Almost all English teachers in South Korea are provided an apartment by their employers as part of their job contract. Because of this, most of us do not get to choose where we live. Some people have it better than others, but living quarters here are generally very small.
Most teachers are given a small studio inside a big apartment complex. I am lucky and have a bigger apartment than most teachers. My apartment building is 11 stories, and I live on the 5th floor. I have a living room, and small bedroom, a decent sized kitchen in the hallway area and a bathroom that is also fairly big.
I have my full sized bed in the living room because it's a much bigger room than the bedroom. I also have a futon, a coffee table, a night stand, and a TV stand in this room. This room has large sliding glass doors that open up to the patio which is where the washing machine is kept.
The kitchen is pretty big compared to most kitchens in Korean apartments. I have a refrigerator and freezer, a microwave, and a stovetop with two burners. There is no oven, which is not an issue for me because I never bake. There is also no dishwasher so all dishes have to be washed by hand.
I use the "bedroom" as a closet where I keep most of my clothing and store other belongings. I also have a vanity table and full sized mirror in this room. So basically this room is my walk-in closet and is completely full of clutter about 95% of the time.
The bathroom is a traditional Korean bathroom which means there is no separate shower area. There is a drain below the sink which is also the shower drain and the entire floor of the bathroom is basically the shower floor.
There is a panel in the living room to turn on the heat which is administered through a floor heating system. On this panel you also have to turn on the hot water before you take a shower or do laundry, or else you will only get cold water.
Most everything in my apartment right now was left for me by the English teacher I replaced, so I'm still working on adding my own personal touch to it. I put a Christmas tree up for the holidays which made it very cozy and I am working on adding more pictures and picture frames as well as decorations and any souvenirs I can find on my trips.
It's not much but it's a charming little place I have all to myself and I couldn't be happier with it. Not to mention, my coworker lives only 5 floors above me which makes it easy to hang out and keeps me from feelings lonely.
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