In recent years, the number of shared houses has been increasing in South Korea.
More about SHARE HOUSE
Shared housing is sharing one house or apartment with others.
You live a single room or in a double or triple room, sharing the kitchen, living room, bathroom, and laundry.
There are various types of share houses in South Korea such mixed gender share houses, women-only share houses, and men-only share houses.
Contract period
The share house contract period varies from landlord.
Some landlords will allow a short-term stay, whereas others will only allow a long-term stay.
When inquiring about a room, Make sure to tell the landlord how long you plan to stay.
The contract term is a promise you must keep that you will live in the house.
If you want to move out of that house within the contract period, you will need to find a new tenant who will take over your room.
Security Deposit
A security deposit for a shared house in South Korea is not as high as for an apartment.
Generally, it is about 1 month’s rent to 2 million KRW.
However, there are not many share houses that do not have a security deposit.
If you cannot afford the security deposit, I recommend short-term accommodations such as HASUK(boarding houses) and GOSITELS.
Rent & utility cost
There are various kinds of rooms in share houses such as single, double and triple rooms.
- 300,000KRW-500,000KRW for a twin or triple room.
- 450,000KRW-700,000KRW for a single room.
The rent varies from house to house, according to the location of the house to share and the size of the bedrooms.
In particular, privately owned share houses tend to have lower rents, while those managed by contractors tend to have higher rents.
In addition to rent, you must pay for utilities.
- Utilities average 50,000KRW~80,000 KRW.
Utility costs are higher in the summer due to air conditioning usage, and higher in the winter due to heating（ondol) usage.
Common Facilities
In a shared house, you share the living area, kitchen, and bathroom with with others.
Cleaning of common facilities can be done by a cleaning company or by residents or a share house manager.
Rules
Share houses have many rules.
Many houses DO NOT ALLOW
- Letting friends stay overnight,
- Inviting friends.
- keeping pets,
- smoking in the building.
If you don’t follow the rules, you will have to leave, so make sure to check the rules of the shared house before moving in.
Proof Documents for accommodations for Alien Registration Card
- You must apply for an Alien Registration Card in South Korea.
Proof Documents for accommodations for Alien Registration Card
| type pf Accommodation | Proof Documents |
| A Dormitory | Confirmation of Dormitory Residence. |
| B Residence under your name | Lease agreement or rent contract |
| C Residence under other’s name | ①confirmation of Residence /Accommodations ②Provider’s ID card(both sides ③Lease agreement under the provider’s name |
| D Accommodations with Business License | ①confirmation of Residence /Accommodations or the accommodation’s own contact form ②Business license of the accommodation. |
- If the share house has a business license, you’ll need D documentation.
and sometimes you need a receipt of the first month rent . - If the share house does not have a business license, you’ll need C documentation.
Some landlords are unable to prepare that documentation. In that case you cannot apply for an alien registration card.
How to pay rent
You can pay your rent in CASH or by BANK TRANSFER.
You cannot use a credit card to pay rent.
If you only have your country’s currency, exchange it into Korean won before paying.
You must pay rent on time every month.
Find share houses on the website.
If you want to find a room before you come to South Korea, it is better to find it on the website
SHARED HOUSING SEARCH SITES IN SOUTH KOREA
- craigslist Seoul
- Just Landed housing
- Come & stay
- Room & Space
- Naver cafe (I love share house)
1 Craigslist Seoul
Classified community site for 570 cities in the world. Craigslist Seoul has forums about “community, service, discussion forums, housing, for sale, and jobs. Share house landlords advertise directly. As for housing, in addition to shared houses and rooms, there are other forums such as sales of apartments and condominiums.
craigslist provides local classifieds and forums for jobs, h…
2 Just landed housing
Classified community site for foreigners living abroad. You can find information about communities, jobs, and housing in cities around the world. Share house landlords also advertise directly on this website.
저스트 랜디드- 해외에서의 직업 찾기, 거주 또는 학업에 필요한 모든것이 있습니다 : 나라의 일반적인 정보들…
3 Come & stay
A search website where you can find a SHARE HOUSES, a GOSITEL, and a host family in South Korea. The Web site contains detailed information on the rooms and its location. You can contact the Share house landlords directly.
4 Room & Space
Similar to Come & Stay, information platform for GOSITEL and SHARE HOUSES in South Korea. You can contact the Share house landlords directly.
5 Nevar cafe
Naver Café is the largest community website in South Korea run by NAVER, a popular search engine in South Korea.
You can find a lot of information about share houses in South Korea at a cafe called I love sharehouse.
Useful Korean for room inquiries
| 지금 빈 방 있어요? | Do you have any available rooms now? |
| 방이 언제 쯤 나와요? | When will the room be available? |
| 개인 욕실이 있는 방 있어요? | Are there any rooms with private bathrooms? |
| 애완동물을 키워도 되요? | Are pets allowed? |
| 월세는 얼마예요? | how much is the rent? |
| 방 보러 가도 되요? | Can I come see your room? |
| 언제 입주 가능해요? | When can I move in the room? |
| 방을 계약하고 싶어요 | I want to take the room. |
| 방을 보여주셔서 감사합니다 | Thanks for showing the room |
Download the kakaotalk application.
Kakao talk is a very popular messenger application in South Korea. If you want to contact the owner of the share house, KakaoTalk is the most convenient way to do so, rather than Email or Facebook messages. Download KakaoTalk before you come to Korea.
