Korean Job Discussion Forums

[lindsay316]

Hi everyone, I was hoping to get some advice on how to find an apartment that would allow a small dog by Seoul National University in the Gangnam area. I don't need anything fancy or big. Any advice would be appreciated! Thanks.

[Hootsmon]

Best thing to do is just grab someone who speaks Korean and go into the local estate agents. Just tell them what your budget is. They'll show you to any available places in your price range. Pretty sure most places allow small dogs.

Without a Korean speaker, it becomes more tricky. Some places are advertised on websites, other foreigners who are planning to move out, but the Korean estate agent websites are usually not accurate. They tend to advertise places that aren't available anymore, or never were available, for prices under what they should be so that you'll call up. Then they can try to get you in on what they do have.

At least it used to be like that. Don't know if things have improved at all. I've been renting my own places for the last 4 years or so and, in my opinion, the best way is definitely to plan to spend a day tramping around the area you want to live in. Bribe a Korean friend to help you and you can get it all taken care of within the day. If the place is available and you have the money, you could probably move straight in too.

If this is your first time renting for yourself, remember you'll need to have saved up enough money for the deposit. Usually for a one room, you need 5 million or more...10 million or more for anything bigger. There are exceptions, but probably not many in that area. Good luck!