Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Trespasser]

Hello everyone! First of all, I would like to tell all of you that I have greatly enjoyed and appreciated the opinions / information you have posted. Thanks for that. Your sharing has truly helped me and answered so many of my questions.
I will be moving to S. Korea at the beginning of June to search for a teaching job. My husband and I have been looking forward to this move for almost two years. I am a 28 year old caucasian female American. I will graduate from an accredited university with a B.Sc. in psychology next month.
Numerous times I have seen the posts that the search function is my friend! However, there is one question that I am hoping someone might be able to answer for me. Using the search function for pets and housing I am not finding the information that I need.
Here is the situation: we have two cats that will be moving with us. We have had them since they we six weeks old and they are now five years old. Giving them away is not an option under any circumstances. I understand that sometimes people feel they must get rid of their pets but that is a dealbreaker for us.
Does anyone know of temporary housing, between Seoul and the Wonju area, that will allow our cats to stay with us? I am quite willing to pay an extra fee if required. Ideally, we would prefer to stay in the 800,000 won or less per month price range. Sorry if I rambled too long. I would be very greatful for any information that you would be willing to provide. Thanks in advance.

[Poor Lazarus]

I would not advertise that you are bringing the cats unless the prospective landlord mentions a no-pet policy upfront. Generally, cats are not well thought of here, but when you have a healthy, friendly cat with a shiny coat, the attitudes change quickly.

I have 3 cats, and as long as the neighbors don't complain, it is no problem. And why would they complain? The cats are clean, quiet and stay inside. Whenever Korean friends come to visit, they assume we brought these cats from home (we got all three in Korea, from shelters) because Koreans who keep cats generally feed them scraps and they tend to be a bit mangy (the cats, that is). When they see what a healthy cat looks like, and feels like, they change their perception immediately.

So my advice is to just bring the cats. If the landlord makes an issue of it, you should have no problem showing him that the cats won't be any trouble.

[kangnam mafioso]

a lot of koreans have dogs in their apartments (perhaps unbeknowst to the landlord), and so i don't think it will be a big deal if you have cats. if they find out you have cats, they might make you pay an extra deposit or something, but i don't think it will be a problem. what do you mean by temp. housing ? a motel until your school puts you up in a place? or, are you arranging your own housing? this is a whole other topic in itself. if so, hope you brought $10-20,000 in key money.

[Trespasser]

Thanks for the replies so far. Perhaps I am being overly paranoid about my cats but they are extremely important to us. I do not have a job lined up yet so we will probably stay in a motel for a month. We will just stay there until I have secured a job that will provide an unshared apartment. I am confident that I will be able to find a job that is acceptable. Being new to S. Korea and teaching I know that I can't demand the moon. Thanks again!

[patchy]

You can probably smuggle them into a love motel but cleaners come in everyday so the management will probably find out.

Another good place that you can stay in temporarily is a goshiweon. In your case because you have a pet, you should stay in a more expensive higher-end one, one with its own bathroom too because you will probably need the space and privacy. Most goshiweons are tiny and you can hardly even turn around in one. There are more spacious goshiweons for 400,000 won and upwards for a month, more the size of a small one-room, there is no contract to sign and if you want to move out before a month you just pay daily rates which are higher than the monthly rates.

There are many goshiweons around universities like in Hongdae, Sinchon and Seouldae, all on the green line. Get a Korean friend to find a list of them in the area you're interested in, online. The friend can give you the addresses and phone numbers. Better yet, just go with a friend and look for one in the area you want: you will find one in one day. You don't need to book ahead, you just find out if they have vacancies (90% do), and show up and look around, if it doesn't suit, visit another one, they're usually clustered together within a few blocks, until you find one you like. I wouldn't mention a pet, just sneak it in later when you move in with your belongings. I would also find a goshiweon room with windows, otherwise these places can be claustrophobic.

The goshiweons are furnished places, some of them are just like motels, they have (single) bed with bedding, desk, chair, closet, fridge, TV and computer with internet included, utilities (electricity, heating, A/C) are included. Most have a communal kitchen and the more expensive ones supply free food: cooked rice, kimchi, ramen, eggs, tea, coffee. You might need two rooms if you're a couple if you can't find a large goshiweon room.

The beauty of goshiweons is that you pay monthly and there is no deposit.
They don't check your rooms, you have to clean them yourself, so you could probably get away with keeping a cat there until you find more permanent accommodation.

But motels (I would recommend a love motel) might be OK, it depends on how finnicky the owners are about animals, and love motels can be expensive, ~40,000 won a night. It might be best to stay in a love motel the first few days because they're easier to locate, until you can find a goshiweon and then when you find one, you can relax and take your time finding proper accommodation.

I don't know what the policy is with regards to animals in apartments/one rooms/officetels. I think most owners prefer you not to have them but I think if you don't tell they won't care and will probably never know, unless there is damage to your place. The really strict places will tell you beforehand that no pets are allowed. Officetels usually have a manager in a front office who watches the comings and goings so they will probably know if you have a pet or not. I don't think they will tell the owner though. I think if you tell them you have a cat and you stress you are a good tenant, the owner and realtor probably won't mind.

[Trespasser]

Patchy, Thanks for the info!