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jw.duston
Joined: 07 Jun 2012
Location: On my way there
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 Posted: Mon Aug 20, 2012 5:24 am Post subject: How to ask our school... |
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Here is the quick and dirty of our situation:
We have our contract set up for us starting the 17th of September.
Our school told us that our apartment would be open for us the 12th.
We planned on getting there on the 4th and visiting a friend in a near by city in the next province over.
The school has changed this and they want us to move in the 16th because the other teacher will still be there.
We want to see the town we will be living in for a few days before we start work and get our things together but we cannot personally afford a hotel for too long. Also we did not want to burden our friend by staying at his place too long either.
How can we still get out there on our originally planned date?
We were wondering if asking the school to cover a hotel might be a good idea and if so how do we ask them/tell them?
We are just hoping for a best case scenerio, we may just push back our departure from the states but looking to avoid that.
Thanks in advance. |
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PatrickGHBusan
Joined: 24 Jun 2008
Location: Busan (1997-2008) Canada 2008 -
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| Posted: Mon Aug 20, 2012 5:30 am Post subject: |
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| Unless the school requests that you guys be there earlier than the 16th they are not likely to pay for your hotel charges if you choose to arrive early. This is too bad but you may need to change your plans. You could also consider renting a room in a yogwan-motel as you could get pretty cheap rates as opposed to a hotel. |
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YTMND
Joined: 16 Jan 2012
Location: You're the man now dog!!
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| Posted: Mon Aug 20, 2012 6:06 am Post subject: |
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| Here is the quick and dirty of our situation: |
| Quote: |
| because the other teacher will still be there. |
It might seem like a lot upfront, but here is a school telling 2 people to wait until a teacher (are there 2 living there also?) leaves. This indicates the school is a good one and is not going to just kick the teacher out. I have had public school jobs that wanted me out the same day my contract ended.
You could place an ad in the buy/sell area and see if someone has a place for a week and can lower the price. Usually it's 30,000-40,000/night. If you can't spend 100,000 to stay somewhere, how are you going to buy things in the city?
Even if you go to Seoul, you don't need to spend that many days to get an idea of your surroundings. In Korea, it's basically the same layout. You'll just be seeing the same stores near different stations by the second or third day. When you are looking for places like Costco or E-Mart, then you'll better off using the internet and asking people instead of searching for them on your own. You'll know exactly where to go.
Second idea is to find people in the area you are moving to. My first hagwon didn't want to get me a place until I got there. I lived with the owner's family for a week, and then we found an apartment. Perhaps the school can arrange something like that or you can meet a Korean. Check out www.hanlingo.com
That's the only site I know of that has Koreans. There is a "teach me for a free meal" type of thing going on, so maybe you can both teach and instead of using your money for food, you use it for hotel expenses and teach Koreans for food. As a bonus, you'll learn about Korean cuisine and know how to order some dishes.
Oh, there's one last resort. This is more for travelers who get stuck at night without any transportation. They have "PC bangs" which are computer rooms, and they are usually 24/7. I have stayed several nights at those places and even slept at the computer 
Sleep in on one day until noon, leave and stay up all night at a PC bang, visit some places before noon the next day. Then, check into a 35,000 motel, shower and clean up, and then you have until noon the next day to leave (shower and clean up before you leave!!). You just saved 1 day of motel expenses and you can continue doing that to cut your expenses in half 
If you have a lot of luggage and don't want to carry it all around, you might be able to store your stuff with the school and just bring what you need until the move in date. Or, man I'm full of ideas tonight, pack the stuff up and then have your friend ship it to your school 2 days before you move in. |
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luckylady
Joined: 30 Jan 2012
Location: u.s. of occupied territories
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| Posted: Mon Aug 20, 2012 10:23 am Post subject: Re: How to ask our school... |
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| jw.duston wrote: |
Here is the quick and dirty of our situation:
We have our contract set up for us starting the 17th of September.
Our school told us that our apartment would be open for us the 12th.
We planned on getting there on the 4th and visiting a friend in a near by city in the next province over.
The school has changed this and they want us to move in the 16th because the other teacher will still be there.
We want to see the town we will be living in for a few days before we start work and get our things together but we cannot personally afford a hotel for too long. Also we did not want to burden our friend by staying at his place too long either.
How can we still get out there on our originally planned date?
We were wondering if asking the school to cover a hotel might be a good idea and if so how do we ask them/tell them?
We are just hoping for a best case scenerio, we may just push back our departure from the states but looking to avoid that.
Thanks in advance. |
there's actually several options you can consider - and perhaps visit your friend first, to get your bearings, although if you are coming from the Western hemisphere, a hotel might be a better option just for the first 2 nites to get your time bearings situated (if you've not flown so far before).
there's WOOF, World Wide Oppotunities on Organic Farms, here's the link for S. Korea
http://koreawwoof.com/
there's templestay, which offers a wide range of various temples you can stay in, check out duties first to avoid misunderstandings of what is expected:
http://eng.templestay.com/
you might also consider flying over to SE Asia and jaunting around Vietnam and/or Thailand and/or Cambodia - you can really see a lot for a week or 2 before coming in - get your chops wet for what's in store and as an added plus, Korea will look even better after a few days in the Cambodian bush
cheers! |
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viciousdinosaur
Joined: 30 Apr 2012
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| Posted: Mon Aug 20, 2012 1:52 pm Post subject: |
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I'm surprised no one mentioned the obvious. Goshitel. It's basically a box. It's pretty-much the filthiest place on earth, but it's cheap.
However, if I were you I would just move the flight. There's nothing to really see in Korea. They have on style of apartment that looks like some communist throw, repeated ad nauseum across the whole country. You'll have plenty of time to see your friends later. |
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YTMND
Joined: 16 Jan 2012
Location: You're the man now dog!!
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| Posted: Mon Aug 20, 2012 3:01 pm Post subject: |
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| I'm surprised no one mentioned the obvious. Goshitel. It's basically a box. It's pretty-much the filthiest place on earth, but it's cheap. |
I think you meant "Jjimjilbang" http://wiki.galbijim.com/Jjimjilbang
"For 6,000-10,000 Won, one can sleep overnight there and enjoy the bathhouse and sauna, and wake up fresh and ready to travel the next morning."
I thought the bathhouse/sauna places were called something else (온천 oncheon) and that a Jjimjilbang was a big room where people slept. That's why I avoided them. But from photos I see now, it looks like you can get private rooms, is that correct?
A goshiwon or goshitel will cost you about 200 and up a month. It's cheap, but if you don't need to stay a month in one then there are probably cheaper alternatives. And there is no way 2 people could stay in one. The bed goes under the desk.
When I moved out of mine, the lady got upset because she thought I was going to stay a whole year instead of just a month. She tried to get more money from me by saying I owed a fine for not giving her a previous key to another room which I know I did. If she really thought I owed it, then why not ask for it when I paid moving in? (I initially was given a key to another room but decided to move in a week later, so she gave it to another person.) They often don't take foreigners altogether and make up excuses that foreigners will burn the place down. |
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viciousdinosaur
Joined: 30 Apr 2012
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| Posted: Mon Aug 20, 2012 3:55 pm Post subject: |
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No I meant goshitel. I think I know the difference between a sauna and temporary accommodation place.
The one I stayed at was the filthiest place I had ever been to. I think I was more dirty after using the shower than before it. They didn't give me any grief about time limit or being foreign. But I'm nice and speak Korean. |
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YTMND
Joined: 16 Jan 2012
Location: You're the man now dog!!
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| Posted: Mon Aug 20, 2012 4:32 pm Post subject: |
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| viciousdinosaur wrote: |
No I meant goshitel. I think I know the difference between a sauna and temporary accommodation place.
The one I stayed at was the filthiest place I had ever been to. I think I was more dirty after using the shower than before it. They didn't give me any grief about time limit or being foreign. But I'm nice and speak Korean. |
Did it specifically say goshitel on the front of the building? The one I stayed at looked exactly like a goshiwon and they wanted monthly rent (which was what I was aiming for anyway, I only knew goshiwon at the time).
http://malaysia.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20110516230917AAAdAeD
"고시원(Goshiwon), Livingtel, and 고시텔(Goshitel) are basically the same thing. The Goshitel might be slightly larger and have nicer furnishings/be cleaner .. but maybe not as well. So I wouldn't really think of the two as seperate. They are best for a short stay. I stayed in a Goshiwon for a year from last to this year and each time I came to Korea visiting before I moved to Korea I stayed in one. (I just moved into an Officetel, which is basically like a cheap apartment as I had to put a down payment of 1,000$ just to move in). ---"
So, I don't think the kind of place you and I stayed at was called a goshitel. I also stayed at a cheap place with no sauna or anything. They only charged me 15,000 and I only crashed for a few hours and got the heck out when I woke up the next morning and realized the hell hole I was in. It was really dirty. |
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JustinC
Joined: 10 Mar 2012
Location: We Are The World!
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| Posted: Mon Aug 20, 2012 4:39 pm Post subject: |
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| Just use the time to visit Korea! Stay in motels, hostels and couch surf. You won't have a better opportunity in all likelihood. |
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YTMND
Joined: 16 Jan 2012
Location: You're the man now dog!!
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| Posted: Mon Aug 20, 2012 4:43 pm Post subject: |
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Here's a goshitel, http://blog.naver.com/damoa365com?Redirect=Log&logNo=130142749563
Very similar to a goshiwon. Some are a little more expensive and give you a little more space. Again, these are monthly arrangements, I don't see any daily goshiwons or goshitels that operate like motels/hotels. |
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luckylady
Joined: 30 Jan 2012
Location: u.s. of occupied territories
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| Posted: Mon Aug 20, 2012 7:02 pm Post subject: |
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| viciousdinosaur wrote: |
I'm surprised no one mentioned the obvious. Goshitel. It's basically a box. It's pretty-much the filthiest place on earth, but it's cheap.
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didn't mention it because it's a bit harsh for first-timers.
as for dirty, it all depends on the place, I've stayed in some very nice ones but yes, have seen the nasty ones too while out looking. |
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YTMND
Joined: 16 Jan 2012
Location: You're the man now dog!!
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| Posted: Mon Aug 20, 2012 9:46 pm Post subject: |
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| have seen the nasty ones too |
Do you mean nasty places in general, or were they specifically called "goshitel"? I can't find anything online to indicate goshiwons or goshitels are anything near as nasty as what I saw at one place. |
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viciousdinosaur
Joined: 30 Apr 2012
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| Posted: Tue Aug 21, 2012 12:46 am Post subject: |
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| YTMND: you're just a real pain in the butt, aren't you? If I said I stayed a goshitel/goshiwon for a week and it was cheap, and it was dirty, then that's how it was. Why would I lie about something so friggin trivial as that? It's real. It happened. Maybe I am just crushing your world view on goshiwons right now. But that's not my problem. Get over it dude. You act like your the president of the goshitel lobby group of Korea. |
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PatrickGHBusan
Joined: 24 Jun 2008
Location: Busan (1997-2008) Canada 2008 -
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| Posted: Tue Aug 21, 2012 3:32 am Post subject: |
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| viciousdinosaur wrote: |
I'm surprised no one mentioned the obvious. Goshitel. It's basically a box. It's pretty-much the filthiest place on earth, but it's cheap.
However, if I were you I would just move the flight. There's nothing to really see in Korea. They have on style of apartment that looks like some communist throw, repeated ad nauseum across the whole country. You'll have plenty of time to see your friends later. |
I would not recomment Goshitels to newbies.
As for the bolded part, OP please do not confuse viciousdinosaur's personal opinions with some sort of universal conclusion on Korea. I would say it could be a great idea to arrive early and get to know your area before you start working. As for Korea itself, contrary to what dino says, Korea has lots of things to offer in terms of sites and places to go. Up to you to decide if you like them OP. |
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Son Deureo!
Joined: 30 Apr 2003
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| Posted: Tue Aug 21, 2012 5:36 am Post subject: |
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I can't see any reason to expect your boss to pay for your living expenses for almost 2 weeks before you've even started working for him yet. As others have said, it's a good thing that your boss-to-be isn't trying to get your predecessor to move out early to accommodate you, it means you don't have to expect him to pull the same thing on you at the end of your year. The good news is that hotels here aren't that expensive here, especially if you have someone to split the costs with. Outside of Seoul, it's generally pretty easy to find decent love motels for W30-40,000 a night, and if you're standards are low enough for some of the cheaper places (like yeogwans and yeoinsuks) you could spend even as little as W15-25,000 a night. In Seoul, add about W10,000 a night to those prices. Lonely Planet Korea will usually have some decent suggestions, and if you post in Off-Topic or the Travel forum you can probably get some good suggestions from members on this board as well.
I think taking a couple weeks to learn a bit about your new hometown and explore a bit of Korea before you start teaching is a great idea, and early September is a great time to do it. The weather is great here then, and peak travel season is over so it'll be easier to find cheap places to stay.
You're probably bringing over as much as you can, on your flight into Korea, and you'll probably want to travel about lighter during a two week tour of Korea. Asking your boss or co-workers to be to hold onto a couple of bags for two weeks before you start working is a small favor that probably wouldn't be a big deal.
Good luck, and welcome to Korea. |
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