Goshiwon Story

Before moving on to the 2nd episode I would like to share my experience which led to episode 2.

When I shifted from Busan to Seoul I had to stay at a Goshiwon as I was late to apply for the University Dormitory. Goshiwon(고시원)in Korean means small rental rooms which are used by students preparing for  important exams like government exams. They are expensive but are really small as only a small bed, small table and wardrobe fits into the room. They may or may not have attached bathroom and same goes for window too. In simple terms, a normal sized apartment is turned into 20~30 small rooms for people to live.

I was given a room with an attached bathroom the wall of which touches my leg while I lay on the bed. And a sliding window which opens to the hallway.

 The walls of the rooms were so thin that I could here the guy in the next room talk to his girlfriend at 12 midnight. Sleepbreaker!! And there was no day or night in that room. Its up to me to decide between day and night with the switch on the wall.
I used to sleep late. Sometimes 12pm..1am sometimes even 2am too and wake up very late as I couldn't see any sunlight. There was a shared kitchen where I used to cook some Ramyun(noodles) or other food. Nothing was fine for me in this place. (I tried chicken curry for the 1st time in this Goshiwon)

The Goshiwon I had stayed in had old men too staying there. They were people having no family or were unmarried and working to keep themselves busy. I never thought such people existed. But I was blessed to get a friend. She is 17~18 years elder to me and she had decided to do a course at the University. She was staying in the Goshiwon and she used to make really delicious food. Before meeting her I was always wanting to shift to a better place. With her help I was happy even in that small room. She used to take me to night markets and places I have never been to. Once she took her car and drove all the way to the east seaside of Korea. We started at 12 in the midnight and reached at 3am in the morning. But a day came when she had to leave the Goshiwon and go back to her house in the village. There was no one to talk to or spend time. All I wished for was to move into the University Dorm. After she moved out I stayed in the Goshiwon for one month and a half.

This is where my Episode 2 of New Findings begin. Again it was through youtube.