Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Milkman Dan]

I'll be finishing my contract in February, and I intend on going back home for some much deserved R&R before coming back in June to attend SNU's Korean language program.

I'm aware (In theory) of the process for apartment hunting in Korea, and I'll have all of the needed funds to cover everything. But there were a couple of concerns I have that I hope some of you know the answers to:

- How far in advance should I arrive in Korea before the beginning of the semester (Early June)?

- How much time do I need to find an apartment and be able to move in and get settled?

- When I first arrive, where should I live? Would a love motel, hostel, or goshiwan be the best option? I guess this depends on how long it'll take to find a place and move in...

- What are some decent / affordable places relatively close to the SNU campus? I know that Sillim and Nokdu are pretty popular with the student population, but I don't know anything about it.

[Weigookin74]

You should find a neighborhood bu dong san (부동산). They are the rental agency. You should probably come a couple of weeks before hand. If you have no place to stay and have a credit card, use this site for temporary accomodation. www.hotelwide.com (This site can be used for those outside of Seoul looking to visit and avoid love motels.) If you know some basic Korean, go to Naver.com and type 서울 원룸 or 서울부동산 or if you want a specific area, like Sillim, type 실림 부동산. Naver is helpful for finding info and often has a map that shows you how to get there. But you have to know some Korean to use it. Hope that helps.

[Weigookin74]

For example, found this using the Naver search engine.

http://oneroom8949.net/

Many more there too.

[Weigookin74]

When viewing these sites, make note of this 전 is jeonse. It means a large one time deposit and no monthly rent. 월 is weolse. It means a deposit and some monthly rent. The number are often listed in units of 10,000 because of Korean counting methods. For example, 월 1,000/38 is a deposit of 10,000,000 (1,000 x 10,000) and rent of 380,000 (38 x 10,000). Hope that helps.

[Cedar]

You'll mostly look at empty places, but if it's Friday when you sign the lease unless you have the deposit in your pocket it may be Monday before you can move in. Try a lot of 부동산 because some only specialize in higher ticket places.

[Weigookin74]

In Seoul be wary of going too low if you want to avoid a moldy paradise. New buildings are quite decent. I live in a new large one room in a regional city, which I paid my own deposit and it's quite nice. Built in 2008 and it has heat, insulation, and no mold. Also energy efficiency means low gas and electric bills. Despite the steriotype, some buildings in Korea are good. Just have to look for something built in the last 3 years. But if you want a loud party every night, these newer buildings might not be the place to go as these building owners will be more fussy about the type of tenet they lease to.

Don't know what you can afford, but you get what you pay for.

[aaron.southkorea]

As an FYI, I was able to get an apartment my first day back in Korea by negotiating with the Realtor and landlord. I had no key money yet but put down the first 2 months rent and promised that my school would get in touch with them in a week for key money.

This was in Itaewon using the Realtors near Noksapyeong.

Negotiate!