Interesting Things About Housing in Korea ~ 사이공감 42SHARE

Introduction

Dorms

Goshiwon

Minor Differences in apartments

Ways to pay rent

Conclusion

Introduction

Housing is something you think is universal throughout the world but it does change with each country. Housing in college in South Korea is very different from housing in the United States. Read Types of housing and cost in Korea to learn about the different types of housing and the costs.

Overall 2 types of housing differ from those in America and they are dorms and Goshiwons.

Dorms

1. Dormitories are competitive to get into:

Many students do not stay in the dorms and commute from home, even if it means taking the subway for 1 hour to get to school.
Dorms tend to go to those who are not from the area the school is located in, for example, if you go to school in Seoul but are from Busan, you can get into the dorms easier than someone who lives in Seoul.
Do not get to pick your roommate, unlike many American colleges the dorms are all randomly assigned.

2. Many dorms have a bathroom for you and your roommate(s), but some also may have communal bathrooms for each floor.

For those who just share a bathroom with their roommate(s), some universities also provide someone who cleans it weekly, but not all schools do
The bathrooms can come in 2 main setups:

- The first is when the toilet and sink are separate from the shower

- The second is when they are all in the same room

- Yes, this means when you shower everything in that room gets wet, it's a very common bathroom layout in Korea.

If you share the bathroom with your roommate(s) you will have to buy things like toilet paper and hand soap yourself for the room.

3. Gender separation: a whole new level

Unlike America, some South Korea universities have very strict policies with people of the opposite gender in the dorms.
First, every floor is one gender or those of the opposite gender cannot get into the area of the floor that is not for them.
Some schools have separate elevators for each gender in the dorms, each only stopping on the floor where that gender lives.
For example, if males live one the odd floors the elevator would only stop on those floors.

No one of the opposite gender in your room
Some schools even have buildings that only one gender stays in
If you want to study with friends who are the opposite gender plan on studying outside of the dorm elsewhere on campus.
Some schools also have strict policies about what you can and cannot eat in your room
Things that are messier or smell should be eaten in the kitchen area of the hall.
Can eat snacks in the room but make sure to be clean
There is a kitchen area in most dorms where you can store food in the big fridges or cook. This is first come first serve and you need to often put your name and room number on what you put in there.
Do not get a mini-fridge for your room, you do not need it and it's not common in South Korea to have one in your room.

Goshiwons

1. Very small room, only a bed, and a desk, not something you would see a college student living in.

Very popular for students as it is cheap and often close to the university
Is better than taking a subway for an hour every day
Both locals and expats live there on top of students.
No windows in your room, like living in a box.

2. Good for if you want to share

Sometimes has free food like Ramen you can cook in the kitchen
The bathroom is shared with other residents like the kitchen

Minor differences in apartments

These are the biggest differences between what you tend to see in housing in Korea versus America. There are also a few minor things like:

No shoes inside the housing area (pretty standard throughout Asia)
Size of housing and how much it costs (depends on the city you are in)
A detachable shower head that detaches at waist height:

- Can control the shower height
- Change it to your preference for who you need to do
- Helpful for cleaning the shower area

Floors can be heated during the winter

- Due to the different heating and cooling system used in Korea

- Instead of using vents, they use pipes under the floor to heat the house

Some may have thinner walls than what you are used to.

Different ways to pay rent

Wolse (월세)

This is the western type of lease that you will probably sign. This is when you provide the deposit when signing the lease (aka Key money) and then paying monthly rent.

You can negotiate the rent by increasing your Key money and then decreasing the monthly rent.

Once your lease ends and no damage is done to the apartment, you get the key money back.

Jeonse (전세)

This is when you sign the lease you put down key money that is equal to the price of the property. This is a lot of money but you do not pay rent during your lease.

This is very popular among Korean citizens as you can take out a loan to help pay for this and then pay that back monthly. These payments are often less than what you pay for monthly rent.

Banjeonse (반전세)

This is a mix of both of the other two types. You will put down a sizable amount of key money as the deposit and then pay rent every month.

In this case, the key money and monthly payments are smaller than what they would be with wolse and jeonse contracts.

Conclusion

A good place to look for a place to stay is 42Share, the apartments are set up in a way that is universal to everyone. You also will be able to have more space to stay in with this option. You also will still get the mix of local and international students you would get in the dorms but have more privacy and space. You also get to experience living in a Korean apartment which is better than the dorms.

Overall housing is going to have many similarities and differences wherever you travel. Finding the right housing for you is very important as well as making sure you can afford it. For students, there are a lot of budget-friendly options you can choose but they may not be as good as those that cost more.

By Marissa Owens, Intern Editor

Drake University, Des Moines, Iowa, USA

mowens3107@outlook.com

7.29.2020

Interesting Things About Housing in Korea

Search This Blog