If Kim wanted to walk around her house in Seoul from one corner to another, it would take less time than it took you to read this sentence. It’s not that it’s exceptionally fast. It is that he lives in a goshiwonthe quintessence of micro(micro)flats South Koreans, tiny dwellings that in theory were not planned as homes but that necessity turns into the residence of more and more young people in the country.
Kim herself is a barbaric example. Despite being 31 years old, having a job as an office worker and having lived in Seoul for five years, he has had to abandon his one-room studio to move to a goshiwonthe same type of accommodation he resorted to when he settled in the capital in 2017. He is not enthusiastic about the idea, but given the rent escalation He doesn’t have many other options left.
What is a goshiwon? Microhomes. And micro can be understood in this case in the most literal sense of the word. The goshiwon (either gosiwon) are mini studios that can be rented to affordable prices and they gather the essentials to survive: a bed, wardrobes and some space to install a desk and (perhaps) a shower cabin. Of course, not all goshiwon They are the same and the characteristics can change a lot from one apartment to another.
On the Korea.net platform they point out that the rooms are usually around 10 square metersalthough there are those who speak of cabins of barely 3 m2 and on TikTok you can see people showing gosiwons of less than 7 m2. There are also broader options, which exceed the 30 m2. It is not strange that they are located in buildings with common services and its tenants must share bathroom and kitchen. Another thing they don’t always guarantee is a window to receive natural light.
Are they that cheap? Yes. The first thing to keep in mind is that the goshiwon They were not designed to serve as stable and permanent domiciles. Korea Herald account that initially, back in the 70s, were designed with students focused on passing their exams and who only needed a space in which to spend the nights between visits to classrooms and libraries.
So clear was his approach that the name gosiwon can be literally translated as “examination room”. Hence, among the little furniture they include there is a bed and a small desk. Everything else was superfluous.
The undeniable thing is that it is a much more economical accommodation option than other rental formats. Herald explains that one of those micro apartments in Jongno-gru, in the heart of Seoul, it can cost between 400,00 and 500,000 won per month, about 270-340 dollars. In university areas there are even for 150 dollars. Its management is also simple and does not require large deposits.
Nothing to do with almost 7,000 dollars deposit and 500 per month that the most conventional studies require on average, according to Danabg; or of course the very high disbursements of the insurance system jeonse rental.
Why are they news? The goshiwon They have existed for decades, but it takes a look at the South Korean press to see that have become in news. The reason? Little by little they are making their way among a new audience, different from the one that demanded them decades ago. The format seems to be triumphing among foreign students who spend a few months in Seoul and young South Koreans who, like kimhave been suffocated by the rise in housing prices. That is precisely what just reported the newspaper Korea Times.
And do you provide data? Beyond Kim’s testimony, the newspaper provides a series of data which show a clear trend: although the use of goshiwon by young South Koreans is not yet widespread, it is becoming more frequent. In 2024, 5.3% of households headed by people between 19 and 34 years old were registered in homes that are not legally classified as such, which includes from goshiwons to houses made from ship containers.
It is a low percentage, but it stands out for two reasons. The first is that if we talk about South Korean households in general, the ratio drops to 2.2%. The second is that this 5.3% represents the highest figure in the last five years, only surpassed by 2017, when it reached 5.4%. In 2020 the rate was actually 3.2%.
“This trend coincides with a continued influx of young Koreans to Seoul and the capital metropolitan area and an increase in the costs of their primary housing options,” comments Kang Mi-naexperts from the Korea Research Institute of Human Settlements (KRIHS).
Are there more factors at play? Yes. The goshiwons have become a good option for university students who come to South Korea to study, but the Seoul residential market is facing a scenario of rising costs that is not unknown to us in Spain. a few weeks ago The Chosun Daily published that housing prices in the capital had reached their highest values in the last seven years, with monthly rents also experiencing record increases. To that is added the increase in price of leases through the jeonse system, which requires a large initial deposit.
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