How To Live in Korea with the Lowest Budget (Gosiwon and Co-living Spaces)

The 3 most common ways to rent a house in Korea:

1️⃣ 월세 = monthly rent
2️⃣ 전세 = lump-sum deposit
3️⃣ 반전세 = half deposit

But a deposit is EXPENSIVE.

It usually starts from 5,000,000 won and can go up to hundreds of millions won.

Finding rent in Korea can be difficult for those who have just started working or those who don’t have much savings in their bank account.

So, what’s the cheapest way to stay in Korea without a high-price deposit?

Check our previous post to learn the details!
(Click here)

1. 고시원 Gosiwon

It is single room accommodation that first appeared in the 1980s for test takers who needed a place to study and fulfill the basic necessities of life at a low price. 

고시 refers to various state-administered tests. For instance, people who prepared for the bar exam, a test to select legal professionals, lived in 고시원 to become a lawyer, a prosecutor, or a judge (the bar exam abolished in 2017).

Reply 1988 shows Sung Bora’s 고시원 room, where she studied for the bar exam.

The monthly rent can vary depending on a room’s condition. Starting from 100,000KRW (81USD), it can go up to 700,000KRW (569USD) (or even higher). 

– No deposit
– No utility fees
– Monthly contract possible
– Tiny room
– Shared kitchen and bathroom

2. 코리빙 스페이스 Co-living Space

It’s a comparably new concept of “living.” Co-living spaces targeted younger generations that want reasonable monthly rent, a clean house, a community, and convenient facilities (with no or low-price deposit). With several branches, they usually include a shared lounge, shared kitchen, and co-working space.

We would like to introduce three co-living spaces in Korea!

1️⃣ 커먼타운 Commontown

www.commontown.co/en

– Deposit: 1,500,000KRW (1,219USD)
– Monthly rent: 590,000 ~ 1,190,000KRW (479 ~ 967USD)

2️⃣ 로컬 스티치 Local Stitch

en.colivingseoul.io/

– Deposit: X
– Monthly rent: Starting from 800,000KRW (650USD)

3️⃣ 맹그로브 Mangrove

mangrove.city/en/

– Deposit: 3,000,000KRW (2,438USD)
– Monthly rent: 400,000 ~ 800,000 won (325 ~ 650USD)