Korean Job Discussion Forums

pest2 · Joined: 01 Jun 2005 Location: Vancouver, Canada

OK, a few people (including me) complain that apartments/accomodations in Korea are generally bad because they dont include a bathtub, washer, dryer, oven, and consist of only 1 room. A few other people are quick to point out that this general assessment of the situation is incorrect because they themselves have 1 or more of the above things (using their brilliant logic to make the leap from "I" to "every expat in Korea" in the process). Let's do a poll to see something slightly more truthful.... Keep in mind that its still just a poll on Dave's and probably not representative of the over all picture. But its better than just hearing about 1 or 2 guys' situations.

PS I wanted to add a few more poll options than what you see here, but the site wouldnt allow it.

princess · Joined: 16 Jan 2003 Location: soul of Asia

My option is not on the list. I have a studio with an oven, but no bathtub. The washer, but no dryer. I also had to go out and basically buy everything for my place that is kitchen/utensil related. My cheap ass school got me a drinking glass, a bowl, and one spoon, one set of chopsticks, and one knife, I think. As in nothing, basically.

therooster · Joined: 11 May 2007

I have a studio and as I live in my 4 bedroom , 3 living room house back home , it drives me insane . My washing machine lives in the bathroom and my "bedroom" shares duties as kitchenette , entertainment "area" etc .

Nothing I can do about it for now as the school has to finish their contract with the landlord before they agree to find me more suitable accomodation . Talk about cabin fever !

VanIslander · Posted: Sun Aug 12, 2007 3:06 pm Post subject:

two bedroom place in a triplex, with shower (no bath), washer (no dryer of course), fridge (no gimchi fridge), stove (no oven), air conditioner, and a view

there are too many job opportunities in this country to ever accept a small one-room studio if space is important to oneself, and anyone who actually bakes much and plans to be here longer than a year can invest in an oven

sure wish I had a huge claw-foot bathtub like I did back in my university days *sigh*

OiGirl · Joined: 23 Jan 2003 Location: Hoke-y-gun

I chose my own housing, so of course there are a few amenities.

neandergirl · Joined: 23 Jun 2005

It's bigger than a studio, has an a/c unit, no oven, no dryer, no tub but the shower is set up for two (side by side showerheads). There is a washer on the balcony but there is no water connection or outlet there and when you plug the washer in there's nothing. So I guess I have a biggish place with few amenities other than the ones I brought with me.

I've only once lived in a studio here - that had a hand-held shower, no tub, oven, washer or dryer. None of the other 4 places I've lived have had a tub or an oven. One had a working washer.

All my Korean co-workers/friends have tubs and washers but only one has an oven - she bought it herself and had it installed. It was quite a big thing - many of her neighbours and kids in the building came to see it.

OiGirl · Joined: 23 Jan 2003 Location: Hoke-y-gun

I have two ovens, three refrigerators, a tub, and a washer but no dryer. Two bedrooms, living room, kitchen, bathroom, 3/4 separate balconies for storage, laundry, etc.

newintown · Joined: 01 Jan 2007

i now have a one bedroom apartment, but thats for two people. when we first arrived we were in a studio for 3 months. cheap b@stards.
we also had to buy everything for our apartment - plates, pans etc. cheap b@stards.
furthermore, we have a single bed between us, and we are BIG peeps. che@p bastards.

Oreovictim · Joined: 23 Aug 2006

I have an air conditioner, but I never had one growing up, so it's not a big deal. I'm so cheap with bills; I rarely bother using it. I've think that I've used it once this summer.

I've noticed that out of everyone I know, my apartment is the biggest, but it's also the dirtiest. It's pretty old, and the walls are stained yellow from whoever smoked here. But the main thing that bugs me is the mattress. I might as well sleep on the floor. (I could have bought a new one, but I refuse to put money into this apartment.)

IncognitoHFX · Joined: 06 May 2007 Location: Yeongtong, Suwon

How come there is no option for those of us with room mates?

pest2 · Joined: 01 Jun 2005 Location: Vancouver, Canada

pest2 · Joined: 01 Jun 2005 Location: Vancouver, Canada

pest2 · Joined: 01 Jun 2005 Location: Vancouver, Canada

The Hierophant · Joined: 13 Sep 2005

I had the basic one-room + bathroom apartment my first year in Korea. It was modest, but was still much nicer than any place of my own I'd ever had before (I'm a young New Zealander and thus used to living in South-Pacific squalor Wink

).

I'm back in NZ now studying for my Diploma in Secondary Education, and all I can afford is a damp, mouldy, pokey little room in a flat shared with three noisy 22 year olds. I miss my Korean shoebox!

Slep · Joined: 14 Oct 2006

1 small window in my kitchen (hole in screen covered in tape), a shower that barely works
no sink or mirror in my bathroom.
You should see me shave blind over the toilet. Run to the mirror in my room to see what I've missed then run back to the bathroom.

Wouldn't bother me so much if I hadn't had my apartment switched midway through my contract when the lease ran out.
I went from having one of the better apartments among my friends to having the worst one.