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Korean Job Discussion Forums
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JongnoGuru
Joined: 25 May 2004
Location: peeing on your doorstep
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 Posted: Sat Feb 05, 2005 7:10 am Post subject: |
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| Derrek wrote: |
| canuckistan wrote: |
| 4-6 million key money down, 450,000 W a month gets you a decent place and a stable home where if your hagwon goes belly up you don't have to move in 3 days, just find another job. In Seoul that's easy. You can negotiate with your hagwon to pay the rent too, they generally like that they don't have to put key money down for a teacher and get tied up in a lease. It's win/win. |
If you don't mind travelling across town back and forth to work every day. Oh, and don't forget how much fun said situation would be if you were stuck at a bad school, wanting to leave, and not getting a release from a director. Would be fun to have to leave Seoul and worry about how you'd get your deposit back.
Next post, please. |
Derrek, are you describing your own bitter experience here or Canukistan's?  Or, are you describing a 'worst-case scenario' to alert R.S. Refugee to the potential pitfalls of accepting a job offer that doesn't include housing? |
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R. S. Refugee
Joined: 29 Sep 2004
Location: Shangra La, ROK
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| Posted: Sat Feb 05, 2005 1:34 pm Post subject: |
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| JongnoGuru wrote: |
Derrek, are you describing your own bitter experience here or Canukistan's? Or, are you describing a 'worst-case scenario' to alert R.S. Refugee to the potential pitfalls of accepting a job offer that doesn't include housing? |
Well, I appreciate all of the thoughtful warnings I get. I took a virtual tour of Derrek's officetel digs on another thread. I was a little aghast at his comment about it being nice to be in a place where you could put used toilet paper in the toilet rather than having to dispose of it into a bag. I've been afraid to ask how many living situations fall into the storing used toilet paper category. I prefer to just think "very few."
So why was Mith talking about going to Gangnam? What's there?
And while I'm here, instead of starting a new thread about it, what's Costco like there compared to the States?
Oh, certain food things I wonder about being able to get:
1) extra virgin olive oil (about the only kind I've used in cooking for the past 20 years.)
2) cheese and plain yogurt
3) sesame oil (I think that's used in a lot of Asian cuisines and so it's probably available.)
4) barley (I know rice is probably viewed spiritually there, but I prefer, when possible (like when I cook at home) to eat unrefined grains and prefer to eat barlely in particular. I use it the same way rice is used.)
Others will occur to me later I'm sure. |
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JongnoGuru
Joined: 25 May 2004
Location: peeing on your doorstep
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| Posted: Sat Feb 05, 2005 4:18 pm Post subject: |
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This thread wasn't a bad start toward answering "What did you forget?" (to bring to Korea).
If you see yourself doing some serious cooking, you might bring along a supply of spices mentioned in the above thread. (I recall that Grotto listed the major ones by availability in Korea.) Other food items -- particularly anything perishable or large -- I personally wouldn't bother with. If they're not available here, you'll have to learn to do without, because you can't pack a year's supply of your favourite whole-grain bread, exotic cheese, Italian salami, avocados or artichokes in your suitcase, and have room for the essentials.
Other items I always bring back: aspirin, antiperspirant, antacids, black licorice candy (hey, it's not easy to find even in the black market), the hardest and driest Italian salami I can find... just see that thread.
About the "don't flush the used toilet paper" rule... I guess I've just been lucky, because I've only had one landlady who made an issue of the tissue. I can't say it's nothing to worry about, because nearly everyone I know has had that problem at some place or another. But it's easy enough to ask & avoid when you're house-hunting.
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| So why was Mith talking about going to Gangnam? What's there? |
What's this "Gangnam" you speak of? Never heard of it. 
| Quote: |
Oh, certain food things I wonder about being able to get:
1) extra virgin olive oil (about the only kind I've used in cooking for the past 20 years.)
2) cheese and plain yogurt
3) sesame oil (I think that's used in a lot of Asian cuisines and so it's probably available.)
4) barley (I know rice is probably viewed spiritually there, but I prefer, when possible (like when I cook at home) to eat unrefined grains and prefer to eat barlely in particular. I use it the same way rice is used.)
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Everything you listed is here in abundance, though imported cheese is pricey and not available at any old supermarket. Of the local cheese, the less said the better, I think. |
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mithridates
Joined: 03 Mar 2003
Location: President's office, Korean Space Agency
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| Posted: Sat Feb 05, 2005 4:25 pm Post subject: |
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This K(G)angnam is where I'm going today to study. After I move, that is.
RS Refugee, do you prefer a bigger place in the middle of nowhere (middle of nowhere = about 1hour to get to Seoul) or a smaller place with things to do like I do?
I thought you wrote anti-depressants for a second there.  |
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canuckistan
Mod Team
Joined: 17 Jun 2003
Location: Training future GS competitors.....
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| Posted: Sat Feb 05, 2005 5:05 pm Post subject: |
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| Derrek wrote: |
| canuckistan wrote: |
| 4-6 million key money down, 450,000 W a month gets you a decent place and a stable home where if your hagwon goes belly up you don't have to move in 3 days, just find another job. In Seoul that's easy. You can negotiate with your hagwon to pay the rent too, they generally like that they don't have to put key money down for a teacher and get tied up in a lease. It's win/win. |
If you don't mind travelling across town back and forth to work every day. Oh, and don't forget how much fun said situation would be if you were stuck at a bad school, wanting to leave, and not getting a release from a director. Would be fun to have to leave Seoul and worry about how you'd get your deposit back.
Next post, please. |
Well Derrek, Some of us just don't have those kinds of problems with Koreans  |
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JongnoGuru
Joined: 25 May 2004
Location: peeing on your doorstep
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| Posted: Sat Feb 05, 2005 5:08 pm Post subject: |
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| mithridates wrote: |
This K(G)angnam is where I'm going today to study. After I move, that is.
RS Refugee, do you prefer a bigger place in the middle of nowhere (middle of nowhere = about 1hour to get to Seoul) or a smaller place with things to do like I do?
I thought you wrote anti-depressants for a second there. |
Lest Refugee misunderstand me, I wasn't taking a poke at the new Romanisation (G for K) of "Gangnam"... just taking a poke at certain posters' rather unseemly admiration for that crass, brash, hyperinflated part of the city.
We're happy to keep Gangnam, its boosters, and its nouveau-riche Donald Trump-wannabe ajuma property speculators at a safe distance. 
For me, it was a question of "Do I want this, which I can reasonably afford? --
Or do I want this, which I can't?
Last edited by JongnoGuru on Sun Feb 06, 2005 4:50 pm; edited 5 times in total |
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canuckistan
Mod Team
Joined: 17 Jun 2003
Location: Training future GS competitors.....
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| Posted: Sat Feb 05, 2005 5:13 pm Post subject: |
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| JongnoGuru wrote: |
| mithridates wrote: |
This K(G)angnam is where I'm going today to study. After I move, that is.
RS Refugee, do you prefer a bigger place in the middle of nowhere (middle of nowhere = about 1hour to get to Seoul) or a smaller place with things to do like I do?
I thought you wrote anti-depressants for a second there. |
Lest Refugee misunderstand me, I wasn't taking a poke at the new Romanisation (G for K) of "Gangnam"... just taking a poke at certain posters rather unseemly admiration for that rather crass and brash part of the city.
We're happy to keep Gangnam and it's boosters at a safe distance.
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Looks great! I prefer that over the city any day. |
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mithridates
Joined: 03 Mar 2003
Location: President's office, Korean Space Agency
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| Posted: Sat Feb 05, 2005 5:55 pm Post subject: |
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That is nice, don't get me wrong...though if scenery were my number one priority I think I'd be back in Canada still.
I, however, have a 5-minute commute to my nearest coffee shop. Perhaps mindmetoo would care to jump in and extol the virtues of living close to a coffee shop with me? |
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mithridates
Joined: 03 Mar 2003
Location: President's office, Korean Space Agency
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| Posted: Sat Feb 05, 2005 5:56 pm Post subject: |
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| What's a booster? Like a fan? |
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Derrek
Joined: 15 Jan 2003
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| Posted: Sat Feb 05, 2005 6:43 pm Post subject: |
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| canuckistan wrote: |
| Derrek wrote: |
| canuckistan wrote: |
| 4-6 million key money down, 450,000 W a month gets you a decent place and a stable home where if your hagwon goes belly up you don't have to move in 3 days, just find another job. In Seoul that's easy. You can negotiate with your hagwon to pay the rent too, they generally like that they don't have to put key money down for a teacher and get tied up in a lease. It's win/win. |
If you don't mind travelling across town back and forth to work every day. Oh, and don't forget how much fun said situation would be if you were stuck at a bad school, wanting to leave, and not getting a release from a director. Would be fun to have to leave Seoul and worry about how you'd get your deposit back.
Next post, please. |
Well Derrek, Some of us just don't have those kinds of problems with Koreans |
Good for you... but what about the OP?
Isn't that what this thread is about? |
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OiGirl
Joined: 23 Jan 2003
Location: Hoke-y-gun
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| Posted: Sat Feb 05, 2005 7:13 pm Post subject: |
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| R. S. Refugee wrote: |
Oh, certain food things I wonder about being able to get:
1) extra virgin olive oil (about the only kind I've used in cooking for the past 20 years.)
2) cheese and plain yogurt
3) sesame oil (I think that's used in a lot of Asian cuisines and so it's probably available.)
4) barley (I know rice is probably viewed spiritually there, but I prefer, when possible (like when I cook at home) to eat unrefined grains and prefer to eat barlely in particular. I use it the same way rice is used.)
Others will occur to me later I'm sure. |
Olive oil, at department stores, maybe discount stores some weeks.
Cheese is more and more available, varying quality, may have to travel to a certain store to get what you want.
Plain yogurt...actually I make my own.
Sesame oil....no problem!
Barley...again, no problem, often Koreans eat "barley rice," which is rice cooked along with some barley.
Good luck! |
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thorin
Joined: 14 Apr 2003
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| Posted: Sat Feb 05, 2005 8:18 pm Post subject: |
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| Congrats mithridates, you live in the smallest most-overpriced apartment in this whole damn country. |
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Daechidong Waygookin
Joined: 22 Nov 2004
Location: No Longer on Dave's. Ive quit.
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| Posted: Sat Feb 05, 2005 8:26 pm Post subject: |
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| Kangnam is where you want to be. Anywhere else in Seoul is where you DONT want to be. |
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JongnoGuru
Joined: 25 May 2004
Location: peeing on your doorstep
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| Posted: Sat Feb 05, 2005 9:22 pm Post subject: |
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| Daechidong Waygookin wrote: |
| Kangnam is where you want to be. Anywhere else in Seoul is where you DONT want to be. |
Don't you mean "anywhere else on Earth"?
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Daechidong Waygookin
Joined: 22 Nov 2004
Location: No Longer on Dave's. Ive quit.
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| Posted: Sat Feb 05, 2005 9:37 pm Post subject: |
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| JongnoGuru wrote: |
| Daechidong Waygookin wrote: |
| Kangnam is where you want to be. Anywhere else in Seoul is where you DONT want to be. |
Don't you mean "anywhere else on Earth"?
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YESSSSSSSSSSSSS! kangnam is the center of the universe. |
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