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Hello everyone, my name is Larry.

I'm currently teaching English over in Korea. I've been teaching in Korea with my lovely wife for about 7 years now. Before coming to Korea I taught in Japan for about a year and a half. I enjoy teaching but I also enjoy anything tech or internet related. I'm addicted to podcasts so if you ever need some podcast suggestions to help practice your listening I would be happy to help you out. I can definitely recommend Ryan's podcast IELTS cast, it's a good resource for preparing for the IELTS.

I'm new to the forum but I hope to come back often and help out whenever I can. I'm quite interested in IELTS especially the speaking module.

I recently started my own IELTS site, IELTS Boot Camp, but I'll be spending quite a bit of time over here in this fine forum and hopefully helping some people out.

Good luck with your IELTS preparation!

Hi Larry,

You've been here for awhile so it's too late to say welcome, but welcome anyway

How's life in Korea? Korea is the country that I really want to visit but I don't know when I will have time. I am really tossing between whether I should take some time to do something or should I go back to work. I just finished my two masters degrees and that took me 2 years away from work, and I do miss it. Anyway, I watch a lot of Korean dramas and that makes me fascinated about the country, specially the food. I wonder how much I would have to spend to travel in Korea for a month apart from airplane tickets? I would rather base in one city, say Soul, and travel around.

Cheers,
Chi

Thank you for the welcome

Korea is great. Especially if you like the food. The food can take some time to get used to, but once you do it's quite good and generally healthy. Being an American I very quickly learned to love Korean barbecue .

Korea can be a little expensive to travel in, but it's not as expensive as Europe or the USA. If you don't mind cheap accommodations you can get a shared dorm for around 10 - 20 USD a night or a private room for around 30 - 60 USD a night. If you go for a hotel though, it can get really expensive. But one great thing about traveling in Korea though is that restaurants are relatively cheap.

Also Korean people are usually very warm and curious about foreigners. Also if you like to drink, you will have a lot of Koreans to drink with. Koreans are usually very friendly when they drink. They will also be impressed that you know about Korean dramas.

Definitely stay in Seoul if you come, Seoul is where everything is. You can spend some time in the countryside (there are some great places on the northeast coast) but Seoul is the place to be.

Good luck when with your decision to travel or go back to work. I personally would recommend travelling. Let me know if you decide to come to Korea, I can give you some tips on where to go and what to see.

Be well!

Hi Larry,

Thanks for sharing a bit of background. I've heard great things about living in both Japan and Korea. I know it may be hard to say, but do you prefer one over the other?

I lived in Shanghai for about 5 years. It was a wonderful experience. Living in such a big city meant there was always something new to see and do. I imagine Seoul's probably similar in this regard.

Have a great weekend,
Ryan

Hi Ryan,

Very cool that you got to spend a good amount of time in Shanghai. I've heard it's one of the best cities in China. I've been wanted to go for a while but haven't gotten the chance.

As for which is better, Japan or Korea, I would probably say Korea. The people here are a lot more open and inviting than in Japan. Everyone was very polite in Japan which was nice, but I felt it was harder to make a real connection with some of the Japanese people I met. Plus I just love the barbecuing at your own table in the restaurants here in Korea

Japan is definitely worth a visit though, especially the area around Kyoto and the Kansai region.

Have a good one,

Larry

Yes, it is pretty hard to say no to Korean cuisine. I think I could eat kimchi at every meal and never get tired of it!

Hey, sir I am worried about my writing task 2. So, please help me to improve it. I am going to attempt IELTS exam at 15 march and I am not sure about that I can get required state band or not.
Regard.

Ryan wrote:Yes, it is pretty hard to say no to Korean cuisine. I think I could eat kimchi at every meal and never get tired of it!

Too true, especially when it's grilled or fried!

Hi Larry,

Thanks for the information. I will definitely let you know if I am going.

It's amusing to know how you and Ryan love Korean food.

Hi Larry,

Hope you doing good .I recently joined IELTS network.

I joined this website because I want to improve my IELTS score , last time I got L: 6 , R: 6.5, W: 5.5 , S : 6.5 , my aim was to get 7 in each session .

Again I have applied for exam and schedule exam is on 1st Nov and I am working hard to get 7 in each session. I am too scared in writing as I make lots of mistake in Tasks 2 in writing , mistakes like usage of are, is , s.

This time I tried changing my strategy. Nowadays I try reading 8 band writing then write it again in my own words and thoughts.

I need your help so that I can achieve my aim.

I would appreciate your response