
I just gotta say Korea is wicked cool for their recycling/trash waste program. The orange bags that I was given are for soft food waste, the white bags are for hard food/regular trash (bones, packaging, egg shells, etc.) and recyclables can go into a plain plastic bag. They have set times that you are allowed to put your trash on the side of the road and they don’t pick it up on the weekends. So I can leave my trash outside after 8pm but not after 4am. I was told that some apartments have a sorter which makes it easier but for now, this is how my little apartment building works. My head teacher said that they use the orange bags for animal food. Love it.
It also super useful that they use keypads instead of keys. I just type in my digits and turn the knob.

Not only do they have keypads, they also have HEATED FLOORS. I have to say it took me a few weeks to understand how mine works but I got it figured out. The only downside is is that you can either have heated floors or hot water. Buttt, even when I don’t click that little button to the left of the On/Off switch, my water still gets pretty hot. It takes about 2 hours and 30-40 minutes for the heated floors to go back on after heating the water. Yes, I timed it π

My apartment also came with a washer, a rack that comes down from the ceiling for drying clothes, a stove top, and a fridge. You can adjust the drying rack which is nice because I’m short. My apartment also came with a TV so that was cool. I’m not really sure how other apartments are but from what I’ve seen it is pretty much the same setup as mine.
And since this room was previously used by other teachers, it also has a microwave and a mini toaster oven. I’m excited to make cookies in it. I also have a bunch of dishes- plates, silverware, bowls, all that great stuff. I was also lucky enough to have a little couch, a bed, a kettle, a little table, and some cookware. My favorite thing that came with this apartment: a Brita filter. I know that’s a little odd but with the amount of water that I drink, it just makes me happy. I brought a mini water filter from home just to be safe. I don’t even want to know how much money I spent when I was in Thailand. I bought water daily. So having a Brita saves both the environment and my wallet. Yay.


There’s a video of my apartment on my TikTok but I shall explain here too. Soo you walk in and there’s my couch to the left and the TV. Straight ahead there’s the fridge with all of my pictures on it π Then there’s the mini kitchen and bathroom and to the left is my bedroom. To the left of my TV is the washer and drying rack.
It’s a few steps up from my Thailand apartment. Actually, it’s quite an improvement. I only had a fridge in Thailand so having a stove top and other appliances is wonderful.
There’s a lot of storage in my apartment. So much that I don’t even know how to fill it all up.

I borrowed this tree for Christmas. I don’t want to keep mentioning my TikTok but I put a before and after picture of the tree. I haven’t decorated a tree in years. It was nice decorating because I was by myself for Christmas so it was a fun little activity. So I spent Christmas Eve decorating and talking to friends. I spent Christmas Day cooking pasta and talking with friends and family.
Nice! Heated floors definitely sounds like a nice little perk! Outside of that, I hope all is going well in South Korea. I forgot to ask you when you joined us for podcast a few weeks ago, what part of South Korea are you actually in? – Adam
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Yeah the heated floors are great π I’m in Pyeongtaek!
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I had one of those when I lived in Seoul (way back when…). Just don’t leave a box of chocolates on the floor. I speak from sad experience.
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Oh no! Yeah, the heated floors are great. I have left a few things on the floor before and learned my lesson π
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It’s so interesting reading about different places and how life is different. I have a friend who is currently in Pyeongtaek! I am going to ask her about the heated floors and recycling. This post was awesome!
xo Erica
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Thank you π Yeah it is pretty cool. I love it!
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Nice post. It’s nice to learn about how things are in other countries and the heated floors seems like a nice one.
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Yeah, they’re very cool!!
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Wow! Would really love to visit South Korea one day! π
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You should add it to the list!
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I am glad that your Korean apartment is better and well-equipped than the Thai one. Digital Keypads and more storage are cool things to have. Nice photos on the fridge.
Thanks for sharing about this!
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Thanks! Yeah itβs very cool!
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