Hello! In this post I want to take you on a guided tour of my humble Korean abode (there is also a vlog version of everything you’re about to read, which you can view here!). I’ve been in South Korea for almost six weeks now, so an update like this is long overdue. I guess I’ve been putting it off because it seems like there’s not much to show, y’know…since two suitcases-worth of stuff only fills up so much space, even in a tiny shoebox apartment like mine. But whatever. Let’s take a look!

I live in a relatively new 4-story walk-up apartment building in a quiet, residential neighborhood. It takes me about ten minutes to walk to school, and anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour to ride the bus to downtown.

Instead of using a key to get into my building and apartment, I enter in a four-digit code on these fancy little key pads, which are awesome, ‘cuz that means one less thing to worry about losing!

I walk in and take my shoes off before entering the kitchen area. As you can see, it comes with plenty of cupboards and cabinets for all the groceries I’m too lazy to go get and the appliances and cookware I’m too cheap to buy.

Right next to the door is this cute ‘lil cabinet where I keep my shoes, but I have to turn them sideways because they’re too long to fit in straight on! #I’mnotbuiltforKorea

Behind door number one is the bathroom. ‘Pretty spacious, pretty new, very typical in the sense that there’s no separate tub or curtain for the shower, so everything just kinda gets washed along with me every time. Lucky for me my toilet can handle toilet paper being thrown in, so I don’t have to keep a separate bin out for that. The place came with this medicine cabinet, which I’ve somehow managed to fill up quite well already. But, I digress. Continuing onward.

Behind door number two is potentially the neatest thing about my apartment: this little side-room that has two wall-sized windows where I keep my recycling, the fridge, microwave, and my bike! I actually didn’t get my reusable recycling bag till last week, so I’ve been building up a rather extensive cardboard collection since I’ve arrived. ‘Looking forward to getting rid of that this Tuesday!

Next to last, but not least, is the dining/living/study/artsandcrafts/bedroom. I’m guessing it’s about 12×12 feet in size; big enough for a short-stack dresser, two-person dining room table/chair set, a twin bed and a stand-alone closet. The closet has more space than I have clothes at the moment, but I’m sure that will change as the seasons progress this year.

Finally, we have the laundry room, featuring all the suitcases and other miscellaneous items I’m not using at the moment, a stunning vista that seem so close you could just reach out and touch it (oh wait, you actually could), a decently new laundry machine, and a drying wrack, of course, because Koreans don’t do the whole drier thing.

Every month I pay for gas, electricity and water, which costs me next to nothing. Literally. I think my combined bill for this first month was less than $10 between all three. Rent, which is 500,000 won, is covered by my school, and in my case, my landlady pays for the cable and internet…or so I’ve been told. I’m still waiting for that to turn out to be a lie, though, because frankly it’s too good to be true!

Well, that just about concludes the grand tour. You’ve literally seen every square inch of my apartment. It’s small, but it really doesn’t need to be any bigger since it’s just me, and it’s starting to feel a little more like home every day. Thanks for reading! Hope you enjoyed it!