Korean Job Discussion Forums

sshemma · Joined: 18 Feb 2010

...to legitimately warrant a move?

Our place is ridiculous. After initially being given a regular apartment in a high rise complex, which was alright, my boyfriend and I were told that we had to move to another property owned by the academys president - an old school korean style villa down a back street in a slummy part of busan. We put up a fight initially, but basically had no choice. The interior of the place is alright but in the summer, unbearably hot and a never ending struggle with cockroaches, who no doubt occupy the abandoned space on the bottom half of our house and the place which seems to just store excess fish for restaurants or something next door. Anyway, now that its prooperly winter its even worse. We have no water, i think the tank is frozen or something, we gotten fixed twice already and it lasts a day and then gone again. On top of this the place is FREEZING, the kitchen window doesnt close properly so lets all of the heat out and the bathroom isnt served by the heating and has a door to the outside with slats in it, so, if its -5 outside its -5 in our bathroom so even when we have water having a shower is not a very enticing prospect.

Anyway just putting it out there out of curiosity about other peoples situations. Is it unreasonable to demand to be moved? We will be finished our contract in May and have no intention of resigning so I cant even see that happening, the thought of anothr month or two of living in this ice box is nightmarish!

ttompatz · Joined: 05 Sep 2005 Location: Kwangju, South Korea

sshemma · Joined: 18 Feb 2010

Ha! Sorry, no intention of re-signing! Not in a million years! Ah, I know its unlikely they'll move us, I'm just so frustrated! We have the heating on for hours (oil, so its expensive) and we can still see our breath in the air.

crossmr · Joined: 22 Nov 2008 Location: Hwayangdong, Seoul

That's pretty bad. The water not working is a pretty big issue, and I believe a health issue. you could try calling a health inspector, they might condemn the place.

Louis VI · Joined: 05 Jul 2010 Location: In my Kingdom

Are the coackroaches freezing to death?
Has the mold moved from the walls to your clothes?
Can you hear your neighbours flossing their teeth?

chris_J2 · Joined: 17 Apr 2006 Location: From Brisbane, Au.

Buy a space heater from Homeplus, & position it an area where it won't get knocked over & start a fire. While you're at it, get some roach baits & air freshener. A temporary fix to last out your contract.

Artris · Joined: 09 Jun 2009

Careful about reporting it to a health inspector: not sure if you can be held accountable for its current state. No working water is a huge issue though: how are you bathing anyways?

The cynic in me says that he lost his past tenant and decided to abuse (abuse, not break) your contract in order to save some cash. I'm not sure there is anything you can do. You probably should have fought far harder to stay in your previous apartment since, once he moved you, you agreed to it on some level in his eyes.

If the apartment is as bad as you say it is, start looking for a new job. There are plenty of hagwons out there and only half of them come with roach infested abodes.

staticnomad1986 · Joined: 03 Jul 2010

The no water is because your pipes are frozen. Mine are too, for the second time. As environmentally un-sound as it is, once your water decides to flow again, at night, turn the tap on so that the water flows as low as it can go without just dripping. This supposedly will keep it from freezing (again) overnight.
I also live in an old, drafty korean style "house." I have oil heat as well and will be requesting my school (public) to pay for the next fill-up. It's just too expensive. To keep the house just above freezing, it requires a whole tank per month, which costs 350,000 won. I can't pay that every month.

My bathroom isn't heated (nor the kitchen, but I turned off heat access to the kitchen) at all, and I have what some will laughingly call a window in there that is so drafty that the blind bangs back and forth with the wind.

If your surface is flat, get one of those plastic shrink wrap kits for your door. They work! Use those on all doors and windows that have a flat surface. I could not in my bathroom, so I put everything else imaginable there to stop the draft. Plug in a small space heater for a little while before you take a shower. It helps.
Use packing tape around the seams in the windows. Get weatherstripping. 3M has a kind that is for areas with moisture that works REALLY well.

Get a heating pad for your bed and turn the heat down at night. Get heated seat warmers for your couch and you can turn the heat down more.

Are there any rooms you don't use a lot, like your kitchen? On your heating machine there are small levers that turn the heat on and off to the different rooms of your house.

My house is also boiling in the summer. Poorly designed buildings that are old and not maintained.

Quack Addict · Joined: 31 Mar 2008 Location: Seoul

kimchi_pizza · Posted: Tue Jan 11, 2011 2:43 am Post subject:

Together, the each of you put in a month's pay of say...4 mil..., cruise around town, write down the phone numbers of buildings that have one room apts for rent in a location you like, call the landlord, set up a meet, check it out, if you like it, it's yours.
You don't have to be tethered down to an apartment a school provides, in fact, I highly discourage it!

sshemma · Joined: 18 Feb 2010

Cerulean · Joined: 19 Aug 2009

No, it is not unreasonable in your situation to ask to be moved BUT you're on your way out of that job so it's unlikely your boss will agree.

walterkim18 · Joined: 07 Sep 2010

Some contracts include the option to be provided housing by the hagwon or a stipend of something around 300,000 won a month. Look over your contract and opt out of the provided housing if possible and find your own place. Yes, if your situation is as bad as it sounds then it warrants a move. Hagwon owners trying to cut financial corners doesn't make it right to house employees in such deplorable settings. Good Luck

Stan Rogers · Joined: 20 Aug 2010

What are you complaining about? Its free!

I wish I had a free place to live.

FDNY · Joined: 27 Sep 2010

I remember my arrival in Korea. The school hadn't got me an apartment yet, so I spent 3 months in a yogwan. The basement had a bar/brothel. All-in-all it was quite nice. The director would come over and take me to the basement and get me drunk. He also introduced me to my "neighbors". He would split at around 3:00AM and leave me to fend for myself. I tried being a good boy, but... (that was 1996)