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• Most teachers are provided with a bachelor-sized apartment in a neighbourhood near the school. Usually, employers will do their best to provide accommodations within walking distance or a short bus ride away from the school.

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• The apartment will be paid for by the school and no money should be deducted for rent. 

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• Basic furnishings will be provided by the school, such as; bed, bedding, dresser, TV, fridge, gas range, air conditioner

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• After you arrive, someone at the school will help you to set up Cellphone, Internet, and TV cable access. 

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You should not expect to have the following items waiting in your apartment unless a thoughtful previous teacher decided to leave them or they have accumulated over time: a washing machine, rice cooker, microwave, fan, hair dryer, iron and ironing board, desk, pots and pans, glasses, and kettle.

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There are also some things which are common appliances to us but are rarely found in a basic Korean household.

 

• Coffee makers will not be provided, but you can find them for a relatively cheap price at stores like E-mart or HomePlus.

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• Clothes dryers are very uncommon and you should expect to hang your clothes on a hang dryer in your apartment. This becomes somewhat tricky as you wait for 2 days for your jeans to dry. You can have fun with this and see how good you are at guessing drying times. Most apartments are equipped with a washing machine. For some common translations, please follow this link.

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• Bathtubs

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• Ovens are also uncommon in Korea as Korean cuisine just doesn’t require them. You can purchase a small oven at E-mart or HomePlus for 50,000 to 250,000 won.

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• Dishwashers

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Some important things to note about Korean apartments:

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• The bathroom and kitchen are usually quite small in a Bachelor apartment.​

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• You will have to turn on the hot water every time you wish to take a shower. Ask someone from your school to teach you how to operate the hot water heater or check out this tutorial. The same control system will turn on your floor heating.

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• Bathtubs are a very rare find in Korean bathrooms. If you are lucky enough to have one, it will likely be big enough for a small child.

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• Bathrooms are tiled from top to bottom and you can expect your sink, toilet, and everything else to get showered with you. They are quite tricky to clean and maintain, but usually a squeegee will do the trick after each shower to remove excess water.

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• Speakers are often installed in the apartments to broadcast announcements for the tenants. Announcements are commonly about basic maintenance such as trash removal, clean up, fire drills, etc. They can come on at any time of the day so do not be alarmed when Big Brother comes on.

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• If Korean landlords need to speak with you regarding any apartment issues, they can sometimes try to come right into your apartment after a quick knock. It is suggested that you lock your door to prevent this from happening.

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Renting your own apartment in Korea

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For most teachers in Korea, renting an apartment on their own is not an option. While some schools are able to provide teachers with an apartment allowance (usually not exceeding 400,000 KRW), they are not able to provide the necessary key money (deposit) that is required by all landlords. The deposit can be substantial (equal to 4-10 times the monthly rent) which is why most single teachers are not able to afford it. On top of that, the tenant is required to pay monthly rent. At the end of the lease, your deposit will be returned by the landlord.