Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Real Reality]

[jennbear73]

Would anyone living in Korea want to post what their apt looks like right now? with all your stuff in it...maybe with you in the pic? That would make it more authentic...

[superhal]

mold: normal, especially during monsoon season. they sell room dessicants at every store. i used 2, one in the closet, one under the bed, it wasn't enough for only my bedroom. my roommate used 4, and changed them weekly.

bathrooms: yes, they're bad. but guess what: YOU HAVE TO CLEAN THEM. my roommate and i would take turns every month scrubbing it. we also took turns sweeping the living room.

mosquitos: a severe problem, but electric mosquito repellents are nearly everywhere. most electric fans have them, you have to buy the inserts separately.

our hagwon had 2 apartments for 4 native speakers. the one i was in was in better condition than the other. however, our place got robbed and had a worse mosquito problem because it was on the ground floor. their place had a loud dog in the neighborhood, but it was on the 2nd floor, so it was also cooler during the summer.

[superhal]

oops, forgot to reply to the original post:

the sexism is pretty bad, so definitely i would ask for a much higher pay. we had a canadian girl who was going crazy just walking to the hagwon. even the wongjim would try stuff. she left after 6 months.

imho, don't accept any offers unless it is from a relatively big city with more foreigners. i suspect the smaller cities are worse. also, don't worry about experience. most hagwon teachers don't have it and some people believe it's better to have an inexperienced teacher than a jaded teacher. however, avoid elementary/middle school kid jobs, as this is hardest for new teachers to adapt to.

the looks part, sad to say, is probably most important. if you are good looking, then you're in for an easy and possibly fun ride. you'll have no trouble holding on to students even if you just sit there and do nothing all day. however, you'll probably be fielding a bunch of questions about why you are/aren't married/dating everyday. but, if you treat these questions with humor, i'm sure you'll get by.

[Kenny Kimchee]

If it's any consolation, apartments in Japan are no palaces, either. Here in Fukuoka, my apartment has an out-of-control mold problem, too, especially in the bathroom, which has no window. The construction is cheap like Korea, either concrete walls or cheap, pre-fab, bolt-together housing. My washing machine is in my kitchen beside my fridge - very Korean-esque.

Cooling is via anemic dual purpose AC/heating wall units, just like Korea; even worse is the heating system. Most homes have tatami mats (woven straw mats) as flooring; they look pretty, but this means you can't have ondol (which in my opinion is one of the greatest heating systems ever). Heating is usually via those anemic dual purpose AC/heating wall units or portable kerosene space heaters - that's right, kerosene. I used to finish drywall and do interior house painting in the States and we would use kerosene heaters to warm the job site. That's what my home reminds me of now, a job site; nothing says "home" like the smell of a kerosene heater.

I shouldn't complain - I've got it good; a lot of JETs live in "jutaku" - public housing for unmarried teachers. These lovely, Soviet-inspired blocks of concrete are usually about 30 years old and are falling apart at the seams. A buddy of mine lives in a jutaku in my town and doesn't have hot running water! He has an add-on gas heater on the faucet in his kitchen sink, but no hot water in his bathroom. He has to take a bath at the gym or at the public bath. Welcome to Japan in the year 2005 - some First World country, huh?

Yours in housing solidarity across the (East) Sea (of Japan),

Kimchee

[peppermint]

Okay, here's some pics of my current place. This apartment is close to double the size of most apartments I've had here ( this is my 5th) and brand new.

The sexism isn't nearly as bad as superhal makes it out to be. Dress conservatively, act like you know what you're doing and where you're going even when you don't and you won't get hassled too much. ( only seems to happen to blondes anyway)

[Homer]

As far as appartments go....the OP should realize that standard western sized appartments are far from the norm here.
A simple question of available space for real estate in Korea.


Also, lets not latch on to RR and the panic waggon here...

[Daechidong Waygookin]

It depends on the job, but mostly tou will get the typical one room accomodation. You can get something bigger too but more than the size whats important is the quality. Count yourself lucky if you have a mold-free apartment without a bug (roach or ant) infestation. My first place was brand new but it was very, VERY small. Basically it was one room with a tiny kitchen and a small bathroom. It felt crowded with two people. I had room for a bed, a TV, and a small table, and thats it. It was brand new though so it was very clean and I never saw a bug of any kind. My second place was very large. Large kitchen, long hallway, two bedrooms, a nice sized bathroom. There was a small problem with bugs but nothing serious. It was old though and the quality of construction wasnt the greatest. My third place was a disaster at first. I had to wage a war against the roaches, and that took a couple of weeks to get the situation to a point where I only saw a roach once or twice a week. That was the worst place Ive had but when all the problems were taken care of, it wasn't too bad. When I saw it at first tough, I wanted to cry. Now Im living in the most amazing place. Im 20+ stories up, the building is brand new, 4 elevators, guards, the hallway has faux-marble flooring, inside I have actual hardwood floors, track lighting, the newest washing machine model on the market built into the wall, a fridge built into the wall, huge closets, a shower with a glass door, a bidet, etc. Its a dream apartment. Not too huge, its about 17 pyeong, but thats enough.

I think its like with anything in Korea. You start out at the bottom and you move up. As your job improves, so will your lifestyle, including your apartment. Stay here long enough and you get to a point where you have the money for a place of your own. THEN it gets great.

[superhal]

[quote="peppermint"]Okay,[url=http://community.webshots.com/album/219561599HmpwAo] here's[/url] some pics of my current place. This apartment is close to double the size of most apartments I've had here ( this is my 5th) and brand new.

The sexism isn't nearly as bad as superhal makes it out to be. Dress conservatively, act like you know what you're doing and where you're going even when you don't and you won't get hassled too much. ( only seems to happen to blondes anyway)[/quote]

yeah the canadian girl only wore short summer dresses all the time i was there, and she was blonde. once, i was walking behind her a few feet or so, and every single guy down the street was trying to talk to her.

[Grotto]

Apartments. Usually the bigger the city the smaller the apartment.

Sexism. Its here but then again where isnt it?

A north American female should hold out for a minimum of 2.2. There are tons of schools that want a female teacher so use it to your advantage.

Dress professionally and you shouldnt have any problems.

Yup when i first arrived at my new apartment it was obvious that the slob who lived there before hadnt cleaned it in years. In my kitchen I have two sinks, on of the drainage traps is smaller than the other side. When I moved in the drainage trap had a solid 3 inches of crud and hair plugging it. The smell would have made a buzzard puke. I put my foot down and got the school to make the landlord replace the windows, screens, floors, wallpaper and the rest I cleaned myself. It took about a week to get all the crud cleaned out of it. Now it is a clean semi tidy apartment. No mold, no mildew. I clean it every week....or so and keep it clean.

If you do get an apartment that is 'dirty' clean it up. If you get an apartment that is moldy and in disrepair either get them to fix it or find you a new apartment.

[mindmetoo]

My place

[chronicpride]

Uh oh. The gauntlet has just been thrown. Posting pics of one's apt on this board is synonymous with the sound of a bunch of guys unzipping their flys and getting the measuring sticks out.

[mindmetoo]

[mindmetoo]

[jennbear73]

mindmetoo: pretty nice apt there

chronicpride: huh...did not know that about guys...I'll have to remember that...so does the addage the bigger the apartment the bigger the ???

peppermint-Pretty nice apartment too...

Sucks that I'll have to settle for a icky one before I get to a good one..but I understand the reasons...

Maybe Lady Luck will be with me...

I still have to find a School and maybe a recruiter...don't know that I trust them....

Thanks for the input people...