Cheap stay in Korea

Dear boys and girls, if you're looking for a cheap pad to crash, look no further. There are plenty of places in Korea you can take advantage and stay for cheap. If you want contact phone number for any of these locations, please feel free to leave a comment and I'll reply asap.


1. Go-shi-won
Goshi (Higher civil service examination) won (place) was originally made for people who needed utmost concentration studying for exams. It is a small room that looks like this:














It costs from 150~400k Won depending on the location, type of room and its size. There are bathrooms that you share each floor, and kitchen with free rice and kimchi.

2. Go-shi-tel (One room tel)
If you fancy go-shi-won, then you will also like go-shi-tel as it comes with exactly same feature, but bigger room and a personal bathroom. It costs from 350~550k Won, again depending on the location and the features.

**Sometimes the rate changes if the room has windows then it's most likely in the higher bracket.

3. Homestay
It's a great place to experience home made Korean food and meet fellow foreigner travelers. Usually the homestay 'mother' make 8 to 15 fixed side dishes that never change and a main dish that changes each day. The location is pretty much scattered around in Seoul, thus rate is higher if it's located in the 'expensive' part of Seoul. (Some examples of expensive areas in Seoul are: 잠실(jam-shil), 강남(kang-nam), 역삼(Yuk-sam), 공덕(Gong-duk))
The rate is very hard to put in to bracket as it differs very widely however just to give you an idea, it ranges from 350~750k Won. (Hint: Do not go asking for the price yourself. Bring a Korean friend, otherwise they'll rip you off)

4. Residences
If your priority is the quality of living then you would like to stay at Residence. It's got everything you look for in a home, with parking spot and a concierge. The price ranges from as low as 40 to 250k Won a day. The pricey one is the MER(Merriott Executive Residences) located in Yeouido, the less expensive one is the one of the apartments I found on Craigslist Korea. Here are the photos:

Less expensive

Expensive

The benefits of staying at Residence is unlike hotel suites, they come with kitchen so you can cook your favorite dish while staying in a foreign land.

Korea- library incident

I'm currently in Korea's National Assembly Library. I sat down in an empty spot in a table for four people. One of the seats was occupied, the seat next to the girl was left with her bag and coat, and both seats across from her were empty. I sat down in one of the seats, slightly moving the book to the middle corner of the desk that was left open. I positioned my cell phone on top of the book, leaving me with wider space for my laptop. I turned my computer on and started browsing. 

After so many minutes, a man showed up, in his mid 40s or 50s, short and with heavy wrinkled eyes, demanding me to move my seat. I told him, in the same straightforwardness, that I will not move. I heard the girl sitting across snorting. I asked him why I should move. He said that he saved the seat by placing a book. "An open book", he said. I was perplexed because 'an open book' does not suffice as someone's personal belonging. It's barely a personal item in a library. 

I simply said, "no". I though he would snort and move away but he demanded even more when the girl joined alliance with the old man. I could not believe what I was hearing. An open book. That's it? That's all it takes for a person to save a seat in Korea? WTF? I know that people cut in line in subways, waiting for bus and I don't say a damn word because it's conceived as a culture for the elderly in the East but in a library? I don't get it. I left Canada because of their feminist policy and now in Korea- the older you are, you get your way everywhere.