Korean Job Discussion Forums

[BaldTeacher]

If an apartment is 14 pyeong gross and 12 pyeong net, is it fairly spacious? I know it's not going to be a palace, but as far as teachers apartments go is it okay? I have an offer from another job that's offering a 23 pyeong apartment, but this job doesn't pay pension.

All I know is that my last apartment was like a prison cell. Matter of fact, there are prison cells that are nicer.

[nukeday]

12 pyeong was the most i ever had. definitely enough space. i think i'm in 10 now, but as it's "built in" (washer under the stove, lots of closet space, etc) that's still fine for me.

i probably could've thrown a sofa or loveseat into the 12 pyeong place. definitely couldnt do that now.

[jrwhite82]

23 pyeong would be really big for one person (in Korea).

They are kind of required to pay pension by law. But that's a whole other can of worms to get in to.

[NYC_Gal 2.0]

My place is 14 pyeong (not sure about gross or net) and has more than enough room. It has a lot to do with storage. My place has a lot of closets and cabinets, so I don't have to clutter it up with clothing and stuff.

I had a friend stay at mine for 3 weeks in the summer. She slept on a yo on the floor. It wasn't too tight a space.

[BaldTeacher]

Thanks for the info everyone, that's good to know. It's in Busan too, so that's a plus.

The 23-pyeong one is in Ulsan. Do you think that 23 pyeong is worth no pension? Getting no pension seems a little sketchy to me.

Damn, if 12 pyeong is a good size, my last apartment must have been like 6 pyeong.

[sheriffadam]

1 pyeong is equal to 3.3M� so you can now go do some maths/measurements and decide

[jrwhite82]

Think of a pyeong as a little bigger than a 3 square meters. So a 12 pyeong apartment would be roughly equal to 40 square meters. Or in the US a 24'x15' room. But many apartments count public space into that equation. So its not just floor space. Your closests and counter surfaces are all counted in. Some places even count the size of the elevator and stuff like that.

[interestedinhanguk]

Remember, bigger apartment=higher utility bills. Spacious is fine, but do you really want to pay to heat/cool unneeded space?

[jlee83]

I wouldn't call 12 pyeongs "spacious" but it definitely won't be a shoebox. It will be big enough for most people.

Most teachers here in Korea will be given 7-9 pyeong housing (especially in Seoul), unless they can find their own place.

[swashbuckler]

[Lazio]

Whatever size the real estate agent or the landlord tell you, you should not believe that.
I have no idea how big our apartment is on papers but when we moved in I took a measuring tape and checked it myself. It's about 13 pyeong. If that's the actual size, it's pretty enough. We live there with my wife and there is enough space. We have 2 bedrooms (one is kinda small, just a queen size bed a computer and a medium sized plant) and a decent sized area which is the kitchen/living room (around 18-19 square meters)
For one person it's plenty.
My wife's friend has a villa apartment and I asked her how big it is. She said it's 25 pyeong. So it should be double than ours, although when I look at the place and compare with mine, I would say it's around 15 pyeong. 18 at most.

[jrwhite82]

The space counts your bathroom space, all your built in closests, and they some how factor in common space like elevators and lobbies and stuff.

[definitely maybe]

[jrwhite82]

LOL! Some apartments are the same size as a parking space almost.