Korean Job Discussion Forums

hagwonnewbie · Joined: 09 Feb 2007 Location: Asia

"Don't drink the water" as it is said is a philosophy I abide by. Do you? I do cook with boiled tap, but I drink bottled. It's pretty cheap here compared with the states. I pay about 600 won for a 2 liter. I also fill up bottles at work and the gym. What do you guys and gals do?

The guy I work with ddrinks tap and says he's never been sick. He said his friend works for the water company here in Seoul and said it's safe. Do you agree? Does anyone know anything about water treatment or quality in Seoul? Where does the water come from? How many treatment facilities are there in Seoul? What processes do they use?

cheeseface · Joined: 13 Jan 2008 Location: Ssyangnyeon Shi

Tap water here tastes like shit, I use it for cooking but not tea and coffee.

I live in a rural-ish area and have a fresh water spring just out side the apartment I live in Cool

spliff · Joined: 19 Jan 2004 Location: Khon Kaen, Thailand

My Villa has It's own water filtering machine so no need to pay for it.

caniff · Joined: 03 Feb 2004 Location: All over the map

ryouga013 · Joined: 14 Sep 2007

I try to drink filtered water but I don't have a problem drinking tap water. It's not a big deal. I also fill my ice trays with it. No problems, hopefulyl it stays that way.

maeil · Joined: 09 Jan 2006 Location: Haebangchon

We have an external filtration system. One faucet delivers tap water and the other delivers filtered water. I use the normal tap water for washing dishes and such, but I use the filtered water for washing veggies, cooking, making tea and coffee, etc.

The filtration system is similar to ones I've seen at Costco... you can select the PH of the water, so you can either get alkaline water or acidic water. We use alkaline water for cooking and acidic water for cleaning, etc. To be honest with you I'm not sure how much I believe the hype behind it, but the water tastes much better than tap and my husband insists that it is better.

No one has mentioned this yet, so though I don't know much about it I thought I should... what I've heard is that the problem with water in Seoul is not so much the presence of parasites or such, but the quantities of heavy metals. So, you aren't so likely to get sick or feel immediate consequences from drinking it, but further on down the line you might get some health problems from the accumulated metals in your system. This is just what I've heard, though.

tigerbluekitty · Joined: 19 Apr 2007

All this talk makes me wonder what kind of water they serve us at restaurants.

I remember once watching a waitress fill up jugs of water meant for customers straight out of the faucet! Confused

lsrupert · Joined: 27 Aug 2006

From what I have heard (and it's quite possible that my info could be wrong) it's not neccesarily the water, but the pipes that you have to worry about. I was told that Korea has cleaned up its water. If you live in a really old apartment, with old pipes, you probably shouldn't drink the water. If you are in a newer apartment though, it should be fine. I have a water cooler and have the jugs of water delivered to my place, just for peace of mind. While waiting on a delivery though, I have filled my glass with water straight from the tap, and didn't get sick. Usually though, I cook with tap water, and drink the bottled water.

lastat06513 · Posted: Sat May 24, 2008 8:19 am Post subject:

You can also invest in an electric pitcher they sell at Emart or Lotte which boils the water for you to drink in a matter of seconds.......

Flash Ipanema · Joined: 29 Sep 2006 Location: Seoul

Draz · Joined: 27 Jun 2007 Location: Land of Morning Clam

eliross · Joined: 14 Jun 2007

I did a little research on this when I first got here. The U.S. military says that the Korean Government does a better job of treating and testing the water than they do. The water tastes bad but it isn't bad for you. Korean's don't drink the water but when asked why they never give a logical answer.

ajuma · Joined: 18 Feb 2003 Location: Anywere but Seoul!!

I recently had a problem with my stomach/intestinal track, and I was seen by 3 different doctors (1 small-city moronic doctor, and 2 big-city hospital doctors...one a surgeon). TWO of the doctors asked me about what kind of water I drank...meaning did I drink tap water or bottled/filtered water. They were both relieved when I said only bottled. If there was nothing wrong with the water, why would this have been a concern?

Kiarell · Joined: 29 Mar 2008

amilin90 · Joined: 08 May 2008 Location: Seoul

I have filtered water, a machine mum paid 1.5M won for, so I'm comfortable with drinking it. Tastes good, too.
Whenever I used to visit either of the ex's houses though, they'd drink tapwater, I didn't. I honestly didn't have a good reason as to why, so I'd drink tapwater with them when there. They don't taste very good though..