Korean Job Discussion Forums

[curiousaboutkorea]

Simple question I'm trying to figure out. How common is hot water here? As in, does your hagwon have a working water heater? It seems like some hagwons don't provide it. I knew it's not in subway stations etc, but hagwons not having it surprised me.

[Rusty Shackleford]

There's no hot water anywhere in the main building of my public school. A building that houses over 1000 people at any time. Not one drop of hot water.

[curiousaboutkorea]

I just remembered that having hot water costs the owner money.... Never mind...

[cruisemonkey]

My school has two, 250 gallon electric water heaters hooked into the classroom heating system. They both work... but sometime in the '70s/early '80s a K 'tradesman' 'Mickey Moused' steel pipes to the outlets (for those not in the loop, steel is less expensive than copper... and it rusts).

Water goes in, it gets hot ... then it pisses out down the drain. For three winters I've watched four guys in bad suits standing in a cloud of steam smoking cigarettes arguing about/discussing the 'problem'. The solution seems to be not to fix it, but to turn it off. This makes economic sense. As long as the staff room is heated I figure it would be unwise to 'rock the boat'.

I'm secure in the knowledge my laughter is misinterpreted... and even if they could get water to where it should be, some K will just whip open the windows anyway.

[roadballmint]

I voted "sometimes", but I think "I'm not sure" would be a more appropriate answer. Allegedly our hot water was rerouted to the kitchen so the cooks would be able to wash the dishes with hot water, but every time I wash my own bowl the water is freezing cold.

I'm with cruisemonkey- as long as the staffroom and classrooms are heated I can put up with washing my hands in cold water a few times a day. I'm sure most hagwons have water heaters, but as you observed, turning them on can cost hundreds- maybe even thousands- of won per day (gasp)!

[Gillian57]

Mine is a special foreign language high school and it doesn't have hot water. Yikes. I would hate to be the students living in the dorms. I have asked them if they have hot water and they say it is somewhat warm, but not hot at all..... they often complain about having to take showers in the winter. They don't mind luke-warm showers in the summer, but they do dislike luke-warm showers in the winter.....

[vk33]

blazing hot water and a shower in the basement. its great, but ive scalded myself once or twice from it being too hot.

[pocariboy73]

Hot water ONLY got turned on when the Mother came to see their kids for the open-class.

Dam Mothers and their dirty hands

[ontheway]