Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Unreal]

What is a decent apartment size for 2 people? My wife is in Korea and she's going to take a look at the school and the apartment this week. The director told her it's a 7 pyoung studio. My friends had a 13 pyoung studio and I don't think we can live in anything smaller than that.
My signing of the contract depends on what she thinks of the school, people, apartment, etc. so if everything is cool but the apartment what options do we have? The recruiter talked about getting some money towards housing instead...how much could I expect if I choose this? I don't mind paying a little of my own money for a better place but I don't think the housing marked in Jeonju is so expensive that the owner couldn't spring for a decent size place. Should I hold out for a bigger place, take a housing allowance or hope that the honeymoon phase (we were married in June) can last a whole year in a 7 pyoung apate?

[phaedrus]

Seven pyeong is way too small for two people. Twenty-four pyeong drives me up the wall sometimes.

Pay the extra yourself and get a bigger place. Try to get the school to lease, and have the extra deducted monthly. Then you don't get screwed if they fire you.

[dutchman]

[jazblanc77]

I'm living in a studio about that size (~8 pyeong I figure), with my wife now, though not by choice. I stipulated 15 pyeong as the minimum as was assured that they would do that for me. They lied!

I would highly suggest not accepting that apartment. Not only is it too small for the two of us to live but we have no space to store any of our stuff and hardly a kitchen to be mentioned.

Push for something at least 15-20 pyeoong and no smaller, though this will still be cramped. Definitely push for a two or three roomer as well.

If they won't agree, ask for a stipend and rent your own apartment using that as a subsidy. There is no reason why they wouldn't agree to this method.

If they won't agree to a compromise on the apartment, move on and find something else.

Personally, I'm going crazy in my apartment. I can't escape my wife when we have fights, I can't do anything when she is napping or sleeping, there is no storage, it looks terribly cramped and messy even though we don't have that much stuff, and the kitchen is so small that making a meal in it is practically impossible as there isn't even cupboard space enough for food and absolutely no counter space.

[Hollywoodaction]

8 pyong is very small for two people, but it's not impossible. Our friends have done it, and they had a kid. But, I'd say 15 pyong is probably the minimum to be comfortable. If you've got a bit of cash, and you're married to a Korean, move out of Seoul, get a mortgage, and buy you're own place. 34 pyong apartments can be purchased in small cities for half of the key money you'd have to put down for a 15 pyong place in Seoul. The best thing is you don't have to pay cash. All you need is money for the down payment and you've got 19 years to pay off the mortgage.

[justagirl]

If both of you are working at the school, they should provide a 2-room apartment.

Anyone I've EVER known in Korea who had a roommate had a 2-bedroom apartment, and those are never as small as 7 pyong. I really think you're new boss is trying to save 100,000/month by squeezing you into a 1-person studio apartment. A 7-pyong apartment is VERY small. You can't get too much smaller in Korea, unless you're in one of those study/dormitory things that only have room for a bed and a desk.

My husband and I have a 12 or 13 pyong apartment, and it's okay....though it is still small. Our other married friends have 20+ pyong here in Korea. Ours is definitely the smallest we know of, for married/2-teacher apartments.

Like someone else mentioned, there will be no room for storage, the kitchens in the small apartments are like kitchenettes...small fridge, a single sink and a stovetop with 2 burners and NO countertop. Most likely it's a studio, so everything is in one room, including that kitchenette.

Insist (politely) that you and your wife will need larger accomodation, as you believe that 7 pyong is for a single person, not for two people. Let you wife know she doesn't have to feel bad or guilty or pressured for not wanting the 7-pyong apartment. It really is not reasonable for them to ask you to accept that. I guarantee that the boss and his/her spouse would NEVER live in such a small place, and neither would any married teachers coming to Korea if they had an idea of how their housing really should be.

Also, like someone else mentioned, your location is not exactly a hopping real estate area. It shouldn't be too much for a bigger apartment. We live in the upper-scale neighborhood in Cheonan, and our 12 pyong apartment is only 300,000/month. Our friends live in another neighborhood and their 20 pyong apartment is 350,000/month. Not exactly shelling out big bucks!

If you have any other questions, feel free to pm or post more. My husband and I got married last May and came back to Korea together, moving into his apartment...now that was a trip! He was living by himself in a 12-pyong and had to make room for me and all my stuff! I KNOW we'd go insane in a smaller place.

And one last thing about it all....good luck on your 1st year! It's been great for us, but quite stressful adding all the stress of a new marriage to the stress of living in a different culture. We have done pretty well, though, and I hope you guys enjoy as much happiness (or more) as we have!

justagirl

[Joseph Fitzgerald]

For anyone who has taught in both a hogwan and public school, which housing is better. My wife and I lived in a very small apartment while we were in Seoul. This time I will be working at a public school, and they will let me choose our apartment. It has to be bigger than what the hogwan gave us.

[prosodic]

7 �� for two people? No way. That's cramped for one person.

[discostar23]

Our apartment is huge by korean standards. We have three bedrooms and three pouches. I have considered staying at my crappy job just to keep the aparment. Its the same size as an apartment in a western country.

If you have small living quarters you and your wife are going to fight a lot ...its all about personal space.

[justagirl]

I should also mention that for my husband and I, that is not a normal situation. We could have gotten a bigger apartment, but we wanted to have one waiting for us when we came back from our wedding. It would have been too difficult to find a new apartment, move all our things and leave it for the 2 months we were back in the States.

It was our choice to keep the 12-pyong apartment my husband had lived in before we married, and we get extra $ from our boss every month since he doesn't have to get 2 apartments for 2 different employees (which he would have had to do if he hadn't hired us)

[ryleeys]

I hate all of you. I have 5 pyeong.

[wylde]

[Hollywoodaction]

Justagirl raises a good point. You shouldn't accept being put in a 7 pyong room if you both work for the same school. If you do, I bet your boss will brag about it at the next hagwon owners meeting.

[Zyzyfer]

I have 12 pyeong (which includes the parking space) and, if the Chica decided to move in tomorrow, I'd be on the apartment hunt for something bigger tomorrow as well. I don't know how pyeong translates into house sizes (nor do I understand sq. feet or meters), but I do know that 7 pyeong is tiny. If you've got strong lungs, you can spit across it.

[ryleeys]