I live in a love motel. Wanna make out?

For my upcoming job in Seoul, I was scared and worried about many things. How will I deal with a classroom situation? Will I have enough money to live? Will I be able to adapt to Korean culture? (Will I eventually learn how to play Starcraft, get addicted and spend 3 straight days in a PC bang (PC방: internet/online gaming cafe) before passing out and dying?) Interestingly, one of the things that never entered my mind was the housing situation because it is provided by the employer. The contract with SMOE (Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education) specifies:

제12조 (주거)
1. 고용자는 피고용자에게 고용자가 선정한 주거를 제공한다. 주거 형태는 서울교육연
수원 내의 숙소동, 임대주택, 원룸, 아파트를 포함하나 이에 한정되지 않는다. 주거의
사용에 따른 제세공과금은 피고용자의 부담으로 한다. 주거의 형태를 일단 결정한
이후에는 고용기간 동안 이를 피고용자 임의로 변경할 수 없다.

Article 12 (Housing)
1. Employer shall provide Employee with housing selected by Employer. Housing selected by Employer may be, including but not limited to, an apartment of faculty residence in Seoul Education Training Institute, a studio-type room, or an apartment. Any and all fees, charges, costs, taxes, expenses, etc. incurred in using the housing shall be borne by Employee. Once housing is decided, it shall not be changed at Employee’s discretion during the term of Employment.

I've lived in the smallest bedroom in the house for so many years now, and I am usually pretty apathetic to the quality of living quarters as long as the neighborhood is safe enough and not out in the middle of nowhere, and as long as I have everything I need.

However, I came across something that was rather concerning regarding the specific treatment of the housing clause by SMOE: apparently it is possible that they will stick you in a "love motel" co-op kind of place. You know, the place that guys take their mistresses to and make love next door, which you can then hear through the paper-thin walls. Of course, the doors are no better so you can hear absolutely everything that goes on outside. By the sounds of it, even hardened veterans (ie. people who have been on the job in Seoul for years) can't handle more than two months of this.

And this is essentially a hotel, not a proper suite, which means that staff can enter the suite, which they can do without knocking and at any time. This is particularly concerning because it indicates that safety may be a concern; I'd have to make sure to keep any valuables (and non-valuables) well-hidden from view, in case greed takes over a staff member. I'd hate to leave my DSLR lying around and then come home to find it gone!

A lot of amenities are also shared among multiple guests, including laundry machines. The cost for utilities is apparently as much as what a proper apartment would cost -- for a huge difference in quality and piece of mind. Not to mention the reported size of the hotel co-op suite is something like 3 meters by 3.5 meters. There seems to be something strange about cost for utilities; from what others (with actual apartments) have reported, the hotel co-op utility costs seem to be quite inflated (which indicates that there's some shady business going on).

The advice is basically this -- if SMOE tries to put you in such a place, ask them to find you another place. If they don't (and you can't afford to threaten to find another job), then just take the ₩500,000-per-month rent subsidy (the contract specifies that if they can't find a place for you and you must look for your own place, the rent subsidy must be provided to you) and pay a little more out-of-pocket for security and piece of mind. Or, if you can't afford it, suck it up for a few months and then rent your own place elsewhere.

From what I've seen, even something that costs an additional ₩200,000 out-of-pocket looks more desirable to what was described. From the descriptions of the rooms themselves and the neighborhood around them (which can be quite seedy), it sounds just slightly better than the Downtown Eastside here in Vancouver, minus the drug addicts.

I know I shouldn't be complaining about housing that's provided to you, but that there's a difference between complying with the contract outlines and taking advantage of unsaid and unwritten loopholes in the thing to work it to your advantage (and compromise the safety and security of the employee and his/her possessions in the process).

Mind you, this apparently doesn't happen to a lot of SMOE teachers -- but it happens to some and the possibility is still there. That window of possibility is pretty disheartening by itself. I just hope it doesn't come down to that.