hide menu
Housing
Most Koreans (probably close to 80%) live in apartments. The average apartment size tends to be smaller, about 30% smaller than those in North America, but the apartments are clean and comfortable. You might live in a single studio apartment or you might live in shared housing. In the case of shared housing, the living room/kitchen area will be shared and teachers will have their own bedroom. You can specify which type of housing you prefer on your online application, but teachers who are flexible will find positions easier.
Apartments are provided for teachers free of charge, but teachers will need to pay utilities (heat, cable, phone). Apartments will come provided with all of the furnishings teachers need such as: bed, table and chairs, wardrobe, TV, DVD, fridge, washing machine, Western style bathroom and toilet, gas range, kitchenware and laundry racks.
Most Korean apartments have an under the floor heating system (Ondol). Hot water pipes run under the floor providing a nice warm floor. This Ondol system is very efficient for heating the apartments and it is great to have in the winter when it gets cold. It’s very nice to come home and lie down on a warm floor.
One thing to remember about apartments has to do with your shoes. Never wear your shoes in a Korean apartment. You will notice at the front door when you first enter an apartment, a small shoe rack for placing your shoes. Before entering the home, always remove your shoes and place them on the rack.
Should you wish to have the internet at home, it is very cheap to connect to the internet and your school can help set this up for you. It is also very cheap to purchase cable packages if you want more variety in your TV. I pay 16,000 won/month and this gives me a few movie channels, a cartoon channel for my son, the Discovery Channel and a couple of sports channels.
One final point to make is to always keep your home address with you written in Korean in your wallet until you know it. This is useful for showing the cab drivers.
