Korean Job Discussion Forums

azzwell · Posted: Mon Feb 16, 2009 6:55 am Post subject: epik housing

Am finally going the P.S. route and was wondering about anybodies experiences with EPIK couple housing in rural areas.

BS.Dos. · Joined: 29 Mar 2007

How rural? Most FTs in our town of 20,000 or so have all pretty much lucked out. Myself and two other FTs, who live in the same apartment complex, have all got 3-bedroom places.

yeremy · Posted: Mon Feb 16, 2009 3:00 pm Post subject: Rural EPIK couple housing

The best and surest way to get the housing you want is to go out and find your own and then take the housing allowance. However, not everyone has either the money or the willingness to do so, so they opt for the school supplied housing. If you are going to a rural area, the cost per pyoung for housing will be lower than in Seoul or Gyonggi-do. You will most likely get more for your money, especially in this economic climate in Korea.

If you do not like the housing your school supplies for you, you will probably have to live there until the end of your contract when you could begin to negotiate to change apartments as part of the re-signing process. What my wife and I did in Gyonggi-do was to go and get our own apartment with our own money the first year. I was given the GEPIK housing allowance and the next year, when I re-signed, my school took over and paid the housing allowance. I was able to get my original deposit of about 8 million KRW back. I was pretty happy about that.

To give you some accurate figures to think about: the deposit for my last apartment in Gyonggi-do was 50,000,000 KRW for about 18 pyoungs. My current apartment is almost twice as big at 33 pyoung and the deposit for it is 20,000,000 KRW. It does pay to save and invest carefully.

sobriquet · Joined: 16 Feb 2007 Location: Nakatomi Plaza

Just got our new teacher a 28 pyeung apartment

10mil down 500k a month.

School covers it for him. Nice place.