Hello!
My arrival date may be too far out to know (sep '08), but does anyone know the current housing situation at Yongsan for an E-5?
Typical waiting times?
Availability?
Hanam Village or off base?

Are the apt's in Hannam village for E-1 through E-8 getting any renovations?


Thanks!

Well, if you live in Hannam you would more than likely be in I buidling and it was supposedly renovated but not much improvements were made in my opinion. I live in F which is E-7 and above and quite nice but we did see a unit in I building when we were choosing where to live. I was surprised they even had it on the list because it's E-6 and below housing and dh is E-7. Anyway, the kitchen is small with a washer and drier right next to the fridge. Only 2 of the 3 bedrooms had an A/C unit in it and it smelled. But all that could have been just that one unit but who knows, I am telling you what I saw. They are "renovating" G, H, and J buildings but at the rate they are going Yongsan will be a distant memory and everyone will be in Pyongtek. Buildings A, B, and C are for officers and D, E, F are for Enlisted in Hannam.
As far as the wait list we were in housing with in a week after arrival. I have no idea what enlisted housing they have on Yongsan itself but for the most part the wait time has really been roughly 4 weeks at the longest that I have heard of. Yongsan is very top heavy so officers are usually waiting longer than enlisted and the family that waited the month were 0-5's waiting to get into Burke Towers which is 0-4 and 0-5 housing on Yongsan near the Dragon Hill Lodge.
So, if your only choice ended up being I building then out in town will be a good choice and there are LOTS of brand spanking new apartment buildings around Yongsan and a lot military live in them. When you get here you can choose to at least look at an available unit on base and make up your own mind and if you choose to live out in town there will be many units available for immediate move in most of the time. It just depends on timing. The summer is the big transition time.

Awesome info! Thanks!

Our hopes of getting a half way decent/nice place to live on base seem slim.

We're open to living off base, although pretty weary of the water situation, especially with 3 kids.

I've heard of Pyongtek, but can't seem to place it right now...where is it?

I also read about everyone moving down to Camp Humphreys by 2012. Have you heard anything recently about that?


thanks again,
Brandon

Actually everyone will be moving to Pyongtek which is down near Osan AFB. I haven't heard about moving to Camp Humphreys but maybe some will be moved there. I honestly don't know where Humphreys is located, never looked.
The water isn't to bad here, it's way better than it used to be but you can always get water filters or get water bottle service. I just use the Brita filter pitcher. The only annoying thing is the chlorine smell but it's safe to drink.
Oh since you have 3 kids, you should be able to get into building D or E in Hannam. I don't remember which one has the 4 BR units in it but they are available for E-6 and below with 3 or more kids. The housing people might give you a bit of a run a round BUT you can get in there because a family just left about 2 weeks ago that had 5 kids and the AD member was an E-6 living in one of the low rises here. Buildings A-E are all low rises. They are 4 stories tall with 2 story townhomes. We live in an upper unit so it's 5 flights of stairs and each flight is 9 steps. No elevator! But hey I can't complain too much, I have lost nearly 50lbs in the year we lived here so far!
Anyway, I hope that helps about getting into Hannam.

ETA: Here is a link to my photo album of our house. I took these the day we moved in. These units are prety nice.
http://picasaweb.google.com/burgwinj/Home

So I am such a dork. I had no idea Camp Humphry's and Pyongtek are basically the same thing, LOL! Whenever my dh and I talk about this he always says Pyongtek.

no prob

Did you ever hear a time frame about the move to Pyongtek?

For some reason on the housing web site they don't show any pictures of the E-6 and below housing...it must be that bad.

The water situation???? huh?

There is no on -post housing at all on Yongsan for E-8 and below. There are government apartments at Hannam Village a mile or so away. Our friend who lives there told me today that they have all been renovated in the last few years, and are very livable. He says he likes it there. He is a Captain with children. Hannam has a little commissary, and chapel, and outside picnic area, and activities. Free buses run every hour to Yongsan. Command Sponsored have no worries. You may be required to live there to keep them filled. NCS will get enough allowance to live outside the gates, but not enough to get a very fancy apartment and pay high utilities without adding from your pocket. If you are frugal and don't expect fancy things, you will be fine. Just like any city, you may be able to find a nice place if you look around. He also said that there has been an increase of command sponsored slots, in hard to fill jobs. So if you have a specialty that is in demand, call your gaining unit and request CS.
I say-learn to be frugal. If CS comes along, fine. E-2, E-3, E-4- don't expect to get command sponsored. Don't expect to get a car. Don't give your spouse a credit card. Don't buy new furniture. Live within your means, and do your job.

yeah, I just heard the water is nasty there and you're issued bottled water to drink. I said it was an issue with the kids because everytime they get near water, especially in the bath/shower, it goes immediately in their mouth...no matter how many times I tell them no.

Thanks Mr. Joe!
I heard only the E-8 and above had been renovated and the E-7 and below housing on hannam and been touched up here and there.

Unfortunately, we are used to living in pretty "deece" places. It's not that we are not frugal, 'cause we are, or can be. I must have mentioned it in another post, but we did get CS and I'll be at the 607th Weather Sq.

thanks again,
Brandon

I'm told the water situation was short lived, and is over. Someone mentioned that some water tastes like chlorine, but that is true worldwide.