Korean Job Discussion Forums

[calicoe]

OK, I'm moving to Busan for a new job and I have what is considered a big dog in Korea.

When I went down to Busan to sign the job contract, a co-worker went to a realtor to help me find an apartment. They found a great apartment, but both the realtor and the co-worker adamantly implored me not to say anything about the dog to the landlord. They all said (including the current tenant) that the landlord lives far away and never visits, and other tenants have dogs. Risk #1, but one I thought I might take since many of my friends with dogs never ask, and when they do ask, they are told no big dogs, or that they will be kicked out if anyone complains, which Korean neighbors always do, just on the basis of it being larger than a lap dog.

Could a landlord keep your entire key money for having a dog if it was not mentioned either in the contract or by your realtor?

Risk #2: I just got a call from the co-worker, and she told me that the bedroom wall which was previously covered up by furniture has a huge mold patch growing across it. The same co-worker who told me not to worry about not mentioning the dog is now telling me not to worry about the mold, because they will just cover it up with wall paper and it's not a problem.

I have already paid 2M to hold the place, and am due to send the rest of the 8M key money and realtor's fee on Monday.

I am seeking advice on here for the most realistic course of action. Realistic, because I also know that many if not the majority of apartments in Korea have mold problems, and most do not allow large dogs.

Do you think I should just try to get them to clean with bleach and cover it up (I am not there for the cleaning and wallpapering process), and try to extract other benefits out of it, like explicit permission for the dog?

Or, should I use this as an excuse to get my deposit back, and try to find a landlord who will explicitly let me rent with a large dog?

I only have 2 weeks before school starts again and I have nowhere to stay in Busan, especially with a large dog.

Thanks for your feedback.

[Wildbore]

[Cacille]

I would agree a bit and disagree a bit with Wildbore. Though it was a great post, I disagree that the mold can be taken care of simply. It may be a bigger problem than you think.
My first question would be WHY is there mold in the first place? How did it get in? Why is it growing on that one wall? Is there a leak behind the wall from a leaking (ready to burst) water pipe? Is it from the outside, where mold got in from some dirt pressed too closely to the foundation which allowed water to travel up it? Is the foundation itself cracked?

You need to determine if the mold is wet, growing mold, or if it is dried mold and the problem that caused it is rectified. If dried, sure. Bleach that stuff and grab a quart of mold-stopping primer and then paint from the local hardware store, THEN maybe wallpaper on top (But I wouldn't bother with that.)
Do not live with it. The teacher is full of BS (and has no idea what he/she is talking about) that the mold is not a problem. Mold is ALWAYS a problem - to you and your dog's health. WALLPAPERING OVER IT MAKES IT WORSE. Once the problem is repaired and the mold is killed/sealed, THEN feel free to move in.

I'd worry about that apartment personally. Landlord far away? Who to call for emergencies?

By the way, I'm a house painter. I do this stuff for a living (well, will have done. Till I move to Korea). I've seen, and repaired, mold spots before. Bet I could enter a hardware store in Korea and pick out the products needed to fix the problem, without reading any of the product words Trust me and not the teacher on this one - demand it be fixed properly.

[luckylady]

[Lazio]

[Pablo]

"the loud, pointless noises produced by dogs"

Offensive to dogs. We do not make "pointless" noises. If someone doesn't understand what a particular sound means, then that's their language shortcoming, not ours.

[calicoe]

Thanks. All good comments, everyone of them. Cacille, I definitely agree with you, but once you are here you will see how pointless it is to try and find another apartment without mold - especially in Busan. I think I am going to have to find a way to clean and minimize the problem. Not an ideal situation, I know.

Pablo: that made me laugh. You know what's funnier? They all ask me if my dog barks or makes noise. I say sometimes, because he's a dog. It's like asking someone: does your baby cry or kids run and shout?

One thing I know for sure is that he won't be making tons of noise at 3 a.m. outside of someone else's door the way Koreans do to me now.

[allan of asia]

Personally if i had a neighbour with a dog that barks or makes noise all the time i would call the landlord and complain. I am no fan of pets in apartments - and just because you are, why should others suffer when it barks and runs around in your place while you are at work, out for the night and so on? I used to be driven insane by a dog upstairs from me which used to clump around all night and howl and bark the whole time the owner went out. However you do have to be a bit more flexible with kids, although I would like to have pats where people aren't allowed kids either - i do my noisy socialising in bars and restaurants - i stay quiet at home and expect my neighbours to do the same!

[Cacille]

I will concede to the posters who live in Korea, you may have better knowledge about the mold situation. Shoddy construction CAN be a reason for mold, barring any other factors. I'm not in Korea yet to know.

But I do know some ways to "fix" shoddy construction. LuckyLady said that hardware stores are few and far between, which I can understand. (Sounds like a great business opportunity for someone to start!) However from what I hear of stores like HomePlus, they are large Walmart type stores, which means they probably have a hardware section. That would do. All the stuff that I know that can fix mold, can be found generally in a section like that.

SO - people say that it is shoddy construction. Probably due to there being little or no moisture/vapor barrier wrapping around the building. Tyvek wrap or whatever. If that is the case, yeah. That's problematic, BUT things can be done to the outside and inside to lessen the ability of mold to grow. Generally, paint and caulk can be a very very helpful thing here. There are multiple paints on the market (In America, I admit) which are mold resistant for the outside, and inside too. Simply filling any crevices with exterior caulk meant for the type of surface it will need to be applied to. Let dry, then paint the building OR, if brick/concrete, SEAL the building with a concrete/brick sealer. Drylock is a water sealer primer product that can be painted on brick/block/concrete and then a heavy paint on top. Problem solved on outside for next 3-10 years easily. Let inside dry out for a few weeks, then bleach kill mold, prime with anything, paint with a high gloss paint on interior walls (all of them, including closets and ceilings). This will cut down on mold being able to form and stick in the future.

Also, some find getting a dehumidifier to be very helpful for situations with a lot of moisture buildup, such as old leaky basements with old concrete/old rock foundations.

Okay I know you all aren't landlords and can't just go out and do this to your apartment building. But it might be a helpful post to some of you for the future or in helping a current/future landlord fix a problem. If anyone has a situation that they need a answer to, in relation to home improvement in any way, shape or form, pm me. If I don't know, I have long time experienced friends who do. I know Korea's setup will be different, but advice may be tweaked to fit the situation and materials at hand.

[luckylady]

with all due respect Cacille, you really need to chill out and do a wait and see when you arrive as to what the housing situation is in Korea.

there are many reasons for the mold; not the least of which a lot of very old buildings, little wind to blow it away, rice paddies everywhere and air-tight rooms which trap all kinds of moisture. no doubt even the wallpaper may have been manufactured in a way that didn't destroy all the possible spores, or is so thick it also traps moisture, leading to mold. limited windows (and less sunshine) is also common.

as for a hardware store being an opportunity, again, products are sold differently in Asia, not just Korea, than in the West. yes, there are large box stores, but there is no Home Depot or anything similar.

most expats just combine bleach and water in a spray bottle to deal with mold, use fans, and don't lean furniture against the walls.

[motiontodismiss]

[Weigookin74]

[Weigookin74]

[NYC_Gal 2.0]

She adopted the dog. This is a life decision that she didn't make easily, and she's very happy to have him, even though it will be a lot of work. He's very cute. I've seen him.

You don't go telling people do ditch their kids after they choose to have them, headache or not. Don't presume that you know what's best for her.

To Calicoe: As for the mold: it's Busan. It pretty much goes along with the territory, from what my friends down there tell me. Get a dehumidifier, use spray bleach, and air out the place. If you're staying for more than a year or two, it's super cheap to have wallpaper redone (my friends had 2 or 3 bedrooms done for under 200k recently) so you can definitely find some alkaline paint to use after you spray it after a year, and have it papererd again. Congrats on the move and new family member!

[Pablo]

"You don't go telling people to ditch their kids after they choose to have them, headache or not. Don't presume that you know what's best for her. "

Hear, hear.

I made a very painful decision to leave my dogs back home with friends when I came. Although we all suffer a lot, I still feel it has been the right thing to do in a wrong situation. But every caregiver must make the call themselves, and when they do, it's not for others to judge. And if the dog was adopted in Korea, then there wasn't even an option to leave the dog back home- only to leave him to the void.

Some people still think it's okay and macho to make crude comments about throwing dogs in front of the bus.

Ha. Ha.

Pablo