Korean Job Discussion Forums

[moosehead]

i looked at one yesterday and it looks like i'll be moving there - it's on the roof, literally, one of those little "extra" houses built to extend the living space on top of the roof

i'll have a nice outdoor space but am just wondering about stability and all - it looked pretty good, had new windows and all - but am wondering if others have lived in these kinds of places and had any comments?

thanks!

[Leslie Cheswyck]

Congratulations. You are now the proud occupant of a penthouse! You are the envy of all us Dean Martin wannabes. Well done, sir.

[Tony_Balony]

Yea, I live in one now thats quite nice. It doesn't seem to be extra. Two rooms plus bathroom and kitchen, enough light but the south windows could be bigger. I have a massive view and plenty of outside space.

[JongnoGuru]

(that would have worked if Tony hadn't been so damn quick on the draw)

Yes, I have experienced the many joys of cheap & nasty ok-tap living in my early days, among the highlights of which were:

-- such weak water pressure that taking a shower was like someone spitting on you

-- extremely hot summers & frigid winters

-- nightmares induced by the sounds of a rat or a family of rats that were trying to chew their way into my bedroom from outside. They'd built their nest somewhere in a HUGE pile of clutter that the landlord had stacked up/piled up against the exterior wall. I begged/ordered them to haul their trash away, they refused, insisting it wasn't trash, and that I was only imagining the rats-chewing-through-the-walls sounds (I wasn't, friends heard it too) and the landlady told me to go and buy some rat-traps if it's such a big pants-on-fire problem. (Does she sound horrible? Lemme tell you, she was just about the best Korean landlady I've ever had. Gives you a rough idea.)

-- creaky floors, stinky drains, leaky roofs

I could write a fkkng movie script about my year at that place.

[VanIslander]

Yes, and it was wonderful!

On Geoje Island I had the rooftop as my patio, overlooking the bay until an apartment complex and hotel were built in the way, still leaving the hills and night sky.

Take chairs out there for the warmer half of the year, throw the table out there too when you have company, a few drinks and food, and it's a great social relaxin' atmosphere!

I miss it.

In terms of stability though, when typhoon Maemi came in '03 my walls began to move so I bailed for a nearby PC room. The structure held, but the door was damaged during the storm by some flying debris; it held despite a neighbour down the street having their ground-floor wall cave in and kill a mother and child huddled on a bed next to the wall.

[moosehead]

[moosehead]

[VanIslander]

[RACETRAITOR]

I live on the top floor of a building that's practically a rooftop. It's colder than I'd like but it's concrete so we never hear the rain. That would be the first thing I'd look at. I almost moved into one rooftop near Hyochang Park but it had a tin roof. Beautiful view though.

[moosehead]

[mark dew]

where abouts in seoul. I lived with girlfriend on a rooftop apt in hong-eun dong and that was the nicest living experience i had in seoul.
Beautiful views. The mountains went round in a horeseshoe shape.
As long as its not one of those cardboard type wooden shacks with a metal roof you will enjoy it.
Come spring, there is nothing better than sitting up on the rooftop after getting home from teaching and having a stiff drink. Especially at dusk.

[kimcheechochy]

Well, judging from the one I saw, I would never live in there. For the most part, they aren't constructed properly. The whole point of it is for the landlord to make some extra money off your a*s. Expect it to be hot as hell in the summer and cold as hell in the winter. Don't do it. Get a proper apartment.