Korean Job Discussion Forums

[miniD]

just started new job and moved into apartment. saw apartment before boss signed lease but didn't realize how nasty it was (and he said that i had no choice on the matter if i wanted housing near school, which i thought i wanted but now i'd rather commute) -- and that it didn't have a sink in its bathroom!! so after the fact that he signed the contract and put down the 10mil won key money, is there a way he can get out of the contract and i can find a new place? the place is old, stinky, is absolutely bare, as in no fridge, washer, bed, etc. (i knew that i would have to furnish it myself) -- and i have to pay 80,000 won a month extra for it (rent is 430,000 and boss gives me 350000). i am so sad... get me outta this contract (the housing, but the job is decent)!

[Qinella]

WHY do people get themselves into such absurd situations? I mean... is this a troll post or something?

And why doesn't your second sentence have a subject? I'm not on grammar patrol-- I'm genuinely confused due to your ambiguous wording. Who saw the apartment before signing the lease? You or your boss?

Man. This reminds me of the guy I know who makes less money this year than last (1.7m), lives in an apartment where he saw 3 roaches in the first night (one in his coat), and teaches 7 classes a day for no overtime. Why do people sign on to such ridiculous contracts? It just blows my mind.

Good luck getting out of the ghetto.

Q.

[Ya-ta Boy]

As far as I know, the ONLY way out is to find someone to sub-let the place and substitute the chonsae money. Good luck finding someone. I don't think you can ask the boss to help. He did let you see the place and you agreed to it. He's done his part.

I'd say, Suck it up. Get yourself over to the used-furniture shops and start furnishing the place. It won't be so bad once you put some stuff in it. You can live for a year without a bathroom sink. Just shave and brush your teeth in the shower. Kitchen sinks work fine for washing hands.

[bignate]

Quit, give notice, leave the country....I have done it before.

I was stuck in the same situation before, my hagwon got me a basement apartment with a closet of a bathroom, where you had to rest your arm on the sink whilst you let loose in the morning......it was in a disgusting back alley.....and was half the size of my bedroom in my shared accomodations.....

I went in quit the next day and within a week had a job that paid almost double, and a decent and clean apartment...don't take their shit....

[Corporal]

Oh, don't be so harsh, you guys, blah, blah, blah...

[miniD]

quinella,
people may end up in bad situations, but i'd rather be me than have nothing better to do than harrass other people and belittle their trials. i mean, i can change my situation -- but you're stuck with your trivial personality. clearly you're time/energy is expendable -- why don't you find some volunteer work or something?

as for my circumstance, i knew i'd have to furnish the apartment, which i was willing to do since the job is quite decent (hours, pay, environment, etc.), and the boss is relatively cool. it's purely a matter of housing. how can he get out of the contract? he says that he can't, but i've heard otherwise. if anyone's been in this situation before, and has any suggestions, please share them. (e.g., ways to appeal to/approach the landlord or a realtor?) thanks.

[tzechuk]

The most effective way is to find him/them another tenant. This is applicable to everywhere in the world.

The owner is not going to care that much about WHO is living in his property - he is just concerned about if he is going to get his money. So if you can find someone who will fork out the 10m key money for the place, you/boss/owner/new tenant can sort things out between themselves.

[miniD]

thanks for the replies, yataboy and tzechuk. good to get some helpful info. and maybe you're right -- i may, in the end, have to suck it up -- at least for a while. i can't imagine living in this hole for an entire year though. argh. honestly, when i looked at it, it was so cluttered that i didn't see that there was no sink and that it was so old and ugly and stinky. (it was chockablock full and mostly hidden -- owner's daughter's stuff was stored in it.) thanks again guys.

[miniD]

btw ya-ta boy, i i love your iraq quote!

[canuckistan]

Get one of those giant tubs of paint and get busy on weekends--a fresh coat of white paint will make it much more liveable--or rentable

At the very least, the boss should get you a fridge, washer, and TV.

[jjurabong]

A friend in a similar sinkless predicament had his boss get a plastic "sink" - it looks just like a sink but is plastic and tapless. It attached to the wall - he basically had to fill it up with the shower head, and when he emptied it, it just ran out the sink onto the floor. Not the best, but beats squatting over a plastic bowl on the floor to wash your face, etc. Since it would be fairly inexpensive, maybe your boss would help you with this.

[Hater Depot]

I lived a year without a bathroom sink. I never wished for one either, in fact I really miss that apartment. Just when I'd gotten it properly pimped out, I had to go home.

[Qinella]

[JongnoGuru]

I almost missed it because I don't pay attention to the small-type "Post subject" line above each post. But I caught it this time: "keep it shut qinella" (Of course he's going to post again. Who wouldn't! )

However I will say, Q, you do seem to be more rebarbative and hot under the collar in your posting as time goes on. Have you also noticed this? For instance, I would never have expected that second post on this thread coming from Qinella ca. 2005. I'm not chiding, just observing.

MiniD's Dungeon of Horrors

OLD: Painting the walls? I dunno about that. I bet you'll have to strip 7 layers of funky, fungusy, moulding wallpaper dating back to the Chun administration first. It's not a job for someone working full-time, someone new to the country, someone who isn't inclined or experienced. I'd imagine 95% of Korean apartments are wallpaper over concrete.

How's the flooring? Would be good to see some photos, see what we're dealing with.

NO SINK: The lack of a sink in a bathroom does seem insane (unless it's incredibly tiny), but I think even that can be temporarily endured or worked around somehow.

STINKY: Describe the stench and where it seems to be coming from. Try covering all the drains w/plastic stoppers or plugging them with vinyl bags, and then see if the odours are coming from elsewhere (below the sink, the cabinetry, etc.).

You're best option is to move, but that will probably mean moving Heaven & Earth. Landlords come in all shapes & sizes, "Obstreperous" and "Uncooperative" being the two most common models. Find out as best you can what the apartment's problems are, and then either directly or through your employer find out what is the landlord prepared to do/fix/clean/repair. Koreans can be tough negotiators (assuming you can even get them to sit down and negotiate when the only end-point involves them shelling out money), so you've got to be persistent. It is, I think, worth bringing up the fact that the place was too cluttered when you first saw it to judge it properly. And if they say "too bad", don't be put off. Koreans will use the most farcical arguments when they want something out of you. Be persistent.

Find someone else to take the place over? Great, but really now, what are the odds of that happening if the place is as bad as it sounds?

[Qinella]