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amck
Joined: 17 Aug 2011
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 Posted: Sat Sep 24, 2011 5:22 am Post subject: Your house in Korea |
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Hi,
I'm just wondering what peoples housing is like while teaching in Korea? I just got photos of mine through and it looks quite small. Is this the norm?
Thanks |
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FastForward
Joined: 04 Jul 2011
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| Posted: Sat Sep 24, 2011 5:32 am Post subject: Re: Your house in Korea |
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| amck wrote: |
Hi,
I'm just wondering what peoples housing is like while teaching in Korea? I just got photos of mine through and it looks quite small. Is this the norm?
Thanks |
yes |
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amck
Joined: 17 Aug 2011
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| Posted: Sat Sep 24, 2011 5:33 am Post subject: |
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| thanks! |
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northway
Joined: 05 Jul 2010
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| Posted: Sat Sep 24, 2011 5:34 am Post subject: |
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| My first place was less than 100 square feet. |
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amck
Joined: 17 Aug 2011
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| Posted: Sat Sep 24, 2011 5:47 am Post subject: |
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| northway wrote: |
| My first place was less than 100 square feet. |
Right so it is the norm then. Wow that's small.
Suppose I won't really be in it that much so it doesn't really matter |
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northway
Joined: 05 Jul 2010
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| Posted: Sat Sep 24, 2011 6:00 am Post subject: |
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| amck wrote: |
| northway wrote: |
| My first place was less than 100 square feet. |
Right so it is the norm then. Wow that's small.
Suppose I won't really be in it that much so it doesn't really matter |
That was particularly awful, and definitely smaller than the standard, but the apartments do tend to be quite small. I live in a Seoul satellite city, and most of the people here have apartments around 200 square feet or larger, which is fairly livable. In Seoul you're more likely to get a closet. |
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PastorYoon
Joined: 25 Jun 2010
Location: Sea of Japan
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| Posted: Sat Sep 24, 2011 4:21 pm Post subject: |
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| There are no houses in Korea. Koreans don't know how to build houses. They only know how to build 20-story apartment buildings. |
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judoka
Joined: 30 Dec 2009
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| Posted: Sat Sep 24, 2011 7:46 pm Post subject: |
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| northway wrote: |
| amck wrote: |
| northway wrote: |
| My first place was less than 100 square feet. |
Right so it is the norm then. Wow that's small.
Suppose I won't really be in it that much so it doesn't really matter |
That was particularly awful, and definitely smaller than the standard, but the apartments do tend to be quite small. I live in a Seoul satellite city, and most of the people here have apartments around 200 square feet or larger, which is fairly livable. In Seoul you're more likely to get a closet. |
So the farther away you get from a big city, like Seoul and Busan, the bigger the apartments get? Bigger apartments are more important to me than living in a big city. What about smaller cities? Do they also have tiny apartments? |
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koreatimes
Joined: 07 Jun 2011
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| Posted: Sat Sep 24, 2011 9:44 pm Post subject: |
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| So the farther away you get from a big city, like Seoul and Busan, the bigger the apartments get? Bigger apartments are more important to me than living in a big city. What about smaller cities? Do they also have tiny apartments? |
There is no correlation. I have moved around so many times, and it's a complete mix. You might get a small house, where you share a room. This is not often, because in the contract it doesn't state this (but I did initially). Then you might get a small "villa" apartment as they call it, which is enough space to put your bed, a fridge, and walking space to the kitchen and bathroom. Get an officetel, and you will have a bigger "cube". It might have a loft area as well. This was definitely the best I have had.
Then there are the in betweens. Something that is built like an apartment, but not big enough so it is still probably considered a big villa apartment. In this case, I had a bigger kitchen, and it was separated from the living area. Instead of a cube, it was more rectangular and the bathroom and kitchen were not so close to each other.
I think the reason why people are fixated on the distance aspect is that if you are near a subway or train station/bus terminal, then you probably will have a smaller apartment. If you get an apartment between 2 major train stations, you'll probably get a bigger apartment.
It doesn't matter how close or far from Seoul, Beijing, Tokyo/Osaka you are. It matters who lives near you. That's why I take train, bus, and subway areas into consideration. |
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northway
Joined: 05 Jul 2010
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| Posted: Sun Sep 25, 2011 12:10 am Post subject: |
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Perhaps it's anecdotal, but everyone I've known who has lived in Seoul in a school apartment has gotten a shitbox, whereas most of the people I know who have lived outside have gotten pretty decent apartments (this being mostly Yongin, Suwon, and greater Anyang. That said, I've seen some shitboxes in the satellite cities as well.
I've heard that some people get sweet apartments with rural positions. Is this false? |
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koreatimes
Joined: 07 Jun 2011
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| Posted: Sun Sep 25, 2011 12:52 am Post subject: |
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| Quote: |
| I've heard that some people get sweet apartments with rural positions. Is this false? |
It's not that black and white. I lived out in Andong my first time. There were nice and crappy apartments. It's a mix as I said, but the better apartments were closer to the train station and bus routes.
In Pyeongtaek, same thing. In Bucheon, I had an officetel. Bucheon is not considered Seoul, but it is so close it might as well be a part of the greater Seoul area. My apartment there was quite nice. I had another job south of Uijeongbu, and my apartment was very small, but another teacher had a bigger apartment. Then, a Korean worker left, and the other teacher got to move into that one which was about twice as big (which was a problem for him because there was so much stuff in his apartment he collected over the years, moving out was a pain). By then, I had left to Pyeongtaek, so I was never offered the bigger apartment.
Sometimes you get a nice one, sometimes you don't. I don't think it is wise to make city/small rural/large assumptions though. You could be missing out on some good offers as it relates to living accommodations. |
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fustiancorduroy
Joined: 12 Jan 2007
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| Posted: Sun Sep 25, 2011 1:06 am Post subject: |
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My first apartment in Korea was a one room (원룸) apartment in Incheon. The apartment was in a fairly new building, so everything was clean and modern. I also liked that my window went from the floor to the ceiling, which gave the apartment kind of an open feeling. While the room was small, less than 200 square feet, I didn't mind since I was young and living alone. If you work in a bigger city, this is probably the kind of place you will get. If you work in smaller town, you might still get a place like this. Or you may get an actual house with a yard. It's really the luck of the draw.
These days, I live in my own apartment on Namsan with a great view of Seoul. The apartment is about 1,400 square feet and has three bedrooms, a large bathroom with a bathtub, a generously large kitchen with a dishwasher and full-sized oven, and a large living room with a tray ceiling and recessed lighting. If you stay here longer-term, you can work your way up to such an apartment. |
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amck
Joined: 17 Aug 2011
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| Posted: Sun Sep 25, 2011 1:45 am Post subject: |
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| fustiancorduroy, your place sounds amazing! I don't know if I'll be staying that long to get a placelike that |
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The Cosmic Hum
Joined: 09 May 2003
Location: Sonic Space
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| Posted: Sun Sep 25, 2011 5:01 am Post subject: |
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| fustiancorduroy wrote: |
My first apartment in Korea was a one room (원룸) apartment in Incheon. The apartment was in a fairly new building, so everything was clean and modern. I also liked that my window went from the floor to the ceiling, which gave the apartment kind of an open feeling. While the room was small, less than 200 square feet, I didn't mind since I was young and living alone. If you work in a bigger city, this is probably the kind of place you will get. If you work in smaller town, you might still get a place like this. Or you may get an actual house with a yard. It's really the luck of the draw.
These days, I live in my own apartment on Namsan with a great view of Seoul. The apartment is about 1,400 square feet and has three bedrooms, a large bathroom with a bathtub, a generously large kitchen with a dishwasher and full-sized oven, and a large living room with a tray ceiling and recessed lighting. If you stay here longer-term, you can work your way up to such an apartment. |
...when you say you live in your own apartment...do you mean you own it...renting it...living on your own...etc?
Sounds like a nice place. |
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Weigookin74
Joined: 26 Oct 2009
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| Posted: Sun Sep 25, 2011 6:09 pm Post subject: |
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| Nothing is gauranteed. A complete role of the dice. Some poor rural areas won't have a budget for key money. So, you the oldest dingiest crappiest one room this side of the Pacific. I'd say it might depend on how much money is budgeted from your POE. Seoul, you might end up with the same, but you get the benefit of living in Seoul. I currently live in a regional city and opted to get my own place and take the subsidy. (I put my own key money down for a modern and large one room. Much cheaper than Seoul for something similiar. No mold, low heating bills, insulation, etc.) |
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