Korean Job Discussion Forums

[tzechuk]

[ilovebdt]

I have heard of some strange things going on at UK boarding schools, but never heard about pairing your socks up with safety pins.

[morituri]

LOL... Mori.. poor you, which boarding school did you go to?
ours didn't tell us to do that.

I put socks in those laundry mesh bags, this way they are not lost.

Ardingly. Undistinguished boys only school in Sussex, emphasis on chapel, rugger and cold showers. Dormitory the size of a large classroom had 50 beds in it, spaced 18" apart. More people joined the army or became estate agents than went to university in my year. Wierder stuff too but don't want to badmouth my old school. If you think safety pins are funny, try explaining to a school laundry matron what skid marks are.

Chief Hag: Erh, X, have you got a minute?
X: Yes matron. What can I do you for?
CH: What is the meaning of these stains. Holds up offending underpants.
X: They're skid marks Matron, you know, as in vroom vroom driving a Ferrari, swerve to avoid hitting a deer in the headlghts, Happens to the best people.
CH: Skid marks? well it must have been a very large deer. (holds up offending item for all to see) Are you quite sure it was a deer?
X: Well Matron this sort of thing could happen to anyone, y'know.
CH: (waves offending article in the air like the Union Jack) DEER in the headlights?
X: Erh, Yes I see what you mean. (Very hopeful) Erh moose? caribou? wildebeest? hartebeast? gnu? (desperate now) Nessie? beached whale? Moby? Godzilla? Aliens from outer space with zap guns?

[Swiss James]

please don't tell me they did for every stain they found on your underwear?

[morituri]

Swiss James asked:

please don't tell me they did for every stain they found on your underwear?

No once was enough.

[Flossie]

LOOKING FOR APARTMENTS:

If you're going to look for your own apartment: visit your final selection at varying times of the day or night before you sign the contract.

Scope out the area for schools, kindergartens, �����, blue bongo vans with lots of eggs, fish, fruit, vegies, etc in the back, bars or noraebangs within hearing distance, parks or spaces where people can play basketball till 3am while drinking and yelling, construction sites or buildings that look like they should be pulled down (chances are they will be and then you have a construction site), music hakwons, churches. If you can find a place with none of these within a 200 metre radius and for a decent price, take it!! (Actually, better yet, call me, and I'll take it!!! )Any of the aforementioned within hearing distance is just going to be a source of grievance when you want a sleepin and everyone else wants to make noise.

Don't take an apartment in the basement (too moldy and smelly), or in the first/ground floor (too noisy), next to the laundry room (too noisy), next to the elevator/stairs/water cooler (too noisy). Aim for the top floor and a room with a view.

Make sure your apartment has an airconditioner (that works!!) and heating (preferably underfloor). Make sure the water heater control is inside your room (to prevent mad dashes down the hall in your unmentionables so that you can have a shower in the morning)

Try to get a contract that includes all maintenance, etc. Many contracts don't include management fees, garbage costs, and lots of other bits and pieces. Find out about all the costs (fixed and otherwise) before you sign up.

If you are new to the country or can't speak Korean try to find a place near a subway station or major landmark. That way you can give the cab driver easy directions to get home.

Rooms with balconies (no matter how small) are great as you get extra storage. Using that space and the space under your bed really 'de-clutters' your room, so make sure your suitcase is not too fat (about 6 inches deep will fit under most beds)

[JongnoGuru]

[kermo]

[Grotto]

Bugs, or more specifically ants. Those little pests that form lines on your apartment walls and march in formation to your garbage or any peice of food left out.

At any pharmacy and most grocery stores you can get a spray container of powerful ant poison. Spray the areas around the molding, outlets, doorways, windows and any other places that you see the little buggers climbing in and you will have an ant free apartment in as little as a month.

Repeat spraying about once a month whether you think you need it or not and remain pest free!

[kermo]

[morituri]

JongnoGuru wrote:
Yes, by all means, move in before the existing tenants have physically moved out. Highly recommended. You'll be much better positioned to monitor the existing tenants for signs of surliness because, you know, they're probably fake-smiling when you just drop in to inspect the place. It's best to actually live with them for a while, because they can't keep up that "we're so happy with our landlord and this lovely apartment" act 24/7. But if they do, then I'd say you're safe and can go ahead and sign that rental contract.

Sorry about that. I meant to write: don't chose an apartment whose lease has already run out, so the tenants have left.

Roaches: Actually, the comment was not tongue in cheek. I think the company was called Cesco, they advertise on TV: ww.cesco.co.kr. tel: 1588-1119, rats, ants, roaches all eliminated.

Rule of thumb for rent: to get an idea of what you are getting for your money when you rent or buy a house: A house which costs say 100 milion W can be rented out at cheonse for half the house price, or 50 million W refundable deposit, no rent. This can be converted into rent by taking the monthly rent and multiplying by 100, then subtracting from the cheonse deposit: so a flat is is being rented at 50 million W cheonse (upfront deposit refundable after lease ends, no rent payable) can be rented out at 100 thousand W p/m and 40 million deposit, or 400 thousand W p/m and 10 million deposit. In busy neighbourhoods the chonse price has increased to almost 2/3 of the house price.

It is a better idea in general to look for a good flat in an un-posh neighborhood than vice versa. Some areas like Hyoja-dong have distorted prices because of the good schools there, other places like the strip running down the hill from the Hyatt to near Noksapyong are cheap because it is difficult to park and it is so hilly. The area behind the Mosque is also dirt cheap, with cheonse averaging half the rates of Hongdae, but that may be because of the 'vibes'. [/i]

[teachingld2004]

Buy an electric jug for boiling water. I was against this for 4 years. Thought it was rediculous. I had a teapot on the stove. why an electric jug?

Well, they cost less then 20,000 won. They boil water vary fast. AND...they shut off when the water is boiled. I know I have had "one too many" and forgot I had on a tea pot boiling water.

Yes, i have kept food scraps in a zip loc in the freezer. Yes I have used a sqegie (spelling) for drying the bathroom floor. They also sell these towels" dont know what they are called, micro fiber, that dries anything (including your hair) very fast.

Do NOT drink soju while you are cooking. You know why.

If you have a door that you get into by pressing a code, please keep a key with you. Firiend had the batteries die and had to pay a locksmith change the lock t get in to his apt.

Get a "Tmoney" card/ Saves you from digging out change, or going on line for a ticket.

Xerox all your important papers, passport, alien card, drivers lisence, in case you loose something and have to get a copy.

Always keep a korean friends number on you in case u have to call them to translate.

Learn to read korean. Learning the language is hard for me, but reading is not. Handy when I have to read the signs waiting for a bus.

Nest thread I have seen in a long time. Hope it keeps going.

[Ya-ta Boy]

If you teach split shifts, don't take an apt across the street from an elementary school. The school watches for you to come home for your nap and then sends the kids out for recess.

[Ya-ta Boy]

Do not order frozen peas over the internet just before Chusok. They will arrive on the first day of the holiday and sit in the post office till it opens three days later. The peas will no longer be frozen. They will also no longer be edible. Hence the question about which brand of Korean peas are not used for target practice.


Otherwise grocerymall.net in Jinju is a good place to order imported food. The guy will search all over Korea for the food you want. There is another online food place, but I don't know the address.

[Demonicat]

Generally relax about the small stuff. Wallpaper, smells, stains, etc. landlords generally don;t care so much as its cheap to fix- should an accident happen. Just relax.