I feel for you right now going through some of the very same sensory problems I went through….The cold for instance! There is still angry fire in my heart for this unfairness…I complained so many times to everybody (literally at one teacher’s meeting I was a total brat about it) and still no continuous warmth was provided, leaving me to freeze until the winter vacation, which fortunately is long and coming up very soon. Not to say leave it at that and suffer too. On the contrary I think you should insist very loudly that they do something about it.
The worst part is, like you said other classrooms are warm and so are all the admin offices. I think because of stupid hierarchical mentalities and foreigner snubbing, the english classroom is thought to be unnecessary to heat (ms. kim was so meek about asking for heat when she shared that classroom with me). Once when I complained at an educational office meeting, leading Ms. Kim to blush, there was heat for about 3 whole days. Either than that it seemed like a very precious and problematic thing to bring up, like her hands were tied and there was nothing she could do about it. She eventually found me a space heater (when I refused to buy my own) and we sort of settled on that, but it was by no means enough (I still froze). The other thing I did, was say to her “it’s too cold, I’m getting sick, I’m going home early”, because it was, I was and I resented their indifference. (it’s like if I came to the school naked I’d tell ms. kim and asked the school to dress me…the school’s responsible for heating the classrooms!). I ‘even went so far’ as to go down to the administrators’ office myself and ask them for heat, cause apparently they’re the ones in charge of it, and obviously trying to save money by not heating the school properly (if only it were built better too!). I didn’t have the courage, but I think going straight to the principal is a good (and by no means last) resort. Fighting!
About the smells, sigh! I feel for you here too. Maybe, just to help yourself until the problem’s acknowledged/solved, have you tried covering the opening to the shaft you think is culprit? Sometimes the drain in the bathroom stank horribly and we would cover it with tape (if the shower was separate). This’ll be the quite the challenge though, koreans sense of smell is … well non-existent it would seem. Have you not noticed? Certainly, they (many of them) like earthy things, crafts, soaps, R&R destinations, but for some reason…horrid smells that bug “us” don’t really bother them and this seems to be a ‘nurture’ thing. Good luck and again, as they say “Fighting!!”

It’s funny how in Korea something like a pot of lentil soup with white bread and butter can be just amazing. I like Korean food (and it really grows on you ) but I know that feeling.

We will of course continue to consult on the maze of ropes that comes with living in Korea and especially in the deep south.