Okpo-dong

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View of Okpo

Okpo-dong is a neighborhood in the city of Geoje in South Gyeongsang Province, South Korea. The village is located on the eastern coast of Geoje Island and a center of the island.

The Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME) shipyard is located close to the town. A large portion of DSME employees live in Okpo, and DSME jackets are a common sight in the town at night.

There are very few standalone houses in Okpo and most residential accommodation is fulfilled by high-rise apartments. Rent is high.^{[citation needed]}There are a number of local accommodation agencies offering apartments for rent to incoming foreigners, as well as other supporting services.

Okpo has a large foreign transient population due to the shipyards and as a result there is a 'Foreigner's Club' by the Admiral Hotel which is run by the local expat residents themselves, as well as over fifty Western bars and two dozen western restaurants serving a variety of 'western style' meals. There are also Indian, Pakistani, Vietnamese and Turkish restaurants, and local franchises such as a 'Dunkin' Donuts', 'Quiznos', 'Baskin-Robbins' and 'Lotteria' (Korean fast food burger chain).

There are ferries to and from Busan four times a day with a journey time of approximately 50 minutes, with additional services from the next port town, just south of Okpo and just a short taxi ride, called Jangseungpo. From Busan airport, the journey time by taxi, by way of the new Geoje-Busan Bridge (10,000KRW toll each way), is under 1 hour, although heavy weekend traffic can be up to 90 minutes.

There is an international school called the Okpo International School - which is very convenient choice for foreign workers bringing their families to Okpo.^[1]

In addition, it has a thriving sex industry with many bars in town tailored to DSME workers.

Okpo has an amusement park, Okpo Land, on the outskirts of the city. It went out of business in 1999, but because the land has been zoned for environmentally low-impact projects, it remains abandoned.

Coordinates: 34°53′17″N 128°41′37″E / 34.88806°N 128.69361°E / 34.88806; 128.69361

References

↑ Okpo International School

External links

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