Alright guys today we're doing an apartment tour in Seoul, South Korea!
And we made apartment tours many years ago when we were living here as teachers but now
we're traveling.
So we wanted to show you guys what kind of apartment you can expect to get through airbnb
if you decide to travel in Seoul (서울).
And we're going to warn you these apartments here in Seoul are pretty compact.
Oh yeah.
(Knocking sound)
Hello, hello.
Come on in.
Alright, so first things first.
We've got this little area down here where you absolutely must take your shoes off.
So look down.
Shoes are never worn inside Korean apartments.
Never ever.
It's like a big no no.
So you just take them off and then the first thing you'll find here.
Wearing your shoes would be like the biggest faux pas ever.
Yeah.
In Korea, honestly guys.
So right here you have a little shoe closet.
You can store your shoes here if you have lots of stuff for summer and winter.
And there is also a little place where you can keep your umbrellas in case it is rainy.
And we've been getting a lot of rain lately.
And something that is fascinating about apartments in South Korea, especially in Seoul where
space is so limited, is they just make use of every inch of space in the apartment.
Nothing is wasted.
And you're going to notice that in the kitchen.
Alright, so this is our kitchen area.
We only have two cooking ranges but the truth is we don't cook very much so that is plenty
for us.
We also have a little toaster oven and of course we've got a microwave.
A kettle.
And noodle cups.
Noodle cups.
We are good at cooking noodle cups.
And we also have a rice maker but we normally don't make rice.
Oh and show us our favorite snack.
It is right over there.
So we got seaweed chips.
Oh man those are the best guys.
They taste so good.
And I'm kind of on a bit of diet right now so they hardly have any calories.
These are perfect.
Okay, so continuing in the kitchen we also have a washer which is really really nice
so we can do our laundry inside the apartment.
Space efficiency.
Yes.
And we don't have a drier but we do have a drying rack which I'm hiding right here.
It just slides in and out.
Yeah.
So whenever we do laundry we basically have to open it up here and just let everything
dry.
Yeah, you can dry it right in the room or you can also dry it on the balcony.
A lot, some Korean apartments do have that.
But we don't have a balcony.
Alright.
Um, so next up we'll show you.
Oh, we didn't show you the fridge.
Yeah, the fridge is so cool guys.
Look at that.
So this looks like it is just a wall or maybe storage but it is actually a fridge.
So it is looking a little bare at the moment.
Just water.
We're in need of getting a jar of kimchi (김치).
Like we're craving that so bad.
But for now we just have water, cucumbers, vitamins.
Pretty bare bones.
Oh and the fridge continues.
There is more to it.
This is the freezer.
This is the freezer section, yeah.
Yeah.
So we don't have anything in there right now.
But maybe we can get, you know what we could put in there?
Ice cream?
Ice cream is something.
But we could also get the frozen mandu (만두).
Okay.
And we can cook that up.
Yeah, so those are dumplings.
We can either pan-fry it or boil them in water.
Okay, so now we'll show you the closet.
So we are sharing this space between the two of us.
We're also storing our luggage in here.
Yeah, we've got our bag and then.
So I get two shelves.
Oh nice.
Sam gets one.
It is normally no this clean is it?
I know I tidied up for the video.
Hahaha.
That is why.
Secret.
And we also have a few drawers for like socks and undies and stuff like that.
Exactly.
Okay.
So then this is pretty cool.
This is our couch but it also turns into a bed so technically you could fit four people
in this apartment.
Like on the airbnb website it actually lists two to four.
Yeah.
So we would bit a little bit cramped for four but you could make it happen.
So how does it fold out basically?
Show us that.
Oh, it is a little complicated.
That is okay.
I have to pull this out and move the table but it is basically the size of a double bed.
So it is almost kind of like a futon except that it doesn't have the futon rest.
Yep.
And then this here is the bed which is nice and a really cool bed.
It is actually really firm.
Koreans like really solid beds.
You know what Koreans do it the right way.
That is how I like my bed as well.
Nice and firm.
I hate soft beds.
Hate them.
Okay and then we have a little desk area.
Yeah, this is where Sam works.
This is where I edit the videos and social media and blog posts and blah blah blah.
And then we also have some additional storage over here.
Just some shelves and stuff.
And I like how the apartment is decorated here.
It has kind of a cool tree and a bird and then you have the different Chinese characters
over here.
Yeah.
Which are I think they're called Hanja (한자 - 漢字) in Korean if I remember correctly.
Yep.
And we've also got a fan, we have some AC because it is super hot in here.
Essential to have this.
If we didn't have this we would have already melted.
Yeah.
We kind of are already but.
Hahaha.
That is August in Korea guys.
Really hot.
And lastly we're going to show you the bathroom.
Save the best for last.
This is really different.
Yeah, this is so different from um especially anything in North America.
Yeah.
You probably haven't seen a bathroom this small.
So basically this is a wet bathroom.
So first things first the floor is actually lower in here because everything gets wet.
So when you come in you have to put on these little slippers.
Your fippity flops.
So yeah, and I will take this to show you.
Yeah, check this out guys.
Basically our shower is attached to the sink.
Yeah, right up here.
And so when you're showering the water is just kind of going everywhere.
The sink is getting wet, the toiletries are getting wet..
Even like your toiletry kit, like your toothbrush and deodorant it gets a little bit wet.
You can see that I just had a shower and you can see how wet the toothpaste is.
So we would not recommend bringing in your towel or your clean clothes.
Keep the towel here and close the door.
Seriously.
Yeah.
Otherwise it gets totally soaked.
Yeah.
And then we have a little bit of storage space here for your shampoo, body wash.
Things like that.
You can hang up your towel in the rack.
We have another rack here.
Yeah.
So yeah, that is pretty awesome.
So yeah that is what a typical studio apartment in Seoul looks like.
You can see that it is actually not that big in terms of surface area but every inch is
used in a very functional manner.
And even things, I think the coolest thing is even like this fridge.
It just looks like an extension of the apartment.
You would never guess oh that looks like a fridge.
It looks more like a drawer.
You just open it up.
Yeah.
It is pretty awesome.
So yeah that is our Korean apartment.
We hope you enjoyed the tour.
We're going to be staying here for about a month before we continue traveling around
the country.
And you're cutting off my head.
There we go.
He's so tall.
Hahaha.
But yeah we'd be curious to know what is the smallest apartment you've ever stayed in and
where was that located?
Yeah, and you know what for us can we give it away?
What it is for us?
Hong Kong.
It was Hong Kong.
Yeah.
Hong Kong by far.
I think it was like a quarter of the size of this room.
Seriously.
You can only fit two people.
Yeah, we could barely walk in and the bathroom, if you thought that was a small bathroom,
oh man are bathroom in Hong Kong was tiny guys.
So anyways hope you enjoyed this and yeah definitely let us know what was the smallest
apartment you've ever stayed in.
Okay, until next time.
Bye.
Ciao.