Apartments in South Korea – All about renting a flat
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Loading... - Khalil Brahimi
- 21 Jul 2022
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If you plan to stay in Korea longer, you should definitely familiarize yourself with how to look for an apartment and how the Korean apartment market works.
To make all that easier for you, we’ve done a lot of research on the topic. So read on below for more useful information on getting an apartment in South Korea! If you’re in the market for Seoul Apartments or House hunting in South Korea, this article is for you!
Let’s get to it.
How to Find Apartments in South Korea
First and foremost, before you even start looking at apartments, you should organize your needs, wants, and requirements when it comes to where you’ll live. This can significantly impact what types of apartments and accommodation you’ll be looking at. Here are some essentials:
· Your length of stay in Korea. As far as actual apartments go, the rental contracts typically start from 1 year. So if you’re staying for less than that, it may be less hassle to consider alternative types of accommodations instead, such as shared apartments and shared houses.
· Your budget. Mind you, apartments in Korea typically have a higher key deposit to pay in comparison to other countries, usually starting from 5,000,000won (approximately $4500) and up. You’ll get this money back at the end of your stay, but it may be difficult to cough up that kind of money, to begin with. But if paying a large key deposit is no objection, then you have no problem!
· Can you live with other people? What about the layout and size of the apartment? These are also some questions you should ask yourself while making preliminary decisions, although remaining flexible will provide more options.
· Your Special Requirements – What are things that you want (or need) in an Apartment?
When imagining your future apartment in South Korea, what are the things you particularly look for?
Do you need a balcony and free wifi? Do you need private parking or free parking? Do you need the place to be within walking distance from the subway station or city center? Do you want it to be near a park or the national museum?
Where to Look for Apartments in Korea
Once you have sorted out some of the basics of what type of place you want to live in and what you can afford, it’s time to get started on the search.
Know that the apartment market in Korea moves at a hectic speed, so there isn’t a solid need to sign up for anything until a week or two before arrival. Do not commit to anything until you are already in Korea and have seen your new apartment in person first.
You’ll usually have a lot of options to choose from. Here are some of the main ways to find your Korean apartment or other accommodation while you’re living in Korea.
· Realtors – This is the best way to get your apartment and rental contract in Korea. Choose the neighborhood or neighborhoods you are interested in finding a home and visit realtors in the area to have them show you around. Tell them what kind of apartment you are looking for, especially your budget.
Depending on availability and your limitations, they’ll usually offer you around ten apartments in one go. You don’t need to decide on an apartment on the spot, although it’s typically advised to choose quickly if one interests you. The downside of going directly to realtors is that they do not usually speak any English, so you’ll want to take someone who can speak Korean with you.
· Apps – There are apps like dabang (다방) and jikbang (ì§ë°©) with which you can view rooms and their prices in specific neighborhoods without actually visiting them. You can’t actually rent one directly through the app, however.
It will give you the realtor’s contact information in charge of renting it out. Using these apps allows you to get some advanced insight into the apartment you’re interested in before taking on the tour.
And when you do go to the realtor’s office, make sure that they show you other rooms as well since sometimes the pictures give out a different impression of the room than what it looks like in reality, or the apartment in question is no longer on the market, but the information hasn’t been updated yet.
· Craigslist – There are a lot of apartments and rooms in shared apartments available here. The price is usually lower than if you go through a realtor, but you typically won’t make the actual rental contract. Most of Craigslist is also in English!
· Other services – There are many websites and apps from small start-up companies offering translation services and further help in finding an apartment in Korea. If you can afford this, it’s definitely a service to make your moving process smoother!
