Korean living

I tidied up yesterday, and thought that it might be time to finally take some photos of my little studio. Somehow it looks tidier in real life than it does in these photos.

So welcome to the grand tour.

This is the view from the entry door.

That's Perry in the corner. He was my "welcome to Korea" present. I don't get sunlight (more on this below) but at least I've got a furry friend. My kitchen consists of a sink and two gas burners, although I did buy a small, used counter-top convection oven (which is basically a very fat toaster oven) . Given my lack of counter space, the oven is out of view, behind my clothes drying rack.

View of my desk/bed...

When I arrived in Korea, my apartment was completely bare, aside from the bed. The Korean teachers at my school wrote a list of things I needed, including a TV. When I told them I didn't want a TV (1. I don't watch TV 2. It would be in Korean anyways), they decided I needed a desktop computer instead. So that was nice.

Behind the sliding doors next to the kitchen is a tiny laundry room, with a giant laundry machine.

I haven't lived somewhere with my very own laundry machine in years! I didn't realize how nice it is. No need for a laundry hamper, I just put my clothes directly in the machine. No need to find time to run the machine. No need to race to pull my clothes out before someone else dumps them on the floor...

I did have to get all the buttons translated.

Same with the heating system:

Actually the Korean house heating system is kind of interesting. It's all run by in-floor heating (called ondol here) - most heat controls ask you to set the temperature of the water, indirectly controlling the heat in the room. My controls have an air temperature thermostat, so I can set the water temperature, and then it automatically turns the heat on or off depending on what I have set my desired air temperature to.

So, I mentioned lack of sunlight. I have no windows! Actually, they aren't completely absent - I've got the tiny kitchen window, and there is a normal sized window behind the laundry machine, but it's frosted. I either have the window open (not great given that its still pretty cold here), or no sun comes in. Even when the window is open, my grand view is...the wall of the apartment next to mine -_- Coming from an apartment with south facing sliding glass doors, I really miss having natural sunlight in my room.

Another interesting thing, which I didn't photograph, is my bathroom. There is no separate stall for the shower - it's just a hand shower mounted on the wall. There is a drain in the middle of the bathroom floor. So before showering, I (and every other english teacher here - this bathroom system seems to be pretty commonplace) must remove the TP and towels to somewhere dry. A post-shower bathroom is pretty wet. Some people get around this by using bathroom slats - little wooden platforms you stand on when you use the toilet or the sink that keep your feet dry - I went and bought a window wiper (think of those things you use at the gas station to clean your car windows). I squeegee my floor and pull all the puddled water into the drain. Its fun.