Best hagwons in Busan near the beach or downtown?

Looking for advice on hagwons with a good reputation near the beach in Busan, preferably something with a large foreign teacher base and decent accomodations (officetel, etc).

I'll be travelling to Busan in late November, early December to start working in Korea (with or without a contract signed). I figure it'll be easier to find a good school and housing in a better location if I'm actually there in person, rather than sign everything before I go. Then I'll do a visa run to Japan as I'll bring all the needed documentation with me when I go, is this a good idea, I've heard differing opinions on the matter.

If anyone can give me some recommendations on whats a hip foreigner place to live in the city along with a school and details it would be greatly appreciated.

I'm open to suggestions, from what I've heard, it's key to have a solid base of foreign english teachers as a crew as I will be travelling there solo.

Much thanks.

Re: Best hagwons in Busan near the beach or downtown?

Several places fall into your criteria. The biggest place for nightlife is around the KyungSung university area district. It's also walkable distance from Gwangali beach which does get surf when the weather is good. The main districts around this area are Namcheon, Dayeon, Millak and Yong Ho Dong (if you get a location close to KyungSung).

Or there is Haeundae. The more famous beach, but I don't hear of my surfing friends talking about it. It also has plenty of good bars and the main nightclubs in town. Although it is a little bit more upmarket and spread out in my opinion as many businesses are catering to the tourist and business trade as well. What it does have going for it though is that not far away is SongJeong beach, which from what I gather is the best surfing beach in town. Also if you lived in Haeundae you would problaby end up in the new town where the chances of getting a newer, modern aparment would be better. It's only about a 20-30 minutes away by public transport to Kyungsung.

Downtown is difficult to define. Seomyeon or Nampodong would be the closest. Plenty of bars  in Seomyeon and it's Koreans favoured spot to go out in. But twice the distance to the beach.

Finally the other main spot in town is PNU area. Again plenty of good bars, but even further to the beach!

Re: Best hagwons in Busan near the beach or downtown?

You also don't listen to your friends talk about surfing much MattSid.

Haeundae is far and away the best beach for sufing in the city and about the only one that produces the approximation of a decent wave but I really wouldn't be basing your decisions around surfing.

Busan would get about 3 or 4 days a year of decent over head surf, maybe another dozen fun days in the waist to head high range and then maybe 30-40 days of knee high waves that hundreds of Korean surfers like to splash around in.  For the rest of the year it looks like a pond.

You can certainly surf here and it does get fun on occaison but those days are very few and far between and getting to the beach on those days is relatively easy so proximity is not that important.

That said, around Haeundae and Gwanganli are certainly the best areas of the city to live in.  The newest and cleanest with the largest ex-pat populations, international food and western style conveniences.