Korean Job Discussion Forums

R. S. Refugee · Joined: 29 Sep 2004 Location: Shangra La, ROK

Well, since I haven't found a uni job, I am now putting serious energy into finding the best hagwon situation possible.

One thing I occasionally see is a job listed in Seoul without an apartment included. It usually pays a bit more.

So, I have two questions:

1) How much roughly might one spend for a small studio about 12 pyeongs in size in the Seoul area? I realize it may vary from neighborhood to neighborhood.

2) Would it be ridiculous for someone new to the country, not speaking the language, to even consider a job where they would have to find a place to rent? I'm thinking it would be impractical for me to try, but I might as well ask the experts.

Thanks.

PS. That might well not have been my first dumb question, but I think it might be the first in a long string as I get closer to making the great leap forward. Hmm. Catchy phrase. Hope it turns out better for me. Very Happy

mithridates · Posted: Fri Feb 04, 2005 5:15 am Post subject:

It might be ridiculous if you didn't know anybody on Dave's, but I'm pretty good at finding places to rent. If you're looking at a place with no deposit then the rent will be relatively high, but there won't be a lease to sign.

Here's the place I'm moving into the day after tomorrow: right in the centre of the centre of Seoul, within 1km distance of �� and ��û stations. Five pyeong, everything included, which means free internet, free rice, kimchi, ramyeon, eggs, free laundry, electricity, free tv, all furnished, etc. Rent is 600 000 a month.
I might recommend a place near �� or �뷮�� / ��¹��. Those places are still close but a lot cheaper, and have a lot of students. I can recommend a place to you if you want, but I'm best at finding places only up to about 6 pyeong. Anything bigger than that and you might have to sign a 1-year lease or pay a deposit...

crazylemongirl · Joined: 23 Mar 2003 Location: almost there...

good info on this thread here

hellofaniceguy · Joined: 10 Jan 2003 Location: On your computer screen!

We're in the Mokdong area and have a 25 pyoung apartment....rent is expensive...but...the apartment owner accepted a cash deposit....a little higher then what the monthly rent would have been....but we'll get the entire deposit when we move out. If you can afford to go this route....you won't lose any money. 12 pyoung rents vary from area to area. I have seen them as low as 300.000 Won a month and high has 1,000.000 Won a month.
It's always best to find a place close to work. Cuts down on travel time for one thing! If you pay a years deposit...could be 5 million Won or one hundred five million Won.
Search and talk with the apartment owners. Money talks.
As for what area is best....well...in seoul...subways are all over and travel is easy enough.

R. S. Refugee · Joined: 29 Sep 2004 Location: Shangra La, ROK

mithridates · Posted: Fri Feb 04, 2005 3:49 pm Post subject:

Um...that's right. If you want a normal size place you'll have to pay about 5 million in deposit plus all the utilities on top though. I had a 12-pyung place down in Sanbon, 40 minutes from Kangnam, and I negotiated a 2 million deposit and 420 000W rent.
I don't mind the smaller places, and if they're nice enough then the people renting them are usually interesting too. My first girlfriend in Korea was one who lived just one floor down from me, albeit she did make the 'weird girls' thread, but still interesting enough...
That's why everything is free, because the kitchen is for everybody to use. I don't mind that because 1) that means less chance of weird bugs 2) I get to chat with people 3) that's where the free food comes from.
The reason why hagwons are able to offer places to the teachers is because they've already given the 5 mil deposit on them, which brings rent down to more reasonable levels. The last hagwon I was an administrator at had a cap of 5 million for deposit plus 300 000 a month.

mithridates · Posted: Fri Feb 04, 2005 3:55 pm Post subject:

http://www.oneroom114.co.kr/

This site can be good, though it's in Korean.

Right at the front there's a place in �� Kwanak, not sure how close it is to the subway but it's closer to Anyang than to Seoul. It's 13 pyung and is 2 million deposit plus 330 000 a month. I see no furnishings though and utilities and so on are extra.

You could also pay $35000 up front and then the room would be free, the interest from your money would pay for it. That's ��.

Oh wait, it's got a bed and stuff. Half-furnished.

One good thing is that land prices in Seoul have dropped over the past year.

canuckistan · Posted: Fri Feb 04, 2005 4:19 pm Post subject:

4-6 million key money down, 450,000 W a month gets you a decent place and a stable home where if your hagwon goes belly up you don't have to move in 3 days, just find another job. In Seoul that's easy. You can negotiate with your hagwon to pay the rent too, they generally like that they don't have to put key money down for a teacher and get tied up in a lease. It's win/win.

gajackson1 · Posted: Fri Feb 04, 2005 5:13 pm Post subject:

Agree w/ the Canuckistan. C & I are in a 22+ pyoung villa basement apartment. 3 full rooms, plus kitchen & a lot of extra space (big enough to host 20 people for a holiday party). Deposit was 5 mil, and we pay 450/month - BUT! we got that amount covered by our employers as a 'housing allowance.'

Personally, I've lived in a lot of different arrangements; I think you should look for a 12+ apartment place, or grab whatever you can for a little while, save, and move.

One serious advantage to an apartment in a 'regular' building is that every month, Koreans trash perfectly good stuff. You can really deck out a place nicely in no time - just use a hair dryer to remove the stickers, & NEVER tell Koreans where you got the stuff (2nd hand NOT kosher here).

Regards,

G.

We honestly believe having an abode you like helps create an oasis for yourself!!!

JongnoGuru · Joined: 25 May 2004 Location: peeing on your doorstep

mithridates · Posted: Sat Feb 05, 2005 3:31 am Post subject:

No, the bathroom's my own. It really is as good as a place can get...everything there is completely new and spotless, it's just big enough and the other people living there look cool. I hate taking time out to make food or make rice, and I certainly don't care if somebody sees me eating. There's a refrigerator inside the room too. There's no deposit either, and I pay by the month so that also drives the price up I suppose.
No, here's why I don't commit to a place for a year: I want cats, three cats to be precise. I plan to stay up in Gangnam for as long as I need to and then get a place in Bundang big enough for three felines to romp about and play. Right now I need to be in the centre of the centre Razz

of Seoul and this seems to be the best place...
It looks like I'm not committed to anything but I've actually been committed to one thing for the past two and a half years; I just don't have to be in the same place to do it. It has something to do with writing.

What's in a room...a washroom, toilet, desk, office chair, tv (which looks like a monitor, it's a small flat-screen LCD I think), double bed, refrigerator.

This is what a room there looks like:

This is the kitchen:

This is the hallway:

Derrek · Joined: 15 Jan 2003

mithridates · Posted: Sat Feb 05, 2005 5:22 am Post subject:

It takes me 10 minutes to walk to work. That's another reason why I chose this place. ^^
That means 35000 saved a month on subway fees too.

Derrek · Joined: 15 Jan 2003

mithridates · Posted: Sat Feb 05, 2005 5:34 am Post subject:

Yeah, that's right. My place looks expensive but if you include

electricity
internet
cable tv
furnishings
rice, kimchi, ramyun, eggs
water
heating
laundry

and then add the fact that I'm 10 minutes from work, and 15 minutes walk from line 7, line 2 and line 3, it's a pretty good deal. Plus you can see those buildings in Samsung from my window so the view's quite nice too.

I used to live in a place 20 minutes from Sanbon station and it was all right, but it would take me over an hour just to get to Gangnam and some days you just don't feel like going out of your way so you just stay around home and do nothing...