 - ,,, No comments

Dry Cleaners

I've started dressing better in order to fit in, but there was a catch.  Wool sweaters and suit jackets need to be dry cleaned.  I've never taken anything to the dry cleaner before.

Dry cleaners (세탁) are pretty easy to find in Korea.  The one in the picture below is just a block from my apartment.  They will take care of a jacket or sweater for $3-4.  They've also stitched up a torn seam on a pair of my pants for about $2.  That's crucial for a guy who can't find a single pair of pants that fit in a city of over 700,000 people.

Location: South Korea, Gyeonggi-do, Ansan-si, Danwon-gu, Choji-dong, 708-6

Sunday, April 29, 2012

Sunday, April 29, 2012 - ,,, No comments

Sugar Village

I took a walk around the neighborhood and made an awesome discovery.  Houses.  Real houses.  I could hardly believe it.  I've been looking at marble, brick, and concrete for the past 8 months.

The name of the place, 원당마을, means Sugar Village. I will find out how many 억(hundred million won) these cost.










5/14: I found some prices for these homes. They are selling for about 8억 ($750,000)

Location: South Korea, Gyeonggi-do, Ansan-si, Danwon-gu, Choji-dong, 677-13

Monday, April 23, 2012

Monday, April 23, 2012 - ,, 1 comment

Free Sample Rule

For just the second time in 8 months, someone offered me a free sample at a grocery store.  Many of the other teachers at my school get approached all the time.  Sometimes people want them to teach English or have a date.  It never happens to me.

As a general rule, if someone in a grocery store is brave enough to greet me and offer me a free sample, I will buy some of it. 


Location: South Korea, Gyeonggi-do, Ansan-si, Danwon-gu, Choji-dong, 742-6

Friday, April 20, 2012

Thursday, April 12, 2012

Thursday, April 12, 2012 - ,,, No comments

Using a Korean ATM (without English)

This is the nearest reliable ATM to my apartment.  It is not English-friendly.  This ATM, outside a 7-11, is serviced by Lotte and runs on the Korea Citibank network (which is not connected in any way to the USA Citibank).  As a newb, I would usually prefer to take a much longer walk to the English KB ATM.  These days, I don't have the gumption.

 
If you ever need to use a Korean ATM, know that it really isn't as bad as it looks.  There are a lot of things on this screen, but only 3 will apply to most foreigners.  On the left side of the screen (on many different ATMs, not just Citi), there are options. 
  1. 예금출금 = withdraw money
  2. 계좌이체 = transfer money
  3. 예금조화 = account balance
Also, the message in the center is important.

     수수료 면제 = fee waiver

This is generally scheduled around the bank's normal operating hours.  In this case, fees are waived between 9-5 on weekdays and 9-2 on Saturdays.

Note: blue 학인 button is continue and the red button is cancel.

After inserting your card, push the blue button to continue.



Select your transaction: 출 금 at top for withdrawal.
Enter your 4 digit PIN number.
Select the amount: 1 만= 10,000 won (about $9).
Confirmation screen - including fee. 
Getting your money ready! ^^
Fees page - accessible with the grey button on the first screen.

KB Bank has English on most, if not all of their ATMs.  However, their fee schedule is still in Korean.

There are four main columns:
  1. KB bank customers (green) and non-KB customers (red)
  2. Service type
  3. Normal hours service fee (weekdays: 8:30-6, Saturday 8:30-2)
  4. After-hours service fee  (after hours and Sunday)
    The normal and after-hours columns are broken into two more categories for transactions below or above 100,000W.
The important things to note here are:
  1. The 출금 (withdrawal) row says that most KB cardholders will have their fee 면제 (waived) during 영업시간내 (normal hours).

    영업시간외 (After-hours) fees are:
    500W for 초과 (over) 100,000W
    250W for 이하 (under) 100,000W.

  2. 이체 당행 (transfers to another internal KB account) are free for any amount.
    이체 타행 (transfers to an account at a different bank) are always subject to a fee:
    1,000W for 초과 (over) 100,000W
    500W for 이하 (under) 100,000W.
Like all things in Korea, the details are subject to spontaneous change. ^^

Location: South Korea, Gyeonggi-do, Ansan-si, Danwon-gu, Choji-dong, 773
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)