Korean Job Discussion Forums

[UCLAgirl]

Does anyone here have experience living in a shared apartment? I am about to interview with a school offering a shared apartment with 4 people total, two people in each room. It would be 2 guys and 2 girls including me. I always wanted my own place but I could see how that can maybe get lonely, although the idea of sharing a room drives me a little crazy after coming out of living with a roommate for 4 years in college...Any thoughts?

[prideofidaho]

There is no way I would share an apartment. Even in cramped Seoul, public schools and private hogwans alike provide housing / or give money in-lieu of a house. Sounds to me like like they are trying to save a bunch of money.

Also, the sizes of apartments are tiny enough....sharing a bedroom, yikes!

[Grantasmagoria]

Ugh, dont' do it. You'll be living with complete strangers and you're not 9 years old. Tell them to pony up the cash or look elsewhere for a job.

[AussieGav]

I couldnt agree more with those responses. Not only sharing a house but also a room ....... forget it.

[Cerulean]

I've never heard of this before. I shared a place years ago but had my own bedroom at least. I wouldn't do it again. I would suggest you say no and find something else.

[TheUrbanMyth]

[tired of LA]

There's no way you should share an apartment, much less a bedroom. The standard offer is your own apartment. Apartments should not be shared unless it is something you requested (if you are coming as a couple or with friends). I wouldn't even interview with the hagwon if they told me about sharing an apartment before I even interviewed.

Sharing an apartment in Korea with someone I don't know isn't something I would be willing to risk. Even though I have met some great people here, there also seems to have a lot of sketchy wack-jobs around. My advice would be to move on and keep looking.

[lifeinkorea]

I stayed at a small house with 2 other Koreans in exchange for the hagwon owner paying all the bills. They left in December, and I had 2 months to a house (until a family decided to move in and throw my stuff out ). After that, the hagwon owner didn't want to get me an apartment because I was 4-5 months into my contract.

I am afraid you are likely to end up experiencing something similar, or even worse since there are 4 people. When can people shower? When do they sleep if the shifts are spread out?

I would only share it with one other person so long as we both got our own room. There would also have to be some incentive in the contract (less hours, more vacation time, roommate allowance, something).

However, for 2 couples, this might be an ideal thing.

[AgentM]

[UCLAgirl]

thanks for the responses. well i already agreed to interview so i guess i will at least talk to them. i just looked at pictures of the apartment and roommates and it looks big and nice and fun, but i really do want my own place...it was kind of comforting to know that id have people i could talk to going into it, but ill see what other options i get...

[UCLAgirl]

P.S...should i even bother asking about a single apartment?

[DrugstoreCowgirl]

There are plenty of jobs in Korea where you get your own apartment, I would not even bother with this one.

[UCLAgirl]

whoa wait. just found out that it's 4 bed room, not 2. so i WOULD get my own room....

[halfmanhalfbiscuit]

4 becomes how many at the weekend or through the week? Beget that.

[Grantasmagoria]

Do you want to live with the people you work with? They might be really cool but drama is inevitable.