Seoul Apartment

Since I've been teaching in Seoul, my work has given me access to an apartment there. The apartment is on the 20th floor of a big apartment building and the view is really nice:




The apartment building is right next to COEX Mall, a huge underground mall which includes an aquarium and a cinema. The subway is connected to the mall, so I often walk through it on my way to the apartment. I'll sometimes stop at Bandi & Luni's, a great bookstore with a decent sized English-language section. Another teacher first brought me there when I arrived in Korea and signed me up for its free discount card, which entitles me to an automatic discount (somewhere between 15-20%) and the ability to earn points to apply to future purchases. I've easily saved over a hundred dollars because of this card.

I also stop off at the upscale Hyundai Department Store (connected to COEX) because of its wonderful food basement. I can pick up Chinese dumplings, a fresh salad, French pastries, whole wheat bread, or whatever else looks good. I also buy limited groceries at the adjacent Hyundai supermarket. Last week, I was excited to see mangoes for sale but almost dropped one on the floor when I realized it cost 30 dollars!

I figure I should take advantage of the Seoul apartment. I can't imagine a time in the future when an employer will provide me with an apartment- much less two!