APARTMENTS IN KOREA>

Your accommodation will have many different features that you are not used to in a western style apartment or house.  On entering your apartment you will find a recess in the floor, which is designed for taking your shoes off. Never leave your shoes on in a Korean’s house. Always leave you shoes at the door. This keeps your apartment spotlessly clean and you will soon become accustomed to taking your shoes off. This is the case in many restaurants too.

Do not expect a bath unless you are very lucky. A shower room in your studio will be a wet room with a basin and toilet. It’s best to invest in a mop to dry the floor after showering or leave a pair of shower slippers at the door.

Korean apartments all have under-floor heating. Hot water pipes run underneath the floor and in winter provide a lovely warm floor. Seek advice on how to work your heating as it also is connected to your hot water. If you get it wrong your floor can get very hot and a cold shower is probable.

Koreans do not use ovens. Therefore, you will not find one in your apartment unless you are very very lucky. Most Korean cooking is done on the stove. Studio apartments are not designed for flamboyant cookery. Simple cooking is easily done. However, most Koreans order food in. This is actually more economical that home cooking. They deliver the food, then an hour later return to collect the dirty dishes. You do not even have to do any washing up. Find a local restaurant and give them your address in Korean, so they know where to deliver when you order, as your Korean may not be that good to begin with.

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