Korean Job Discussion Forums

[chungbukdo]

I mean with regard to possessions.

First there are space limits. I mean my family of 3 (me, Mom, and Dad) had 5 tvs because you just have to put something in each room. My girlfriend's family has just one, because there isn't even a hallway in their apartment basically everything leads into the living room directly.

Secondly, living in Korea or being an English teacher insentivizes you to keep your possessions to a total of two large suitcases plus a carry on because that's all the airlines allow.

You also have to contend with moving without your own car (unless you want to hire a moving company). I moved across Seoul once and I just put my suitcases in the back of a cab and I was done. I could have taken the subway if my house wasn't up a big hill.

If you go on a long vacation after ending a contract, you lose your housing. So you have to keep your possessions small enough so that they can be thrown in your suitcase and put in a friends closet.

Lastly, the culture here (for most families) just seems a bit different. Like they would rather throw something away than have it clutter up their living space. My Mom has a garage full of junk at her place back home and she will *maybe* go back and use 1% of it once a year, like Christmas decorations or something.

[Zackback]

Travelling has simplified my life.
One thing I do miss not being able to bring everywhere are all my books.

[chungbukdo]

Well now you can thanks to Amazon

[marsavalanche]

I lived in Tokyo before Seoul (you think your space is small in Seoul, try Tokyo) and New York city before that. I haven't had the luxury of having a big place since high school. Most of my things can fit in one bag, the rest are possessions I'd rather just buy in my new destination rather than hassling with hauling junk around like a pack rat.

[weso1]

Yes. very.

When I moved to uni from my parents house, it took an entire moving truck plus my car and my moms car loaded to the brim to get all my crap there.

When I moved from uni back to moms after graduation, it took just a moving truck.

When I moved from moms to my first apartment in the states, it took two trips in my mid size suv.

When I moved from my apartment to Korea it took 2 suitcases packed full.

When I moved from my first apartment in Korea to my second, it took one and half suitcases.

When I moved again, it took one suitcase.

My most recent move was a standard backpack and a box.

I think by the time I get back to the states, I should be able to fit everything in one of those "man purses."

[Squire]

^ Quite a dramatic change there. I had the same streamlining process as I switched flats every year at uni. I had a full car load when I first left home, but after the 4 years all the crap shrunk right down until it fit comfortably in the boot (or what ever North Americans call the storage space in the back of a car). The dream is to move overseas carrying everything in my pockets

I'm not sure if I count as a minimalist. I don't have a phone or TV and haven't for 5 months, and I came here with one 30kg suitcase and some handluggage. I live with fairly basic essentials and don't buy new stuff very often (my ipod is almost 5 years old) but I seem to hang onto clutter I don't need because I hate throwing things away. The test will be to see if I take another suitcase with me when I leave!

[carleverson]

Korea has made more thankful for what I have in America.

[Milwaukiedave]

Absolutely yes! We just moved and got rid of so much junk. Our new place is about the same size as the old place, but set up very differently (more western actually). Our new place has actual clothes closets, not the Korean style ones. The first couple weeks we struggled to find places for things, but since then have done ok.

[akcrono]

[happiness]

yes. in fact, i really one have 3 kinds of things:

my guitars
my books
my clothes

everything else is borrowed or can be thrown away.

[Squire]

[PeteJB]

The digital age has really improved my life when it comes to how much space I need in the places I live. No more need for tonnes of VHS/DVD/CD storage space. Books, well, not sure about those... Never been much of a big reader and I could never sit down to read a book on a screen - It has to be paper.

[Lolimahro]

In some ways yes, in others no.

Minimalist tendencies in our Korean household include: not having a bed (we sleep on the floor) for 2 years, or a microwave, or getting a new TV (even though we seem to be the last people in Korea with a tube TV), not getting a land-line telephone and other stuff. We have a table with two chairs and a high chair; that's it. We have a cheap gmarket desk and get our bookshelves for free off of people who are leaving. In my 2 years here, I've bought one wardrobe and one sofa bed and one kitchen cabinet and that's it for large furniture that can't be broken down and disassembled.

Things I am always hesitant to get rid of, even though they won't be used for awhile: clothing, especially maternity and infant clothing, pretty much any thing for infant care (bottles, creams, medications, etc.), expensive hard-to find daily-use items that friends bring us from the U.S. such as prenatal supplements, deodrant, coffee...and we have tons and tons of reusable grocery bags, shoes and coats and clothes for every season, etc. So most of our space is taken up with clothing storage, strollers, and baby/maternity stuff. These are things I would just give away if I were in the U.S. and then re-purchase them at garage sales if I happened to get pregnant again. Some things are just too hard to find or expensive to replace to compel me to ditch them.

But in terms of actual living space, we are satisfied with less, and we are ok with sitting on the floor and sleeping on the floor if we have to.

[Lolimahro]

In some ways yes, in others no.

Minimalist tendencies in our Korean household include: not having a bed (we sleep on the floor) for 2 years, or a microwave, or getting a new TV (even though we seem to be the last people in Korea with a tube TV), not getting a land-line telephone and other stuff. We have a table with two chairs and a high chair; that's it. We have a cheap gmarket desk and get our bookshelves for free off of people who are leaving. In my 2 years here, I've bought one wardrobe and one sofa bed and one kitchen cabinet and that's it for large furniture that can't be broken down and disassembled.

Things I am always hesitant to get rid of, even though they won't be used for awhile: clothing, especially maternity and infant clothing, pretty much any thing for infant care (bottles, creams, medications, etc.), expensive hard-to find daily-use items that friends bring us from the U.S. such as prenatal supplements, deodrant, coffee...and we have tons and tons of reusable grocery bags, shoes and coats and clothes for every season, etc. So most of our space is taken up with clothing storage, strollers, and baby/maternity stuff. These are things I would just give away if I were in the U.S. and then re-purchase them at garage sales if I happened to get pregnant again. Some things are just too hard to find or expensive to replace to compel me to ditch them.

But in terms of actual living space, we are satisfied with less, and we are ok with sitting on the floor and sleeping on the floor if we have to.

[DejaVu]

It has done the opposite. I have always thought of myself as a minimalist.

However, with these paychecks (and now requiring things to make me feel like I'm still alive), I have made too many large purchases as of late.