New House, New House!

Maybe five days ago or so I signed the contract for my new house! Hooooraaaay!

It's in Gangnam, so it's closer to my school. It's also an apartment building, so the 관리비 (base fee in your monthly utility bill that covers security and maintenance) is less than what it would be in an officetel. A lot of the officetel-style buildings had their 관리비 between 80,000 and 120,000 won!! That's just too much for me. I'm not making mad dollahs or anything so sweet yet. Especially when you consider that it's a little tough to find a place in Gangnam for less than 600,000 won a month. And that really isn't bad at all, but you're looking at older, very tiny, one room living spaces for that price. For an officetel it's around 800,000, I've found.

I will live by Gangnam Station, so that area isn't bad. I wanted to live around Seolleung Station because it's ridiculously close to my school and also faster to get to other places around Seoul, but on one side of Seolleung Station is Daechi-dong. And you can't find a nice place for 900,000 won or less (total with rent and 관리비) in Daechi-dong. Sooo, I put my tail between my legs and looked elsewhere.

My new place isn't bad at all, though. It's a lot smaller than where I'm living now, and the view isn't very good, but it will do. Although... The bathroom concerns me. I remember writing about it in an email to my grandfolks, haha. You can use the toilet, and you can use the sink. That is what there is room for.

I'll start moving in next week, so I'll have to take a picture of it and post it. I think this is going to be a true test of how high-maintenance I am.

So why did I do it?! Why did I pick the place with the tiny bathroom and the tiny, yippy dog living across from me? Becaaaaause...it has a closet. Well, it has a really tiny room with a wardrobe in it that can hold, like, six or seven jackets. Or dresses if that's what you have more of. But I don't. So several of my jackets will go in this petite wardrobe. However, the most important thing about this wardrobe is that it can be moved OUT. Out of the tiny room! And you know what that leaves me with? An art space.

It has windows on two of the four walls, and an actual door. So even if I'm using turpentine in the summer, I can set up a fan, open the windows, and not have my entire apartment dishing out headaches. It means I can tape paper to the wall and draw to my hearts content in my own little isolated corner of the world.

And that is why I did it.

I actually wouldn't have even thought of it if my boyfriend weren't there with me. It was his brilliant idea to move the stupidly tiny wardrobe out. I thought the thing was stuck in there. Poor guy went around with me to house after house after house, and sometimes until quite late. I'm so, so thankful for his help as well as the help of my family and friends who were all so supportive.

Ah. ** There is one thing I'd like to add. I don't know if this is a Gangnam thing, or an everywhere thing, but you don't need the full deposit when you sign the contract. Just 10%. So, since my deposit is 10,000,000 won, I only needed to pay 1,000,000 won when I signed the contract. The rest, plus one month rent, is then paid when moving in. So when I move in next week, I'll pay 9,700,000 won.

Therefore, I would advice any of you house-hunters to check in with the realtor you're using and see when the full amount is due. It could mean the difference between getting the house you want and being too late!


직방
Also, here's the website version of the mobile app I used to find places up for rent. I spent way too much time on this thing, but it's helpful. If you know Korean... Unfortunately there is no English version, but it's still very easy to use. You can look by type of house, deposit and rent parameters, location... Everything. And it tells you when the house was listed, too, along with what appliances are inside. I, for one, refused to consider one that lacks a washing machine. But that's up to you~

I feel like I've been plugging this app so much I should be getting paid.



Anywho, feel free to ask me questions, as always :)

xoxox

Changing Schools- The Paperwork

As I was talking with schools I was interested in working with last year, one company gave me notice that I would need to have two documents: one for immigration, and one for the company. The one for immigration is the Letter of Release, and is required to change your visa over to a new employer. The one for the school is the Certificate of Employment, and basically just proves to the school that you aren't lying about previous work experience. I guess enough fibbing throughout the country in various fields prompted that such a form be produced by workers. It's standard for Koreans and foreigners in the country to provide it when asked. 

Now, the school I signed the contract with did not request the Certificate of Employment, but I will obtain it anyway in case I need it in the future. (They did provide me with the Proof of Employment paper needed to change my visa to the new school, though.) The forms are so similar, too, that I might as well do them both at the same time!

Let's talk about the paperwork, shall we? The appearance of these forms is not standard. The information it contains, however, is. For the most part. I searched online and found that there is a skeleton of necessary information. I will write them below. I recommend writing it in both Korean and English. As you are in Korea, the Korean is most important.

For the Letter of Release (이적 동의서):
(This can be used when breaking your contract, too, while allowing you to seek work elsewhere.)

Name (성명)
Nationality (국적)
Passport Number (여관번호)
Addresss (주소) -your address
Telephone Number (연락처) -your telephone number
** I also included my foreign registration number from my ARC and my date of birth.

At the bottom, you will need a statement similar to this:


"I hereby grant the transfer consent of the above named person as of <ENDING DATE> who has been working at <PLACE> since <STARTING DATE> as a Native English Teacher."

"위 사람은 <PLACE>에서 20__년 _월 _일(the starting date)부터 원어민 영어 보조교사로 근무하고 있는 자로 20__년 _일 _일(the ending date) 이후 이적을 동의합니다."

Then, you will need the date the form was signed, followed by the name of your workplace and its address and contact information.

At the bottom, you will need the name of your principal or manager, along with their signature and seal.
Don't forget the seal!!!

Here's a sample I made in case you are a visual person like me:

For the Certificate of Employment (재직증명서):
Name (성명)
Foreign Registration Number (외국인등록번호) -ARC number
Address (주소) -your address
Position (직위) -probably Native English Teacher (원어민 영어 보조교사)
Period of Employment (재직기간) -year / month / day - year / month / day
Use (용도)- Employment (고용)
**Again, I also included my date of birth.

Similar to above, you will need a statement giving something like this:

"This is to certify that the above mentioned person has worked for this school."
I currently have not put this into Korean, but I will update this when I have.

And then after, state the date the form was signed, followed by the name of your workplace and its address and contact information (copy and paste, baby).

Finally, again, you will need the name of your principal or manager with their signature and seal.
The seal is important. It means the document is real.

Visual aid:

And that's it! I've read that some schools ask for 400 won, as this is a form of legal work. So if you do get asked, it has happened before and that is why. Also, it's less than 40 cents. So just do it.


I did find a pretty interesting website while looking for what I needed in these forms. It's called EFL-Law. Maybe you've heard of it? It gives you advice on situations that may pop up, what you should and shouldn't see in your contract, info on visa runs, and much more. Check it out if you feel so inclined! :) I used this website as a reference for the Letter of Release form, so it's definitely handy. ...If you can navigate it.


If you have any more questions, please let me know! I can also send the sample forms via email or whatnot, if needed.

Take care xoxox

Back to School

...for two weeks :)

After the end of my super fun English camp that ran for two weeks, I jetted off to the States to visit friends and family. It was so great to see those I could! (I love you!) Although, it felt more like a vacation than a trip home. I mean come on! 50 degrees in January?! South Carolina was beautiful, but I did miss Detroit, the businesses, the faces, and knowing how to get places. On the upside, though, they have Piggly Wiggly stores.

Getting back was quite an adventure, too! Getting yelled at in the airport for arriving at the gate after they shut the door, staying with a girl vacationing in Korea at the airport until she found her friend, getting off the bus waaay too early with no money left on my transportation card (a kind bus driver let me on for free), and then carrying all 55 lbs of my luggage home from Sopoong Terminal after not sleeping for 28 hours. 

But now I'm back in chilly Korea, unpacking and packing while trying to decide what I need for the next 20 days before I move into some new apartment I have yet to find. Because realtors will be showing off my current place to future tenants, I'd like to get as much as possible cleaned up and packed or put away... The idea of strangers walking through my house, especially as messy as it is currently, just unsettles me.

So I'll be busy, but I expected as such. I'm excited for the new changes! Just keeping my fingers crossed hoping that everything falls into place :)

Thankfully, it more so outside of my current job that I'm busy. For the next two weeks we'll be taking it easy. Having fun, teaching, playing games... Nothing too terrible. And I just have two more after school classes... I'm really going to miss these kids! Although I'm saying this after them being on vacation for a month and not having taught them again yet. Haha I'm sure they'll be good.


That's all I'm up to these days. Hopefully soon I'll have something more exciting to write about (like a new house)!

xoxox