Do you get your own apartment?

Yes, I got my own apartment! The school will give you a place to stay or you can find your own apartment with a stipend of $500 a month. The school found an apartment for me, so that was really nice, and it happened to be next door to a teacher from the same school! He was a big help with getting little things here and there. The stipend may have increased since my time, so be sure to check! Luckily, since the TaLK/EPIK program is in more rural areas, $500 will be no problem to find an apartment! I had one friend in the program who actually was invited to live at one of the student's house for free b/c the student's parents wanted to have more English spoken in the house. He said he loved it b/c it was free housing (he got to pocket the $500/month) as well as get free authentic homemade food. Everyone will have a different experience, but at least you know you'll have a place to stay!

On a side note, Korea's culture is always last minute and super on the go go go. That's how Samsung gets things out to the market so fast, things are always churning! It is the same with the Korean school system, they're always on the go. My school actually didn't know I was coming the day I arrived, so they scrambled to find me a place. Funny thing was that they weren't freaking out because things like this are so normal, last minute changes that everyone has to adjust to. I slept at a hotel, jjim jil bang, and a teacher's friend's house the first three nights! Sounds like a headache, but it was a ton of fun because if you go out of your way to be nice, everyone will go out of their way to take care of you! Met a lot of people and shared great experiences! Writing this makes me so nostalgic, hope you make it into the program and enjoy Korea!

In 2009, when I was part of the program, the housing options you got depended on where you were placed. Some of the options were your own apartment, living with a home stay family (which is what I did), or even staying at a home on school grounds. I'm not sure that everyone had the option to have an apartment, especially in very rural areas - or you may have to travel more to the school if you do decide to get an apartment. I personally really enjoyed living in my home stay with the family of one of my students. It was uncomfortable at times, of course, but it immersed me more into the culture, language, and food, and I saved a lot of money due to not having to pay for groceries or utilities. Plus the family was awesome and would even take me out for various foods and experiences : ). In an apartment, friends would have a stipend to use, which often covered rent, but not food or utilities.