Korean Job Discussion Forums

[mssinmymind]

I hear (read) so many different opinions on the schools and school provided apartments that it's hard to figure out which might be the best to consider.

Is there anyone willing to post on this thread (or even send them to my personal email) photos of your school and / or school provided apartment ?!?!?

I know it's a big request and maybe even a bit personal...but I can't seem to get my head around all the info most people provide, visuals would be so much more of a help.

I'm not asking for personal picks such as all your personal belongings inside your apt...I'm meaning more like the outsides of the buildings etc...

I've asked about why no one mentions the "names" of the schools they work for on these threads before...and I can understand how it could be taken as a "pissing contest" so to speak...but I'm not asking which is better or which is worst...I'd rather just like to SEE what such places look like, at least on the outside.

If you wouldn't mind...

[esetters21]

[Yesterday]

[esetters21]

[aka Dave]

If you cut the high rises down to one, that could be my neighborhood, and we don't have a subway in our city...

[Yesterday]

I was looking at Jobs on the internet this week -

and this job shows the Academy (Reception area) and also the apartment (Officetel) photos - although the photos are very small...

the "officetel" apartment looks decent sized and "minimally furnished"

nice compact kitchen (including washing machine/dryer)

(Its the type of thing your school should be offering you)

http://www.parkenglish.com/seeker/j_view.php?id=3678

Not that I would ever take a job for less than 2.5 (but for a newbie 2.1 + a nice officetel sounds ok)

[esetters21]

[suki]

there's a bunch of English teachers sharing their apartments on youtube. I've seen dozens of them, as well as all manner of Hogwan and P.S. classrooms.

just use youtube's search and use any manner of combinations, such as english teacher korea apartment

[mssinmymind]

Thanx you guys !!

That's exactly the info I was looking for...not too personal but letting me get an idea of just how things really are. It's really hard to "picture" based on measurments and such.

I hope I didn't offend anyone by asking.

Esetters21, thanx for sharing the photo...exactly what I wanted to see.

Suki, thanx for the youtube suggestion, I will definately check that out.

[Hyeon Een]

I think you should get specific photos of housing for any job you take, though this is probably impossible for most public school jobs.

Looking at photos of random teachers apartments won't actually be helpful because they vary massively. I don't mean they vary by just a little, but by MASSIVE amounts. I've seen people put up in nice brand new 3 bedroom plus living room plus balcony spacious apartments and people put up in apartments which would fit in the bathroom of my current place.

The situation varies so much that viewing random people's apartments is next to useless unless you don't know the first thing about Korean apartments. If that is the case the only useful thing you will learn is that usually bathrooms are wet rooms in that the entire place can get soaked and it's OK because there is a drain in the middle of the bathroom floor. Sometimes this may be a tiny bathroom with just a hose over a sink, other times it might be a large bathroom with a tub and so on.. which will probably drain straight out the bottom to a hole in the middle of the bathroom.

Apart from that aforementioned fact there is little to gain by viewing others' apartments. By all means have a browse through YouTube, but the best thing you can do is ask to see what you're going to get where you're going to be working. In a public school this might be impossible because they might not have rented somewhere yet. In a hagwan they should be able to provide you with photos unless its new.

[suki]

to add to that, even the youtube videos show variations, such as:

washer inside or outside (could be unpleasant in the winter) on balconys
enclosed showers vs. non-enclosed
lofts that are only tall enough for storage and lofts for sleeping
sleeping rooms only big enough for a bed
no sleeping room
shared accommodations w separate rooms

they all had no oven

closets or wardrobes seemed limited - might have to purchase more

then there are the stories here of cockroaches and mold...
mostly though the officetels looked pretty damned nice. small but efficient.

[mssinmymind]

[suki]

I actually really like bathrooms where there is no shower enclosure. Makes cleaning a breeze.

In the Caribbean the homes I stayed - EVERY room had a floor drain - so cleaning the floors did not mean hauling out a bucket and mop - but instead you just hose down the floor and push the water towards the drain. Much easier to maintain a floor that way. Their floors were cleaned all the time and spotless.

Oh - and nobody mentioned the ondol floor heating in Korean homes. Genius.

[mssinmymind]

Hey Suki, you were right there are tons of videos on youtube. I'm really enjoying checking them out.

Thanx!

[suki]

Yeah, I'm going to film mine too and bore youtube viewers with yet another apartment. But it'll be new to my friends, so what the hell.

For a nice intro to living in Korea, check out
http://www.eatyourkimchi.com

It's an EFL couple from Toronto teaching in Bucheon, who've been documenting their stay. They're doing everything I'd planned on doing, so I don't have to! VERY informative. I'll be documenting my Korean Adoptee experience instead at http://gyopo.wordpress.com starting next month.

When I have the presence of mind to remember, I add things to a jetpack for future reference. Here's the "Surviving in Korea" one I made:
http://www.jeteye.com/jetpak/5a8cfd6a-1b39-4de8-a055-32994006468b/

Have fun!