Don’t expect a clothes dryer- Koreans typically wash their clothes in a washing machine and hang them to dry on drying racks or clothes lines on their balcony.

Don’t expect your apartment in Korea to have an oven. Virtually all Korean cooking is done on a range top - so your apartment will most likely just have a gas range for cooking. This style of cooking is in some ways due to the population density of the country - far less fuel is used to cook small pieces of food over a flame than is used in roasting or baking - besides, have you ever tried to eat a rib roast with chopsticks?

The most commonly asked question about housing in Korea is usually about the type of toilet a teacher is going to have: you will have an western style toilet.

Bathrooms are configured differently in Korea - don’t expect a bathtub, and the shower may consist of a shower head sticking out of the wall. Koreans don’t use shower curtains. This may seem odd at first, but the bathrooms are tiled and the floor is at a slight incline with a drain in it.

One of the standard questions we get from teachers heading to South Korea is, what is my apartment going to be like?  Let's work from the basics so that your expectations aren't too lofty.

First, forget about a bath.  I have only seen a handful of baths in all of Korea and we are talking over a decade now of experience... tracking into almost 2 decades.  The one plus is that if you can get past being naked in front of a bunch of people who are of the same gender as you, the Mog-yotang.

Second, forget about an oven.  You might have a toaster oven and if you don't... you can buy one.

Virtually all apartments in Korea come with the following:

• western style bed
• table and chairs
• bureau/wardrobe
• TV and likely a VCR or DVD
• fridge
• washing machine
• western style toilet
• stove
• basic cooking supplies
• basic forks, knives, spoons and chopsticks
• basic cleaning supplies

If you don't have these basics, ask your Head Teacher or the manager.