The Officetel
They call it “officetel”in Konglish (Korean-English), but the place is so high-rise condominium to us. My Filipina colleague and I are staying at the 18th floor of the Shin Young Gwell Building in Mapo-gu, a district brightened by many bars and hofs at night. Drinking sprees anyone? Teehee.
We all know how Koreans can be such hard drinkers, that I already find the need live up to the demands of this neighbourhood. Haha. One thing that is so gratifying with the place that they picked for us is the utmost convenience that the location gives. It is very near stores that sell almost everything that a person could possibly need. There are fruit stands, salons, pet shops, grocery stores, appliance hubs, boutiques, bakeries, drug stores, pizza houses, restaurants, coffee shops… and the list goes on. Best thing— it is very, very near a subway station. Just about five meters from our building’s façade is the Gong-deok station, at Subway no. 5 of the Seoul Metropolitan RAPID Transit or SMRT (Na-miss ko tuloy MRT sa atin… huhu). It is just three stops away from the Yeouido station, where we should always get off if we are to go to the office. We could always leave the condominium at 7:45 a.m. and still make it to our 8:00 a.m. work. That’s how near it is. Thanks to the subway.The whole subway ride lets us cross the famous Hangang River.
We will never forget and will forever be grateful to the jolly lady who is administering the building for she has always been so welcoming, even if she hardly speaks English. We’d talk to her and see her scratch her head but smile, while thinking for the right word to say to get her message across. You would really thank heavens for people like her who make life an inch easier in challenging situations like what I have just gotten myself into.
Talk about the pad, which if I may share, gives us a very good, yet sometimes nostalgic view of the district from our window atop (especially at night with all the bright lights), is nearest to the elevator.
There have really been freakin’ cool adjustments in the house made possible by the technology of this unit that we are in (parang galing tuloy ako sa bundok, haha).
For one, we need not bother keeping keys with us. The door has a password-enabled system, which is just four numbers away to opening it. When the door starts saying something like “ya-ya-ssumnida”, we know we just hit the right digits.
Next, the washing machine is a “do-all” system that lets you just put in all your clothes in the tub and push on the right buttons, to make it fill itself with water and spin to wash. The powder detergent should’ve been poured here beforehand, of course.
(Sanay kasi ako sa bahay namin na maglalagay pa ng tubig sa mismong tub bago makapaglaba eh!).
We also use an electric stove in a sleek design, being all black and flat. I call it, the “easy-knob” stove. Hehe. I probe it to be a bit dangerous though- baka mapatong ko bigla kamay ko kasi flat siya, tapos naka-on pala, haha!
My most favourite gadget of all though is the toilet bowl. It has a “plug-in, no-tabo” system (haha)… we just have to plug it in and press a particular button, and it will squirt water from under and wash your butt after each poop. I was all smiles when I did it for the first time, and my, I’m sure it will make lazy people all the more lax and lazy. Haha.
The unit doorbell is also cool. I’ve seen this in movies already, where it uses video, so you'll see the person outside when he buzzes, aside from the sound that it creates.
Our studio-type unit also has enough cabinets and compartment functions, and thankfully, we have somehow fill them with our very own clothes and some other stuff. Korea's electric outlets are also different from ours. It’s a good thing we were able to buy adaptors beforehand to fit in to the ones that they have here. The whole unit is still pretty barren, though we don’t really see the need for much appliance or furniture to use. We would actually be fine with just a table where we can put our laptops, and maybe two chairs for us to sit on. We also hope to buy another bed, because the bed that is provided is ideally for just one person. The unit itself, actually, is ideal for solo-living. My colleague and I can pull it off together though, for it will save us money if we just share the rent of the place. Just count on me embracing the responsibility of living independently, and pursuing a career that I hope to succeed into.
We all know how Koreans can be such hard drinkers, that I already find the need live up to the demands of this neighbourhood. Haha. One thing that is so gratifying with the place that they picked for us is the utmost convenience that the location gives. It is very near stores that sell almost everything that a person could possibly need. There are fruit stands, salons, pet shops, grocery stores, appliance hubs, boutiques, bakeries, drug stores, pizza houses, restaurants, coffee shops… and the list goes on. Best thing— it is very, very near a subway station. Just about five meters from our building’s façade is the Gong-deok station, at Subway no. 5 of the Seoul Metropolitan RAPID Transit or SMRT (Na-miss ko tuloy MRT sa atin… huhu). It is just three stops away from the Yeouido station, where we should always get off if we are to go to the office. We could always leave the condominium at 7:45 a.m. and still make it to our 8:00 a.m. work. That’s how near it is. Thanks to the subway.The whole subway ride lets us cross the famous Hangang River.
We will never forget and will forever be grateful to the jolly lady who is administering the building for she has always been so welcoming, even if she hardly speaks English. We’d talk to her and see her scratch her head but smile, while thinking for the right word to say to get her message across. You would really thank heavens for people like her who make life an inch easier in challenging situations like what I have just gotten myself into.
Talk about the pad, which if I may share, gives us a very good, yet sometimes nostalgic view of the district from our window atop (especially at night with all the bright lights), is nearest to the elevator.
There have really been freakin’ cool adjustments in the house made possible by the technology of this unit that we are in (parang galing tuloy ako sa bundok, haha).
For one, we need not bother keeping keys with us. The door has a password-enabled system, which is just four numbers away to opening it. When the door starts saying something like “ya-ya-ssumnida”, we know we just hit the right digits. 
Next, the washing machine is a “do-all” system that lets you just put in all your clothes in the tub and push on the right buttons, to make it fill itself with water and spin to wash. The powder detergent should’ve been poured here beforehand, of course.
(Sanay kasi ako sa bahay namin na maglalagay pa ng tubig sa mismong tub bago makapaglaba eh!). We also use an electric stove in a sleek design, being all black and flat. I call it, the “easy-knob” stove. Hehe. I probe it to be a bit dangerous though- baka mapatong ko bigla kamay ko kasi flat siya, tapos naka-on pala, haha!
My most favourite gadget of all though is the toilet bowl. It has a “plug-in, no-tabo” system (haha)… we just have to plug it in and press a particular button, and it will squirt water from under and wash your butt after each poop. I was all smiles when I did it for the first time, and my, I’m sure it will make lazy people all the more lax and lazy. Haha.
The unit doorbell is also cool. I’ve seen this in movies already, where it uses video, so you'll see the person outside when he buzzes, aside from the sound that it creates.
Our studio-type unit also has enough cabinets and compartment functions, and thankfully, we have somehow fill them with our very own clothes and some other stuff. Korea's electric outlets are also different from ours. It’s a good thing we were able to buy adaptors beforehand to fit in to the ones that they have here. The whole unit is still pretty barren, though we don’t really see the need for much appliance or furniture to use. We would actually be fine with just a table where we can put our laptops, and maybe two chairs for us to sit on. We also hope to buy another bed, because the bed that is provided is ideally for just one person. The unit itself, actually, is ideal for solo-living. My colleague and I can pull it off together though, for it will save us money if we just share the rent of the place. Just count on me embracing the responsibility of living independently, and pursuing a career that I hope to succeed into.
Header Photo is a personal shot of the Gyeongbok Palace in Seoul, South Korea. Site Powered by
2 comments:
HAHAHA! Mukha ka ngang mula sa bundok! Hahaha. Kawawang nilalang ng Korea. Hahaha. :))
Haha, promise Roxanne! Yung toilet ng unit namin, nakakatuwa. Buhay tamad siya! Haha, yung toilet talaga ang pinaka-naastigan ako eh. Wahahahaha. I'll show the pictures very soon. I still haven't bought charger for the cam batteries eh.
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