Korean Job Discussion Forums

[I_Am_Wrong]

I was told that the reason my utilities are really high is because in an office tel everyone who lives in the building shares the cost for the whole building. Is this correct? I haven't had the heat on for two months but I'm still being charged like 80,000 a month for it.

[Tiger Beer]

[patchy]

I've been wondering about that myself. I live in an officetel and I have noticed my utilities bill is quite high, although I don't like ondol and I hardly ever used it, although the gas was used to heat water as well (but I don't think I used that much hot water). I don't like officetels, I paid a lot of money for a cubbyhole of a place just because it was an 'officetel'. I have now found a "one room" place which has all the options (bed, fridge, cooker, desk, chair, closet, aircon) for 2/3 the price 260,000 W (the deposit money was also half of what I paid for the officetel), and it's bigger too, and just as clean. If you only need something small, ask around for a "one room". There are even realtors who list only "one room"s. I asked before I got the new place if I had to pay much if I didn't use ondol, and the answer was no, so I assume the bill is not shared there. So if you ask for one room, you will have more options.

[joe_doufu]

What is an officetel? I think I might be living in one. It's an office building where some of the offices are apartments, like mine.

I hate it, frankly. The office next to my flat is full of workaholics who are there (always with their door open) until midnight, and they can see me coming and going. And if I want to take my garbage out, I have to carry the stinky garbage bags on the elevator full of businessmen in suits. The apartment itself is comfortable but it's just a weird way to live.

[mindmetoo]

My offictel has individual gas and power meters. Water costs I think are shared. This kind of shared cost thing creates what I call the Coworker Lunch Bill dilemma. You've probably been there before.

Ten of you go for lunch. You order the small salad and water. The guy at the end of the table orders steak and two beers. Someone says "oh lets just split the bill evenly..." You end up paying $12 for your salad and water. The guy ordering the steak and beers gets his $20 lunch for $12.

Game theory would imply your best option is to order the most expensive thing on the menu. More lobster? I think so...

So in your building you turn off every light, never use your a/c, avoid doing a lot of laundry, set your fridge to "keep milk curdle warm"... and the tutoring room next door is going 24/7... guess who gets their bill subsidized? So it's in your best interest to run your a/c 24/7 (starting in April), turn your fridge up to 11, run your washing machine if you got only 3 pieces of clothing in your hamper...

[pollyplummer]

I live in an officetel and my utilities have been running around 80,000/month. I assumed it was because I have a loft and one wall is completely made of glass. I guess I assumed that some of the heat/cool was escaping through there. I never thought for a moment that the bill was shared with the entire building. I'll have to ask about that...

[JongnoGuru]

Has anyone ever used an officetel as "part office" and "part hotel"?

Or am I the only one?

[pollyplummer]

Part office, part hotel? Care to elaborate? I've rented mine out on the weekends... does that count as part hotel?

[Jake E. Lee]

I am also paying approximately 90K won a month for maintenance + utilities for my officetel. Considering that I like my room, my building, and my neighborhood, I am happy with the arrangement. If you live in a "villa", an apartment, or an officetel, you gotta pay at least 20-30K won a month for maintenance (then add 30-60K won for utitilities).

[T-dot]

i think mine run around 150,000 a month. But, i believe that includes the utilities, fees for the guards and cleaning crews.

[JongnoGuru]

[princess]

What about gas bills? The heat is part of my gas bill in my apt. and in the winter my gas bills were running between 200-300,000 won per month. My Korean roommate was too stupid and lazy to get the gas company to check it out. My manager thinks something is wrong. Even now with no heat it was 62,000 last month. She thinks this is still too much. What's going on here? When I lived in Seoul I paid about 10,000 or even less with or without heat.

[ed4444]

I lived in an office tel in Busan and my bills were around 180.000 monthly.

I was angry so I investigated. It turned out that the bills were just equally split between each premises in the building.

The building included a Norebang, Cafe, Korean Buffet and a Room Salon among other things. So effectively I was paying a share of their bills seeing as I was only using a fraction of the electricity they would use.

In the end I just decided to put up with it seeing as I was 20 metres from the beach with a nice view of the sea from the 15th floor. It pays to be flexible in Korea.

[Derrek]

Yes, this is true.. the bills are often split.

The lions share of my bill comes from the darned 60,000 won "management fee" which is IN ADDITION to all of the other fees.

[JongnoGuru]