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Korean Job Discussion Forums
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shostahoosier
Joined: 14 Apr 2009
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 Posted: Thu Aug 05, 2010 5:57 am Post subject: Doe any of you guys sleep on the floor? |
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I love how living in Korea has taught me how to enjoy living with less furniture and space. Before I moved here I dreaded the idea of living in a studio.
Regarding sleeping on the floor, I admit that the idea was originally a little scary to me but now I'm considering it.
Those floor pads are really comfortable and I can roll them up and have more room in my apartment when I'm not sleeping.
Plus the floor is cooler in Summer and the ondol works better in Winter if you're on the floor.
I already opted out of not getting a sofa as I didnt need one but now I'm considering ditching my bed.
Has anyone else here gone this route? Would it be a mistake? |
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IanChops
Joined: 19 Mar 2009
Location: Pyeongchon, South Korea
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| Posted: Thu Aug 05, 2010 1:15 pm Post subject: |
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What kind of lifesyle are you trying to lead over here? Are you trying to out-Spartan the locals?
I'm a westerner hired here to purvey my Englishe wares. I bow politely, sit cross-legged at Korean restaurants etc.
When locals come to my house, they sit on chairs or sofas, are greeted politely in English and are offered 'western' beverages, snacks, and meals. The master of my house is an Englishman, there is no doubt about it, and my Korean friends and family respect that.
Sleep on the floor if you think its good for you, but not if you think its what locals do over here. Those with enough money dont. Some elders stil prefer it. Maybe It is good for you, make your own choice.
If you're gonna bend over to the local culture, make sure it's the correct way around. Bend over wrongwards and you'll get mockery, not respect. Or Bummered.
You are here to be a '______'(insert nationality). I don't think anyone wants you to merge into Koreana. If you did, you wouldnt be an effective example of '______'(insert nationality).
Or maybe I'm just venting on a bad day.... |
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Louis VI
Joined: 05 Jul 2010
Location: In my Kingdom
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| Posted: Thu Aug 05, 2010 1:25 pm Post subject: |
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I have a NASA-developed memory foam mattress on a frame.
| IanChops wrote: |
What kind of lifesyle are you trying to lead over here? Are you trying to out-Spartan the locals?
I'm a westerner hired here to purvey my English wares. I bow politely, sit cross-legged at Korean restaurants etc.
When locals come to my house, they sit on chairs or sofas, are greeted politely in English and are offered 'western' beverages, snacks, and meals. |
This. |
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PatrickGHBusan
Joined: 24 Jun 2008
Location: Busan (1997-2008) Canada 2008 -
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| Posted: Thu Aug 05, 2010 2:13 pm Post subject: |
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| IanChops wrote: |
What kind of lifesyle are you trying to lead over here? Are you trying to out-Spartan the locals?
I'm a westerner hired here to purvey my Englishe wares. I bow politely, sit cross-legged at Korean restaurants etc.
When locals come to my house, they sit on chairs or sofas, are greeted politely in English and are offered 'western' beverages, snacks, and meals. The master of my house is an Englishman, there is no doubt about it, and my Korean friends and family respect that.
Sleep on the floor if you think its good for you, but not if you think its what locals do over here. Those with enough money dont. Some elders stil prefer it. Maybe It is good for you, make your own choice.
If you're gonna bend over to the local culture, make sure it's the correct way around. Bend over wrongwards and you'll get mockery, not respect. Or Bummered.
You are here to be a '______'(insert nationality). I don't think anyone wants you to merge into Koreana. If you did, you wouldnt be an effective example of '______'(insert nationality).
Or maybe I'm just venting on a bad day.... |
The OP just seems to like sleeping on the floor the thin mats they have in Korea. He is not 'bending the wrong way' or becoming Korean. 
Good lord your post was at least good for a laugh! Your home is English...keep up the good fight and defend that cultural rampart at your door. 
OP: When we lived in Korea, we slept on the floor (my wife is Korean) mainly because of the floor heating in the winter (its damn confortable in the winter) and because it made better use of our space (fold up the bedding and put it in the closet and your room can be used for other things).
Back in Canada, we bought a bed. My wife does not seem to think she has to defend her culture at the door and ask guests to sit on the floor when the visit our house... |
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jinks
Joined: 27 Oct 2004
Location: Formerly: Lower North Island
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| Posted: Thu Aug 05, 2010 4:07 pm Post subject: |
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| PatrickGHBusan wrote: |
| Back in Canada, we bought a bed. My wife does not seem to think she has to defend her culture at the door and ask guests to sit on the floor when the visit our house... :wink: |
Good point.
I sleep on a bed, but in wintertime the floor is very snuggly with lots of quilts, and sometimes I like snuggling down on the ondol. In summer it is cooler sleeping on the floor, but I tough it out and sleep on the bed. Sex works so much better on knees and elbows in bed. |
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shostahoosier
Joined: 14 Apr 2009
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| Posted: Thu Aug 05, 2010 5:53 pm Post subject: |
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| IanChops wrote: |
What kind of lifesyle are you trying to lead over here? Are you trying to out-Spartan the locals?
I'm a westerner hired here to purvey my Englishe wares. I bow politely, sit cross-legged at Korean restaurants etc.
When locals come to my house, they sit on chairs or sofas, are greeted politely in English and are offered 'western' beverages, snacks, and meals. The master of my house is an Englishman, there is no doubt about it, and my Korean friends and family respect that.
Sleep on the floor if you think its good for you, but not if you think its what locals do over here. Those with enough money dont. Some elders stil prefer it. Maybe It is good for you, make your own choice.
If you're gonna bend over to the local culture, make sure it's the correct way around. Bend over wrongwards and you'll get mockery, not respect. Or Bummered.
You are here to be a '______'(insert nationality). I don't think anyone wants you to merge into Koreana. If you did, you wouldnt be an effective example of '______'(insert nationality).
Or maybe I'm just venting on a bad day.... |
I'd say you're having a bad day or you need a new "Jump to conclusions" map.
Did you read any of my original post? I said that I found those sleeping mats really comfortable and then I gave practical reasons for why I might make the switch (ondol, space, etc.).
I dont understand where you came up with this idea that I was trying to become Korean or bend over backwards to conform to another culture?! 
Either way I dont plan on sleeping on a floormat when I leave Korea...though I might be willing to consider a futon now... |
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NYC_Gal
Joined: 08 Dec 2009
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| Posted: Thu Aug 05, 2010 6:05 pm Post subject: |
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The terrible bed that my school purchased for me was scrapped at the end of my contract, and I bought a nice new one at the beginning of my second. (It had broken 8 months into the first year, but I wasn't sure if I would renew and didn't want to spend the dosh if I wasn't staying. Mind you, I'm quite small, so it wasn't due to weight, and my fiance is out of country, so there are no marital shenanigans)
I prefer the bed. I've slept on the floor, and it's not bad, but there's something about a pillowtop spring wrapped mattress and a memory foam topper and pillow that makes me drool (literally). |
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OiGirl
Joined: 23 Jan 2003
Location: Hoke-y-gun
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| Posted: Thu Aug 05, 2010 6:08 pm Post subject: |
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| I slept on a mat on the floor in Korea when I was too poor to afford a bed. Comfortable or not. When I got a bed, I'd pull a mat into a sunbeam for a Sunday afternoon nap, but not to sleep at night. |
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shostahoosier
Joined: 14 Apr 2009
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| Posted: Thu Aug 05, 2010 7:17 pm Post subject: |
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| NYC_Gal wrote: |
The terrible bed that my school purchased for me was scrapped at the end of my contract, and I bought a nice new one at the beginning of my second. (It had broken 8 months into the first year, but I wasn't sure if I would renew and didn't want to spend the dosh if I wasn't staying. Mind you, I'm quite small, so it wasn't due to weight, and my fiance is out of country, so there are no marital shenanigans)
I prefer the bed. I've slept on the floor, and it's not bad, but there's something about a pillowtop spring wrapped mattress and a memory foam topper and pillow that makes me drool (literally). |
NYC_Gal you make a great point. Maybe the reason why the floor mats that I've used have seemed so comfortable is because the bed the school got me is as hard as stone. Maybe I should just be investing in some sort of memory foam or extra padding instead. |
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NYC_Gal
Joined: 08 Dec 2009
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| Posted: Thu Aug 05, 2010 7:27 pm Post subject: |
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| shostahoosier wrote: |
NYC_Gal you make a great point. Maybe the reason why the floor mats that I've used have seemed so comfortable is because the bed the school got me is as hard as stone. Maybe I should just be investing in some sort of memory foam or extra padding instead. |
I had my Korean friend order the bed online for me, because there are far better deals that way. I have the foam topper, which I use as a floor mat when guests stay over. I've got a friend crashing for a couple of weeks and she's using that at the moment, and she sleeps well.
I think the problem is that many Korean schools buy us cheap beds, where the mattresses are actually what we'd consider box springs. Because my friends always sat on the edge of my bed, that side started to droop, which shouldn't really happen so quickly and easily to a good bed. My new bed is infinitely more comfortable, though my tempur pedic back home blows it out of the water. |
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shostahoosier
Joined: 14 Apr 2009
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| Posted: Thu Aug 05, 2010 7:46 pm Post subject: |
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| NYC_Gal wrote: |
| shostahoosier wrote: |
NYC_Gal you make a great point. Maybe the reason why the floor mats that I've used have seemed so comfortable is because the bed the school got me is as hard as stone. Maybe I should just be investing in some sort of memory foam or extra padding instead. |
I had my Korean friend order the bed online for me, because there are far better deals that way. I have the foam topper, which I use as a floor mat when guests stay over. I've got a friend crashing for a couple of weeks and she's using that at the moment, and she sleeps well.
I think the problem is that many Korean schools buy us cheap beds, where the mattresses are actually what we'd consider box springs. Because my friends always sat on the edge of my bed, that side started to droop, which shouldn't really happen so quickly and easily to a good bed. My new bed is infinitely more comfortable, though my tempur pedic back home blows it out of the water. |
Any good brands that you can recommend here in Korea? Or do you think I could just stroll to my local pillow store and find something suitable? |
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NYC_Gal
Joined: 08 Dec 2009
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| Posted: Thu Aug 05, 2010 7:52 pm Post subject: |
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| Definitely have a friend search online for you. It's far cheaper than a walk-in shop. I don't know the brand offhand, but when I get home later I'll take a gander and, if I can find it, let you know. Mine ran just over 300k, and isn't bad for a super single. |
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isisaredead
Joined: 18 May 2010
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| Posted: Thu Aug 05, 2010 9:38 pm Post subject: |
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my last job had me on a mattress on the floor. i thought it was pretty pathetic and cheap.
i got used to it, but it really did help me decide if i wanted to re-sign for another contract. especially when i realised every other teacher had their own queen-sized bed.
it's the little things that indicate how much you are respected in this country. |
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IanChops
Joined: 19 Mar 2009
Location: Pyeongchon, South Korea
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| Posted: Thu Aug 05, 2010 11:34 pm Post subject: |
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I was just joking. I need more posts to get pm privilages.  |
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PatrickGHBusan
Joined: 24 Jun 2008
Location: Busan (1997-2008) Canada 2008 -
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| Posted: Fri Aug 06, 2010 5:19 am Post subject: |
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Indeed Ian and your post was hilarious.
As for floor mats, you can find great ones that are very confortable in local shops. Avoid the larger department stores as they over charge. Go to local farbic and bedding markets the prices are better and you can negociate them down.
As for beds, the boxspring issue is true. My first bed was just a box spring.
If you want to buy a bed, go to the smaller bed stores, prices are cheaper or like NYC Gal said, shop online.
Personally, I really liked the extra space the floor mats gave us when we put them in the closet. |
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