Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Zoot]

Now, maybe I'm being short sighted here, but what is with the contruction of public buildings in this country.

This is one reason why winter here is so miserable. I'm from Manitoba, Canada, so I know winter but this is silly. You just can't get away from the cold. The buildings are so draughty and there's no concept of central heating.

If anyone built building in Canada with no central heating, it was because they would only be inhabiting it during the summer. Constructing a building with little or no insulation, un-weatherproofed windows and ABSENCE of central heating just doesn't happen in Canada.

But, come on, Korea. YOU HAVE WINTER!

[Qinella]

Korean construction is perplexing in so, so many ways.

The thing I always notice is how horribly everything is designed / built. It's almost impossible for me to find a room that does not have some kind of construction flaws in it. A great example is the little washroom off the teacher's office in my hagwon. There's a huge ventilation pipe that comes off the boiler and must be connected to the outside. The designers didn't design a way for that to be possbile, so it's just propped up on the window, and the window must stay open always. That's great design right there.

[qcat79]

yeah, like the koreans always leave the freakin' windows open in the hallways middle of freakin' winter and sometimes the doors too. the freakin' bathrooms don't even have heating. and what's with some apartments not even coming standard with air conditioning. my korean roommate says she doesn't want to install a.c. because of the expense. i told her "good luck finding some westerners wanting to live with you during the summer then." yeah, and she's gonna have to fill 3 rooms!!

[Cynical Optimist]

my hagwon has a long hallway in which there are 6 doors that all open OUT INTO the hallway. there are 3 on each side, creating a nice little gauntlet to walk all day. it's especially fun when you have to move desks and chairs from class to class.

[Ya-ta Boy]

[Hyeon Een]

[Qinella]

That's true. Doors opening out into a hallway.. wtf man..

[Hyeon Een]

[Qinella]

Man we already got the full-length stairs AND the watercooler. You're not even gonner believe this: next to the watercooler is a box that dispenses PAPER CUPS. and it's attached to the watercooler!!

Wonders never cease.

[Hyeon Een]

[JongnoGuru]

A show of hands, everyone who's knocked themselves silly while exiting/entering their own bathroom!

I suppose that should be: "A show of hands, everyone who lived in Korea back when it was cool to live in Korea, i.e., when all home bathroom floors were a step lower than the rest of the house/apartment, AND the bathroom doorframes were mounted to the bathroom floor, not to house floor, so the already-minimal head clearance might be a good 15~20cm lower!!!"

Dum-de-dum-dum...SMACK!!! ... ...."fvckers!"

[Demophobe]

Why do they use styrofoam on the outer walls?

Why don't they have any heating systems in buildings that aren't designated to be accommodations? A kerosene heater in the middle of the room; gosh, I have a headache and feel very sleepy. Just open the windows...

Why do they use poorly-mixed concrete, resulting in porous, water-permeable walls and floors?

Why are the "cut stones" used for finishing a building water-absorbent?

Why do the roofs always leak?

Why are gas, air-conditioner and cable-TV lines always an afterthought, strung with abandon over the structure and installed with holes chiseled rudely through the walls or through windows that have a section broken out? Think boiler exhaust pipes here...

Why do they put windows in front of windows?

Why do they all use the identical steel railings on all stairwells?

Why do they try to weld these railings (and the ever-loose steel rings) to the painted concrete walls?

Why do the walls crack within a year after completion?

Why do they simply wallpaper rough concrete walls on the interior?

Why is that wallpaper always overlapped?

Why is the linoleum inside cut 2 or 3 inches too long, flapping up onto the wall?

Why don't they use any kind of weather stripping around the glass doors at entrances?

Why are there always random globs of caulking on the window frames?

Why does the caulking often finish halfway around things? Why is caulking considered an adhesive for things that are big and heavy?

Why single-pane glass?

Why no heat in the bathroom?

Even winter is an afterthought here. 5000 winters go by, and it's still a surprise season. If I have one beef with Korea, it is a certain lack of foresight, very evident in construction and city/town planning.

[Benicio]

Because for Koreans the cheapest way is always the best and smartest way.
Saving a Won is the most important thing- comfort and class be d@mned!

[crazy_arcade]

not that I don't agree with the op....you'd think Koreans had the same weather as Thai based on how they construct their buildings....

but I really hate when someone does this....

"In Canada blah blah bah In Canada blah blah blah In Canada blah blah in Canada blah blah blah In Canada blah blah blah In Canada blah blah"

[I'm Seoul Lost]