Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Godhasbeengoodtome]

When are we supposed to receive this? Day 1, 3, 10 or 30? What is the acceptable timeframe?

Also, my little accomodation is cold. I should say the bedroom is fine because of the door and the floor heat but the kitchen and bathroom are both as cold as outside. I have floor heat in the kitchen but it does nothing to heat up the house since the house is full of windows and no insulation. So basically I am shivering in the bathroom and kitchen and also there is no hot water except for 1 minute's worth. I literally have to hurry hurry hurry to take a shower in less than a minute and even then my hot water is lukewarm at best. Then I step out onto a cold floor.
I feel like I am camping not living.

I am not sure what to tolerate or if this is normal rural living.

Trying not to complain here but things are tougher than I anticipated.

[afsjesse]

I recieved my 300k in about 2 weeks after I started. Regarding you heat, some places are different. If your's is like mine, you must let the water warmup for about 10-15 minutes before you turn it on. My last place all I had to do was turn on the heater and instant hot water came out.

Which is yours?

[sugarloaf82]

I'm a new teacher and I have a similar living situation as yourself. I am in a small, rural town and my apartment is incredibly difficult to heat. Therefore, I keep the door between my combined living/bedroom and the kitchen and bathroom area closed. So unless I'm cooking, my kitchen and bathroom are freezing. Supposedly there is floor heating in the kitchen, but I don't feel it. I have a similar problem with the water as well. I turn the water heater on usually 30 minutes ahead of taking a shower, but it seems that after 3/4 minutes it's already cooling off.

I guess I would rather be comfortable in my living/bedroom and deal in the kitchen and bathroom. Also, if I tried to heat the whole apartment, which is very small, it would use a lot more oil, which isn't worth it to me... It sucks, but I don't think there's much I can do. I've talked to my landlord and co-teachers and they've tried to help, but it seems it comes down to just being an old building.

You might be in the same boat, unfortunately.

And with the settlement allowance, they have the money. My school gave me mine the day after I arrived...

[Jeff's Cigarettes]

Hey, I have an idea...why don't you turn the heater on.

[ChinaBoy]

You guys should leave and go somewhere more pleasant, where they at least have heat

[sobriquet]

^Kansas?

[schwa]

Re: longer showers. I'm guessing theres a switch on your thermostat that toggles between floor heat & hot water (온수). If youre trying to shower with it on the room setting, the heated water will run out quickly. Switch it to the hot water setting 5 or so minutes before you shower & it should go on & on.

[nomad-ish]

i suggest taking a photo or drawing a sketch of your thermostat and taking it in to your co-teacher to translate, maybe think of buying an electric heater as well.

i always get my settlement allowance within my first week of work, this year it was on my first day, i believe

[Jeff's Cigarettes]

That's primitive indeed. Actually the settings are either only hot water or hot water and floor.

[English Matt]

About the shower....I've been having a similar problem for the past couple of months, ever since it started getting cold (many people I know are experiencing the same thing). I'm not sure what's causing it, but try reducing the pressure of the water when you're taking a shower and you may find that you can have a hot shower for as long as you like.

About the settlement allowance....I got it with my first months pay. It takes a couple of weeks to get your ARC and set up your bank account. I think they are supposed to give it to you within the first 2 weeks but in actuality, for many people, it can take up to 30 days to get it.

[losing_touch]

Yeah, the cold bathroom sucks! My kitchen gets heat though. I hate going in there. I let the shower run for a couple of minutes before taking a shower to make sauna like conditions prior to entry. Get some house slippers for bathroom calls.

[sojourner1]

I too can't get a hot shower so I shower at the gym. I have a little bit of floor heat and know I have it set very low. You can turn it up to make the floor and hot water actually warm and cozy, but it might possibly cost you hundreds of dollars a month. And then even if you have it on low, you still may be charged hundreds of dollars a month during the Winter. Some apartments are cheap with hot water and others are cold, but expensive as hell in any case. That's an illogical fact about Korean utilities.

[I'm no Picasso]

[Draz]

[moosehead]