Korean Job Discussion Forums

icyx · Joined: 29 Jan 2009 Location: TORONTO

Does anyone have experience negotiating apartment details in Korea (location, number of rooms, even nitpicky things like ondol or video doorbells), or are you pretty much stuck with whatever the school gives you? I'm thinking of heading to Korea later this year, and while I hold no illusions about the quality of apartments for teachers, I'm definitely wondering how much say (if any) teachers can have about size/amenites/etc of their place. Thanks for any input :)

cruisemonkey · Posted: Fri May 08, 2009 8:48 pm Post subject:

In a nut shell - you take what you are given (within 'reason') until you re-sign... then, you use housing as a negotiating 'card'.

Housing varies drastically and there's no 'common demonitator' (even between hogwans, unis & PSs); except - one is more likely to 'luck into' a larger place in a rural area the in an urban area - it's directly correlated to economics.

At my first job in K-land, I had a 26 pyeong, two-bedroom... now I have a 'one-room'. I'm much happier in my 'one-room' (and the utility bills are much different). Wink

esetters21 · Joined: 30 Apr 2006 Location: Seoul

Unless you are very special and have some inside connection with your future employer, I would say no to negotiating anything as a newbie here.

polonius · Joined: 05 Jun 2004

There is no way you will be able to negotiate housing. The best thing I can suggest is to have the school send you pictures of your apartment and take it from there. The schools rent the apartments for a year contract, and you may be showing up part way threw that contract. They won't break the housing contract and face penalties, just cause you want them to.

i · Joined: 10 Apr 2008 Location: Seoul

I was shown a one-room 9th floor dump with a bunch of atoshees smoking in the hall the day of my interview. My wife said, "No way." The school said they'd already paid for it. So my only other option was for them to pay me 300,000 more a month and I get my own place (it was a great job with sorry housing). So I got my own place. Now I'm fighting with the owner of my place to fulfill the contract and install A/C like he promised. A poor farmer who sold his land and banked it all. Put coal up his arse and you'd be in the diamond business. In K-land, screwed either way.
A contract is a Led Zeppelin if you are a foreigner, but just a Fall leaf if you are a Native.
That's my rant.