MTV Cribs: My Apartment in Daejeon, South Korea

It's been, I don't know, around 4 months since I moved to Daejeon, South Korea, and about 3 and half in my apartment? I feel like I've been here forever, in a good way. And it is now finally time for me to make a tour of my apartment!

Here is my home, open to you all. I'll be honest, I put this off because I just didn't want to clean it for the photos. BUT I DID. So now you can appreciate it.

As part of the EPIK program,  you get an apartment picked and payed for. Now, this is both good and bad--you don't get a choice in the place you get (or WHERE it is in your city/province), and I've had a few friends end up with extremely tiny or dirty places. But on the positive side, you don't pay rent.

Like anything with EPIK or teaching abroad, it's about luck of the draw and a little bit of risk.

I requested Daejeon MOE as my preferred placement, and that's where I was placed! Being in a bigger city, I expected a smaller apartment. And having done tons of research, I'd heard plenty of horror stories. I tried to keep my ideas of the place I'd end up living open and broad and unspecific. I was honestly happy just to be in Korea, ready to risk it allllll.

But I was very lucky that my apartment was super clean, a good size, and a decent location. Okay, actually not the best location. Most of my friends live within 50 ft of a convenience store, and I'm about an 8 min walk from my closest one. My area has a lot of cafes, but few restaurants and is overall pretty quiet. It takes me about 30 mins to walk to the bus stop and get to E-Mart, which...isn't the greatest.

Being quite honest, I'd be happier in a smaller city if it meant I was closer to my friends and grocery stores. But, maybe, that's another talk for another time.

Enough complaining. Despite the quiet location of my apartment, it's really a decent spot and I'll stop babbling and get to the pictures.

We begin with the entryway. I'm lucky to have a small--I don't know what you call it, mud-room? Outer room?

Anyway, a small space where I can hang my coats, leave my shoes and wet umbrellas, and store random things. On the other side of this room is a window and some built in cabinets, where I keep household stuff.

I love having this space but actually the walls grow mold like CRAZY. I have to scrub them once a week and leave the window open or it gets nasty.

Here's the view facing the entryway. I have a set of doors to separate the entryway thing from the rest. As you can see, I have a mini fridge, microwave, toaster oven, and lots of stuff. Lots and lots of stuff...It's a bit messy right now but all organized chaos!

As you can see, I've only so much cabinet space. The one right above the stove is all just a vent, so I only have about one cabinet for dishes and plates. My pantry is kinda mixed between the shelves on the counter, on top of the fridge, and in the cabinets above.

My one major issue with the apartment besides the mold is only having one burner. I know I could buy a portable one, but it kind of just feels unnecessary now, I'm not sure how long I'll be here (as in, only one year? Or more than that?) and honestly, I just adapted to finding one-pot meals.

I have a small spice shelf, a hanging rack for plastic baggies, and jars for flour and sugar. Out of everything in this picture I'd sell my soul most quickly for my electric kettle. I could never live without it now.

To the right you can see my billions of plugs. I have a dehumidifier and an air-purifier which I run whenever I need. My electric bill is only 10,000 won a month, so roughly $10ish. It's creeping up though as I use my 온돌 (ondol, floor heating) more and more.

My bed area! I strung up some decor and letters from home. My coteacher bought me a new comforter and pillows on the first day, but some of the blankets and pillows are left from the previous teacher. I also bought a small nightstand from E-mart.

Also--now it's super cold, and I have like this electric mattress pad thing. It is SO warm and 10000% worth it.

Here's my shelves. Here's where I keep my knitting stuff, decor, paperwork, blah, blah blah.

To the left is my closet, which has a hanging rack in it and all my clothes.

Then to the left of that is a little nook I made where I keep my cleaning supplies and suitcases stacked.

Last but not least, my tapestry from home and my Christmas tree! When the season is over, I'll probably reuse the lights and string them up on the wall, then put the tree in storage (aka hiding in a corner somewhere).

Here's the view of the whole apartment when you walk in! My kitchen to the left, my bathroom on the right, and my bedroom and office all in one. It's a one-bedroom, or what we'd call a studio in America.

I'd say it's a pretty standard size for 1 person living alone in a bigger city in Korea (note: many friends in provinces rather than metropolitan areas have bigger apartments, but this isn't always true; I have a friend in Seoul who has a loft for her bed, and another in Daegu who has 3 rooms, as in a main room, a bedroom and a guestroom. So, as always, it depends).

Most of my friends in Daejeon also have one-rooms, but a few lucky ones (usually those who teach middle or high school, as those schools tend to have a bigger budget) have a separate bedroom. But, actually, I like having a one-roomer, it's easier to heat up and since I live alone I don't mind have everything in one space.

The previous GET left me lots of dishes, silverware, pots, and general things to get started. Some of my friends had nothing, not a plate to their name when they moved in.

Either way, you can run to Daiso (a super cheap, super cute dollar store that sells literally everything you could ever need).

Here's the bathroom. I didn't take too many shots of this since it was kind of dirty lol. But I'm actually lucky in that my shower has a separate area. Most bathrooms in Korea are wet baths, or where the shower head is attached to the sink and everything gets wet.

Nothing much else to see here, so on we go.

You can see my dryer (lol), my desk and my TV. Most of my friends have bigger TVs than this. I use it as a computer monitor.

This is where I do most of my drawing and wasting of my time.

So that's it, basically! My little home far away from home. I really do love this place to unwind in because I am above all an introvert and I need to have time away the world.

In general, I think I got pretty lucky--I got put in the MOE I wanted, my school is great, I like my apartment and it's really close to my main school.I think the best way to cut any complaints in half is to manage your expectations.

There are some issues I have with this apartment, but to be clear, I'm not surprised or disappointed in any of the negatives I brought up. It's simply me sharing the good and bad, both for those who are interested in doing EPIK and those who are interested in my life.

I would say, if you're interested in EPIK, research apartment tours (like you're already doing, I suppose!) I have a friend who refused to look up any tours on Youtube because she thought, "Well it doesn't matter what other people have, it won't be what I end up having." I guess that’s kinda true. Whatever other people post won't be your experience perfectly. But even so, it still gives you a reference point, and I believe that's a good thing, if only to manage your expectations and give you an idea of what to expect from your life in Korea.

Also, check EPIK's list of required amenities.

Thanks for reading and feel free to leave any questions or comments below!