If you choose a full time job teaching English in Korea, your employer will generally cover your housing costs for the year. Great, right? But what, exactly, does an entry-level contract with a hagwon or public school get you in terms of an apartment? The answer is both a lot and, well… not a lot.

But first, let’s see some pictures of what you can expect. (Excuse the mess, you caught is in the middle of moving out!)

Free Housing Means a Lot in Korea

Let’s look at why you might consider your free housing to be worth a lot. First of all, space ain’t cheap in the “Land of the Morning Calm” (a name apparently not coined in our first-year apartment complex!).  South Korea is a small country taken up largely by scenic but uninhabitable mountains. If you don’t count the monks who live in the mountains, this doesn’t leave much room for the 50 million people. Take a gander at Seoul’s Craiglist and you’ll see that even modest apartments go for a lot of money by Western standards.

Second, it is standard for Korean landlords require a massive deposit, or “key money,” of upwards of $10,000 for even the smallest apartment. It’s safe to say that if employers didn’t cover this, Korea couldn’t attract many foreign English teachers to its shores.

Small But Effecient

Korea is a small country with a ton of people. So unless you’re a kimchi baron or want to live on the side of a mountain, you won’t get a whole lot of space to call you own. But Koreans, being the ingenious people that they are, have found clever ways to make the most of every square inch. Where’s the shower, you ask? It’s an extension of the sink! (You’ll learn to switch it back to “sink mode” after the shower once get sprayed a couple times trying to wash your hands.) The washing machine? Under the stove! The dryer? It’s a rack that can be folded up and stowed in the closet. The oven? Now you’re dreaming!