Abundance Aid: The Washing Machine

If you are an expat in Korea you would know that one of the most random things in your officetel-home is the washing machine. It comes in Korean and is also quite difficult to figure out. As I have lived in 4 different places here, I have had 4 different kinds of washing machines. At one place I even shared the laundry facilities with the people in my building.

This post of Abundance Aid is here to give you solace and help towards these confounded contraptions.

 1. Annyoung!: Sometimes as much as we think we know what we are doing we need a little help in the translation department. In this post they give us a good helping of translation and confidence to work our Korean washing machines.

A taste:

Programmed Settings
포준 - Standard
울 - Wool
란제리 - Lingerie 

2.  Bathhouse Ballads: Who else should know about laundry than the writer of Bathhouse Ballads. In this post you get to hear about how repairing such a machine can be a daunting task. "Despite the monthly fees, any breakdown can see me waiting up to two weeks for the required attention."

3. Karori to Korea: Often times just the first sight of your behemoth washing machine can be eventful. In this post they take you through a tour of their house and also a little view of their washing machine. Check the post for more.

4. Everyday Seoul: I am taking you into deep depths of the Kblogosphere now. This post found by random means and is dated, but can give you a nice snapshot. As you know, in Korea most people don't have dryers. That means you can get glimpses of laundry drying on rooftops or in doorways. Here is such an example.

It is fun to see how a common task in life can become a telling of culture. How have you met the task of doing laundry in Korea? Have you ever found yourself watching your machine spin on for hours and hours? I know I have. ;)