[Koera] How to rent a room in Seoul - Part1: Wolsae/Jeonsae (월세/전세)
Before we talk about how to find a room, we have to know the general rental systems in Korea. In this post, two major rental system, Wolsae & Jeonsae (월세, 전세) are introduced, and the other ways to rent a room for students will be discussed.
Wolsae is a common rental system that exists in many countries. We sign monthly rent contract and pay a certain amount of money a month with deposits. However the deposit in Korea is quite expensive. It starts from 3,000$ for very small studio and goes higher than this depending of the rental conditions. Anyway it usually is much more than the sum of 3 months rents.
On the other hands, Korean rental system tries to protect tenant legally. Basically, the contract is set for 2 years in default, and landlord has no right to ends the contract in this period. However, tenant can ends the contract whenever he/she wants. But one has to inform 3 months before they leave the room to avoid paying real estate agent fee of landlord.
Jeonsae is a very special rental system that exist only in Korea, to the best of my knowledge. We can rent a room with only the deposit. The contract is set for 2 years in default as well. This weird rental system came out due to very high bank interest rates when Korea wasn't that rich country.
Figure above shows the bank interest rates changes of USA, EU and Korea from 1995. Right before Korea has faced IMF crisis in 1997, Korea was one of the highest developing countries and the investment by foreigners reached its maximum as currency value increases together as high as it could. Therefore, the bank interest rate at that moment went too high as it became around 15%. So, people preferred to keep cash than real estate. And landlord wanted to earn more money by using rental deposit (Jeonsae) from tenant rather than receiving monthly rent(Wolsae).
Apart from those two traditional rental systems, many students and young people live different ways. For those who are financially poor in general, more economical options are necessary.
Gosiwon is an option. It is especially for the students preparing various qualification tests. Gosiwon usually is a small room consists of a small bed and a desk with book shelves. It costs super cheap as monthly rent is around 300~400$ and no big deposit is required(usually one month rent).
Hasuk is another option where the students rent one or two rooms of an ordinary family house. This kind of rental system is often found near big universities. Generally, Hasuk is as cheap as Gosiwon and even breakfast is provided as it is a family house.
Sharehouse is the other form of rental system that young people or new graduates usually use. Several room mates pay the monthly rent together, and use the whole apartment exclusively.
Wolsae/Jeonsae (월세/전세)
Wolsae is a common rental system that exists in many countries. We sign monthly rent contract and pay a certain amount of money a month with deposits. However the deposit in Korea is quite expensive. It starts from 3,000$ for very small studio and goes higher than this depending of the rental conditions. Anyway it usually is much more than the sum of 3 months rents.
On the other hands, Korean rental system tries to protect tenant legally. Basically, the contract is set for 2 years in default, and landlord has no right to ends the contract in this period. However, tenant can ends the contract whenever he/she wants. But one has to inform 3 months before they leave the room to avoid paying real estate agent fee of landlord.
Jeonsae is a very special rental system that exist only in Korea, to the best of my knowledge. We can rent a room with only the deposit. The contract is set for 2 years in default as well. This weird rental system came out due to very high bank interest rates when Korea wasn't that rich country.
(plotted based on the raw data from Korea national statistical office)
Figure above shows the bank interest rates changes of USA, EU and Korea from 1995. Right before Korea has faced IMF crisis in 1997, Korea was one of the highest developing countries and the investment by foreigners reached its maximum as currency value increases together as high as it could. Therefore, the bank interest rate at that moment went too high as it became around 15%. So, people preferred to keep cash than real estate. And landlord wanted to earn more money by using rental deposit (Jeonsae) from tenant rather than receiving monthly rent(Wolsae).
Gosiwon/Hasuk/Sharehouse (고시원/하숙/쉐어하우스)
Apart from those two traditional rental systems, many students and young people live different ways. For those who are financially poor in general, more economical options are necessary.
Gosiwon is an option. It is especially for the students preparing various qualification tests. Gosiwon usually is a small room consists of a small bed and a desk with book shelves. It costs super cheap as monthly rent is around 300~400$ and no big deposit is required(usually one month rent).
Hasuk is another option where the students rent one or two rooms of an ordinary family house. This kind of rental system is often found near big universities. Generally, Hasuk is as cheap as Gosiwon and even breakfast is provided as it is a family house.
Sharehouse is the other form of rental system that young people or new graduates usually use. Several room mates pay the monthly rent together, and use the whole apartment exclusively.
댓글
댓글 쓰기