Korean Job Discussion Forums

nomad-ish · Posted: Sun Feb 15, 2009 11:20 pm Post subject: SMOE Housing

for those of you in SMOE, what's your housing situation like? and how far from your school is it?

nomad-ish · Posted: Mon Feb 16, 2009 5:30 am Post subject:

Xuanzang · Joined: 10 Apr 2007 Location: Sadang

Pros
- relatively quiet neighborhood
- No mold or fungus infestations
- around 10 years old
- decent size for one person, 1 bedroom 14 pyung
- decent size fridge, not one of those dinky bar fridges

Cons
- communal laundry room
- no countertop space
- no sunroom/drying area
- far from school, 20 mins by subway

Conclusion: It could be worse. Prior teacher lived in the infamous Dongdaemun co-op hellhouse.

dean_burrito · Joined: 12 Jun 2007

What exactly qualifies as a nice officetel? My appliances are fairly new but other than that it's really just a little square place to live same as most of the others I'd assume.

nomad-ish · Posted: Mon Feb 16, 2009 6:27 am Post subject:

^ yeah, i should've made that clear. i mean nice as in clean, no bugs/rodents, things aren't falling apart, no mold growing places, size doesn't realllly matter

sigmundsmith · Joined: 22 Nov 2007

I'm in my third year with SMOE. My first year I was put in the Coop - just to let everone know that the Coop in total size is 4 meters by 2 1/2 meters - with bed, bathroom and kitchen. The school pays 770,000won for rent but no key money is necessary. The place is basically a hotel. You are living in a 24 hour noisy area, staff can be unfriendly and they make (change) rules about living there as time goes by. I lived there for 1 year but know people who have been there a lot longer.

After my first year and going through the re-signing process I just stipulated that new accommodation is found. They agreed. Went to a couple of places within the budget. I chose the one that I wanted - studio 14pyeong on the 13 floor in an officetel, building is about 8 years old in a nice area close to the Han river. School pays 700,000won per month, no key money needed.

School provided a fridge, queen bed, big coffee table and sofa (they didn't have to do that under the letter of the contract). The bathroom is a proper one, 2 gas burner and built in washing machine. And most importantly, plenty of builtin wardrobes.

There are places are out there that are in nicer parts of the city, not too expensive in buildings that aren't roach infested or moldy and not a bad size and paid for by the school (SMOE).