I'll add my two cents on rural living. I wasn't in Yeonggwang, though I was in a town pretty similar.
After spending a year in urban Korea I decided to move out to the country to practice my Korean, experience some Korean culture, and make some Korean friends. And while I had a decent year overall, and I learned a hell of a lot, I think I had some unrealistic expectations, too. First of all, when somebody---whether a teacher or a recruiter---talks about "go to _______ and experience Korean culture" that usually means "there's lots of old people." Jeollanam-do has a lot of farming and fishing, and is obviously a slower pace of live than Seoul. Just be aware that "Korean culture" also means computers, cell phones, shopping, neon lights, tall buildings, and traffic . . . not just the bucolic stuff recruiters tell you.
On the one hand, life in my town was very slow and very quiet. It was quite scenic and I enjoyed hiking, visiting local villages, and travelling around to nearby towns and counties. The townspeople were generally quite friendly, and as there wasn't much of a foreigner presence or any English-speakers, I got to speak Korean 99% of the time. Can't say I learned as much Korean as I hoped, but I did learn quite a bit of this part of the country, and did get to experience a part of Korean life very few Americans will ever see.
On the other hand, the loneliness could be quite tough. Weeks or a month would go by without me speaking or hearing any English beyond what went on in the classroom. And, a mistake my dumbass made was that I wanted to make some Korean friends, but it never occurred to me that going to an economically depressed area would make it really difficult to meet people my age. No jobs meant no young people. I was 25-26 last year, and there was no one my age, no one to really talk to. The townspeople were all nice, and I never had any problems for them, but social options were really limited because people much older or much younger than me obviously led really different lives.
I also walked into a sh*tty situation at one of my schools. That made life pretty tough at times. I would have been keen to re-sign in that area were it not for the sh*t I'd have to deal with at school.
Momo and Vessel---and I think there are 2 other Yeonggwang people here---can give you more specifics on Yeonggwang. But I like the rural areas of Jeollanam-do. While you'll have to make some sacrifices, it's not like you'll be living in a tent on a rice paddy. I just wanted to add that there are plenty of people down here out in the boonies who spend all their time at the many Starbucks clones, eat nothing but Western food, and do nothing but hang out with other foreigners. And, there are people in Seoul who successfully combine Western and Korean ways of life. Anyway, so long as your school seems on the up and up, life here will be fine. The locals are nice, transportation is good, and there's quite a bit to see and do.
