Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Coffeecup]

Anything fairly cheap in a nice and clean place like that town around Hongik University? Goshiwon or yogwan. Would like to stick to around 300,000 to up to 400,000, don't care much at all about the "luxury" of the inside of the room, care almost exclusively about the atmosphere and environment outside the yogwon. I just can't imagine living in Itaewon and having to wake up to that place every single morning.

The room could be as tiny or normal as possible, just that I want to keep the price low and rent monthly and have a "normal" neighborhood: anything more normal than Itaewon. I guess I would definately consider the "hasuk" however do the homestay parents get pretty nosy about your personal life (i.e. dating, drinking, occasional wild all nighters?) Living with a Korean family would be great on the other hand. But I don't know how acceptable they are to the swinging single and free loving bachelor.

[the_beaver]

Can you read Korean? If you can, just wander around outside any major university and you'll find not only ���ÿ� but also �ϼ�. The area around and between Ehwa and Shinchon has lots.

[Coffeecup]

Oh ok I'll do that. Unfortunately some of the words you typed all came out looking like a bunch of pound sings (#) and numbers but I'll check around, thanx.

[the_beaver]

[kimcheeking]

Beav it doesn't work for what you type. You have to change the encoding before you type as well. and then the reader also has to change the encoding. ... waht a bloody pain in the ass

[the_beaver]

[kimcheeking]

[Ghostinthemachine]

There's one in Jongno behind the YMCA building.

[Coffeecup]

NEW QUESTION!! (btw thanx for the update beav). (Oh yah Beaver, you were right, I've been out all day around a university and there was a small handful I saw around.)

What is a good or competitive price to pay for a normally livable yogwon? Would like to get it down to say under 400,000 per month... The reason I ask is because I've recently learned that one of the big differences between yogwon and goshiwon is that with the latter, you aren't supposed to have any "social life" back at your room, apparently none at all, i.e. no girlfriend coming over (but then where would be the space to have a visitor anyways??)

Anyhow, anything outside of Itaewon, livable yogwon that I could have a semi-normal life and say under 400 thousand. Is that price even possible?? Because of the yogwons that I've actually talked with they imply that their nightly rate (30,000) is the same as their monthly (900,000) and apparently under 400 would not even be questionable?

[the_beaver]

[Coffeecup]

hey sounds like killer advice man... yah I think what I will do is starting this week move into a cheap goshiwon (try to get it split into weeks rather than months) and like you said snoop around for better places and 하슥s.. Realistically it's probably going to be quite awhile before I even have anything of a social life anyways sad to say it but that might be the way it works out...

[jajdude]

I had the same question a while back and posted about "go shi wons" on this forum (now on page 3 of this one). One guy directed me to MAX Living Tel across from Yonsei University. At 10,000/night it was a good deal. If you stand across the road facing the front of the UNi. and walk to your left (a bit uphill) for 5 or 10 minutes it is there on the lower road, just a bit outside the craziness of Shinchon. Got all you need. Good luck.

[kimcheeking]

about 6 years back I also lived in a �ϼ�. I paid 400,000 including two meals. I had a semi-private entrance and had no problem entertaining guests.

I was also in Shinchon, a buddy of mine had a different place and only paid 350,000 but didn't get the meals.

[Coffeecup]

currently staying at a goshiwon. It's overall nicer than the cheaper one's I've seen. Floors look like glass, the room has a small little fridge that smells like kimchi, there is an old computer in the kitchen to use if you really need an emergency connection to the internet (albeit on a Pentium 1 computer), and each room has it's own LAN connection with ADSL, but unfortunately it'll be awhile before I rebuild my comp.

However, question. I've noticed that all of the residents of the goshiwon are avoiding each other worse than the plague. It is a bit unsettling when you are walking out of the bathroom and someone jerks the door open quickly and acts as though you aren't even there, but otherwise I can't understand why there seems to be this zero-communication rule among the people living there. Is this basically normal or otherwise nothing to worry about or is this an indication of something that is not good.

Anyways the facitility is rather nice and as such costs a bit more (I'm paying 280,000), the owner is a rather sweet older woman of ~55 and the nighttime worker is nice too. But with the slightly unease between each other I can't help but wonder if there are not more friendly goshiwons? And does that sound so severe that I should just up and move soon...

[Coffeecup]

oh yah jajude thanx for the pointer if I ever go to Yonsei I'll have to remember to check it out.

Oh yah I was going to say that at my goshiwon, I was much surprised to experience that the walls really don't act as walls at all, someone next door stayed up past 3am and he and his buddies apparently decided to have a laughing contest or that's the way it sounded(?). It was so bad and the voices were so clear that I actually had the balls to go and knock on his door and wave my hand in a downward fashion to hint "lower please," he said "ok" or something and I think I finally fel asleep. But wow the noise really travels in ALL directions and my room is right next to the staircase. Any thoughts, is this basically very normal?? I should make it clear that the reason I selected this place is because not only the worker seemed pretty nice and the walls/floors are nice too but that being it has a seperate entrace I thought "if I ever need to have someone come over this would be the place." But with the other factors making themselves very obvious I am starting to recalculate...