Tourists are loving South Korea’s micro-housing rentals.
Foreign visitors are booking tiny, bare-bones rooms for short stays instead of dealing with Korea’s huge security deposits and long-term leases.
Once mainly used by cash-strapped students studying for exams, these small rooms are now attracting tourists, language students, and temporary workers looking for cheap, flexible housing options in Seoul.
It’s a way to avoid Korea’s long-lease requirement and harsh deposit system.
Lee Sung-hee, who owns Simple House gosiwon near Sinchon Station, told “The Korea Herald” that foreign tenants search listings through online platforms and sign contracts directly with landlords. No real estate agent. No guarantor paperwork. No deposit that runs ten times the monthly rent, which is standard for Korean apartments.
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What’s the catch?
Sounds like a smart way to bypass the system, right?
Well, there’s a catch.
You might have to sacrifice comfort to avoid opening your wallet.
The rooms themselves measure around 10 square meters and come with a bed, desk, and sometimes a private bathroom – if you’re lucky, that is. Kitchens and laundry are shared.
Monthly rent runs between 300,000 and 800,000 — roughly $220 to $590 — depending on the neighborhood and amenities.
Hongdae, the entertainment district near universities, sits at the higher end of that range.
Contracts are typically month-to-month, and that matters to foreign residents on temporary visas who face job changes, visa expirations, or sudden relocations.
An Italian woman who stayed at a gosiwon near Ewha Womans University for eleven months said the deposit for other accommodations was prohibitively high and the paperwork unfamiliar.
The shift represents a workaround for Seoul’s traditional rental market, which locks tenants into long contracts and large upfront payments.
For operators, it signals demand for low-barrier, short-stay inventory in urban markets where deposits and lease terms create friction.
The question is whether other cities with high housing costs and transient populations will see similar micro-housing conversions targeting foreigners who need to move fast and leave faster.
