| Accommodation in Korea
|
|
(Note: All of the above can be negotiated for long-term stay.)
|
Korea has a diverse range of accommodation options available for the short-term or long-term traveller, worker, or citizen.
If you are working in Korea as an english teacher, your school will be taking care of your ESL accommodation, likewise, if you are a businessman, then you likely will have your employer or sponsor looking after at least something. Nevertheless, there are countless times where a foreign could use some info on this side of things, so here we go.
[edit] Short-term options
Whether you are looking for a place to stay for a night, weekly, or monthly situation, we'll break down your choices going from cheapest to most expensive.
- Jjimjilbangs. Public bathhouses, which are 24 hours and have sleeping areas. Great for the cost-conscious traveller or looking for a place to pass out until the subway starts running again.
- Minbaks and yeoinsuks. These are basically homeowners that rent out rooms in their homes, to travellers. Some yeoinsuks are a little bigger and are similar to small yeogwans.
- Hasuks and goshiwons. These are dorm-style dwellings, where you will be given a small room to yourself, complete with bed, TV, and desk. In most cases, shower, washroom, kitchen, and laundry is shared by everyone else, however, you can find more expensive ones that have more space and in-room showers. The big difference between a hasuk and a goshiwon is that hasuks usually provide free breakfast and dinner, whereas goshiwons are usually no-frills and only provide kimchi and rice.
- Yeogwans are cheap hotels and are everywhere.
- Love motels are usually a little more lavish than yeogwans. Sometimes a lot more lavish, depending on the place. Some may fall into the category of castle motels.
- Condos are similar to the western equivalent, but usually along the lines of a bachelor suite or one or two bedroom suite. Usually only found in tourist areas.
- Pensions are rental house or cabins, found in tourist areas.
- Hotels. Needs no introduction.
[edit] Long-term options
In all of the above short-term options, one can negotiate monthly and long-term stay.
If you are looking for something a little more permanent, then you will need to talk to a budongsan (real estate agency) and venture into the world of Korean real estate.
Some options that you have are:
[edit] Financing
Two terms that get tossed around a lot in Korean real estate financing are jeonsae and wolsae ("key money"). These reference the size of your housing deposit to determine the amount of your monthly payments, if any.
[edit] Measurements
Koreans don't use measurements like square meters or square feet to determine space size. They use pyeong, which is their own unit of measurement equal to 3.3 square meters (35.59 square feet). See onlineconversion.com
|
