Korean Job Discussion Forums

[rayjoy]

Some of you may have seen my post about my EPIK/Busan housing mess HERE, but I thought maybe I would get a broader response if I reposted just this question.

So I'm in EPIK orientation with my boyfriend, we are struggling to get our schools to provide us with a big enough apartment. They want to put us in a tiny one-room studio. Finally, they've found a one-bedroom apartment and say the rent is 500K a month and they will only pay 400K so we will have to pay 100K a month.

Am I wrong or aren't we worth 600K? And really they should give us 100K?

I mean we are two people and worth 300K each in housing allowance. I feel they are cutting corners with us and it's soooo frustrating.[/url]

[xCustomx]

Why don't you take the housing allowance, get the 600,000 and find a place on your own? The only bad part about the allowance is that it's taxable

[blonde researcher]

You might be entitled the 300 000 accommodation budget for each individual school, but very rarely do 2 public schools ever cooperate well together and ' blend' their budgets and easily sort things for couples.
(as you are finding )

This is one of the reasons EPIK never guarantees couples will be able to teach together or live together when they apply ti EPIK. You usually get allocated 2 schools close by to each other at best. Then housing is sorted best they can when you arrive.

If they are going to put you into a one bedroom apt as a couple anyway, you should say NO.
State you want a studio unit each, or that you want a decent one bedroom apt equivilent to what all other single people are getting from one of your schools - and then ask for the other school to pay you the 300 000 allowance.
Also each school has a furnishing allowance you are each entitled to, but I cant see them giving you double everything.

There is NO way the schools should ask for you to pay anything for your housing as your 2 individual schools do have the budget for this.

Perhaps you should buy time and delay a little and ask to be placed in a suitable motel (yogwon) at the schools expense for 1-2 weeks while they take the time to sort your housing - after all you are the ones having to live in it all year.

[rayjoy]

[TeeBee]

My wife and I work for GEPIK, and we also had some trouble with housing when we arrived. Long story...

One of the schools (my wife's) eventually found us a place, and they worked with my school to pay the deposit together.

The place costs 400,000 won a month. Because it is more than the 300,000 won housing allowance set aside for each of us, the schools can't pay it directly. Instead, they deposit 300,000 won to each of our accounts at the end of the month, for a combined 600,000 won. We pay the rent, and the rest is ours. We use this extra amount to pay the utilities and transport, so we don't make much extra, but this works out well for all parties concerned.

Maybe propose some similar arrangement. Less hassle for the schools, other than finding a place and paying the deposit.