Korean Job Discussion Forums

[ESL Newbie]

Hey,

I'm planning on getting a job in Seoul by the end of the year. I've been thinking of housing options for the past couple of weeks. I know most schools offer housing ( fully furnished ) but you have little option for your choice of location or apartment quality. Some schools offer the key money deposit ( with interest ) so you can pick your own place. I plan on living in Korea for 1 to 2 years. I was wondering if anyone on the forum would have some advice or suggestion as to what route I should be thinking of when looking through possible jobs.

Has anyone lived in any Officetel.... they look pretty nice from the photos I've seen on the web....but I've heard the utilities/fees are a lot higher than low rise apartments. Is it worth making the effort to try to find a job that will accomadate me for my choice of living.......or should I just try to move to Seoul and get the place I want and then search for a job????????

[heydelores]

I've lived in both an officetel and villa. It's really hard to generalize, because accomodations are different by location. Get photos from your school, and even better, check it out in person first if you can.

My villa had two bedrooms, a large living room, and a large kitchen with an area for a table. There were two balconies and a good sized bathroom with a small bathtub. I also had a roommate. The building was old and had not been well maintained. There was a lot of mold in the apartment. When I brought it to the director's attention, he immediately sent someone to cover the mold with more wallpaper. The sliding doors on the balcony were old and warped, so the apartment was very drafty in winter. To get hot water, you had to turn the water heater on 15 minutes or so before you needed it.

My officetel room is very small--5 meters by 3.5 meters. That includes the kitchen area, entry way, bathroom, and closets. The building is only two years old and in excellent shape. No roommate. No bathtub. Hot water on demand.

My monthly bills at the officetel are about the same as I paid in the villa (which is half of the total from the villa since I split it with my roommate).

All in all, I wouldn't go back to the big villa apartment and roommate for anything!

[RachaelRoo]

Could someone define 'officetel' for me?

[ChuckECheese]

[Smee]

This is not a representative sample, but you can take a look at some pics/prices of officetel in Bundang. These are quite nice, and I was placed in one in 2005. www.oneroomhouse.org (in Korean, but just click on pictures).

Some villa are really nice, but I've heard lots of horror stories, too.

My officetel was small, I guess, but it was nice. Everything was brand new and clean, and everything worked properly. I'm in an older apartment now (not in a high-rise, but above a bookstore). It's bigger than my officetel, but it's not visually pleasing. Everything was filthy when I moved in, and some things weren't working properly. But, I'm not picky, and this works for me.

It's good to be thinking about housing early, but don't sweat it too much. THere's little you can do. Ask to see pictures, or ask where your apartment is (name of the building, and you can ask questions here). If you're going to a newer part of the country (such as Bundang), you might get placed into an officetel.

[Smee]

Oh, I forgot to add that my monthly bills in the officetel were insane. Between 120,000 and 200,000 per month, regardless of how much or how little I used. Some of my coworkers living in Sunae were paying nearly twice as much as me.

If you wanted to get a place on your own, such as an officetel, would schools put down the key money? I hadn't heard of that, but it sounds good.

[RachaelRoo]

[ChuckECheese]

[josesiem]

I'm in a really fancy officetel in Bundang (Poonglim I- Want)... I think it's the biggest in Korea, and for the most part, it kind of sucks, even though the building is brandnew and it's like a city unto itself.

The rooms are generally smaller... and my monthly bills are about $220... and it doesn't matter how much of whatever I use. There is absolutely NO storage space. I can't tell you how annoying that is. There's not even a closet. I cannot control the airconditioner. They determine when it's hot enough to turn it on.

The apartments and villas I've seen are better, in that, they're bigger with much more storage and they're considerably cheaper.

But, in the end, it's not the biggest deal. Your work situation will be much more important. Overall, I'm happy here b/c my school is literally right under my apartment. It's a 45 second commute to work.