Although, traditionally, hiring housekeepers is not a Korean custom, many working expats in Seoul have begun hiring live-out housekeepers. That said, you will not find many organizations or websites devoted to finding the perfect housekeeper. While most housekeepers are found simply by word of mouth or online forums, there are barely any reputable housekeeping companies in the city with English service. Live-in housekeepers are not extremely popular, unless you are a diplomat and wish to bring your housekeeper from your home country. Some expats with children will hire a live-in nanny who will also take care of general housekeeping.
If you require regular housekeeping services and want to work with a housekeeping company as opposed to finding a housekeeper on your own, you do have several options.
- Merry Maids (http://www.merrymaids.co.kr/Franchise/worldwide.php). Their English website explains the different services offered by their trained and trustworthy housekeepers.
- OK Helper’s website (in Korean) offers housekeeping services in each area of Seoul. http://okhelper.co.kr/main/.
- Nannyjob, a social networking/job listing site for nannies in Korea, also sometimes advertise housekeepers. You can peruse this website to see if there are any housekeepers listed, as this one is a bit more sporadic: http://www.nannyjob.co.kr.
- Seoul Maid is very popular with expats. Contact: seoulmaids@gmail.com, Phone: 010 -7723-6243.
While most live-out housekeepers earn approximately 800,000 won per month for working five days a week (live-in housekeepers will be a little less – approximately 600,000 won per month), that doesn’t mean that you need to hire a housekeeper for every day. If you find a good housekeeper by word of mouth and ask them to come by once, twice or three times weekly, your housekeeping costs are a lot less expensive – around 10,000 won per hour.
