Picture this: you've just landed in Korea, you're staying in a goshiwon the size of a large closet, and you're trying to figure out why every apartment listing has two different numbers — one enormous (₩200,000,000), one manageable (₩700,000). Nobody warned you about this. Your co-worker uses the word "jeonse" like you should know what it means. You nod. You do not know what it means.
That was most of us. Korea's rental system is genuinely unlike anything you'll encounter in North America, Europe, or most of Asia. It has its own vocabulary, its own risks, and its own paperwork rituals that can cost you real money if you skip them. Let's break it down honestly.
So What's the Deal With Korean Rentals?
Korea has two main rental systems: jeonse (전세) and wolse (월세). There's also a third, informal category of short-term furnished options, but most people end up in one of these two.
Jeonse is the one that makes foreigners do a double-take. Instead of paying monthly rent, you hand the landlord a massive lump-sum deposit — typically somewhere between 50% and 80% of the property's market value. No monthly rent. The landlord holds your money for the lease term (usually two years), invests it, earns interest, and returns the full amount when you leave. It sounds insane because it kind of is, but it's also been a cornerstone of Korean housing for decades.
Wolse is closer to what most of us are used to: you pay a smaller upfront deposit (보증금, boje-geum) plus monthly rent. The deposit is typically 10 to 20 times the monthly rent amount, so a ₩700,000/month apartment might ask for a ₩7M–₩14M deposit. That deposit comes back when you move out.
For most foreigners, especially new arrivals, wolse is the practical choice. The capital requirement for jeonse is staggering — a basic Seoul 1BR jeonse deposit can run ₩100M–₩300M (roughly $75K–$230K USD). Unless you've been planning this move for years and have serious savings, wolse is your entry point.
What Does a Wolse Apartment Actually Cost?
Based on Numbeo data from February 2026, a 1-bedroom apartment in central Seoul runs roughly ₩500,000–₩1,600,000 per month, with the city-centre average landing around ₩1,244,000. Outside the city centre, you're looking at ₩500,000–₩1,200,000, with an average around ₩792,000.
That's just rent. On top of that, budget roughly ₩220,000/month for utilities on an 85m² place. And don't overlook the 관리비 (gwanribi) — the building maintenance fee. This can run anywhere from ₩50,000 to ₩200,000+ depending on the building and covers things like trash collection, common area cleaning, elevator maintenance, and sometimes hot water. Always ask what the gwanribi covers before you sign, because some landlords quote rent without it and it changes the math considerably.
Officetels: The Foreigner Favourite
If you're single and new to Korea, there's a good chance you'll end up in an 오피스텔 (officetel) before you end up in a proper apartment. These are hybrid commercial-residential buildings — registered as commercial space but used as studios or small apartments. They're popular for good reason: they're usually more flexible, often furnished, frequently located near transit and coffee shops, and landlords tend to have fewer reservations about renting to foreigners.
The trade-off is space (typically 20–50m²) and slightly higher utility costs since commercial electricity rates can apply. A Seoul officetel on wolse might cost ₩500,000–₩1,200,000/month with a deposit of ₩3M–₩20M. Not bad for getting settled quickly.
How to Actually Find a Place
The honest answer is: you'll probably use a combination of apps and showing up in person at a 부동산 (budongsan) — a real estate office.
The major Korean property apps are Naver Real Estate (land.naver.com), Zigbang (직방), and Dabang (다방). They're in Korean, but they're usable with Google Translate or a browser that auto-translates. The listings are generally comprehensive. Just be aware that some listings have suspiciously low prices — fake bait listings are a known problem on these platforms, and agents sometimes use them to get you in the door.
For English-language options, the Seoul Global Center (global.seoul.go.kr) offers free housing support and English-speaking counselors specifically for foreigners. This is genuinely useful and underused. Facebook groups like "Seoul Expats" and neighbourhood-specific groups also move quickly for furnished sublets and short-term arrangements.
When you're ready to look at units, walk into any budongsan in your target neighbourhood. Each agent typically knows 20–100 properties within a 500m radius. Bring your passport and ARC (if you have one), tell them your budget and preferred type, and they'll show you units the same day. In expat-heavy areas like Itaewon, Mapo, Yongsan, Hongdae, and parts of Gangnam, you're likely to find English-speaking agents.
The Documents You Need
For signing a contract, you'll need your passport and ideally your Alien Registration Card (ARC, 외국인등록증). The ARC is what unlocks the critical post-signing protections, so if you're signing before you have one — which is technically possible — you're leaving your deposit temporarily unprotected. If you can wait until you have your ARC before moving in, do.
A Korean bank account is also important. Most landlords expect wire transfers rather than cash, and some require rent paid from a Korean account.
The Two Steps That Actually Protect Your Money
This is the part most foreigners skip because nobody tells them about it, and it costs people real money.
After you sign and move in, you need to do two things at your local 주민센터 (Jumin Center / Community Service Center) — ideally within 14 days, ideally the same day you get keys:
전입신고 (jeonip-shingo) is your move-in registration. It establishes your legal address and — critically — gives you legal priority over other creditors if something goes wrong with your landlord's finances. Without this, your deposit is essentially an unsecured obligation.
확정일자 (hwakjeong-ilja) is an official date stamp on your contract. It establishes the legal date of your lease for priority purposes. Costs almost nothing. Takes five minutes. Essential.
Both of these require your ARC. Both are done at the local Jumin Center with your lease contract in hand. Don't leave the country for a vacation before doing this.
For jeonse specifically, also look into 전세보증보험 (jeonse deposit insurance) through HUG (주택도시보증공사) or SGI Seoul Guarantee. Given the wave of jeonse fraud that started making headlines in 2022 and 2023 — where thousands of tenants, including many foreigners, lost deposits when landlords defaulted — this insurance is worth the ~0.1–0.15% of deposit cost annually.
Before You Sign Anything: Check the Registry
Before handing over any money, ask the agent to pull the 등기부등본 (deunggi-bu deungbon) — the official property registry document. You can also pull it yourself online at 인터넷등기소 for about ₩1,000. This shows the property owner, any mortgages on the property, and any liens or seizures.
What you're looking for: the name on the registry matches the person you're signing with, and the outstanding mortgage amount plus your deposit doesn't exceed 70–80% of the property's value. If the numbers are too tight, walk away. This is especially important for jeonse and for 빌라 (villa) buildings, which have been the most common targets of fraud schemes.
The Contract Is in Korean
Yes, the whole thing. Your lease contract (계약서) will be in Korean. Most landlords don't speak English. Many budongsan agents speak limited English. This is just reality.
Your options: bring a Korean-speaking friend, use an English-speaking agent, have someone translate the key clauses, or use Google Translate carefully on the actual document. The key clauses to understand are the lease start and end dates, the deposit amount and return conditions, who pays what utilities, and the early termination terms. Under Korean law, if the landlord terminates early, they owe you double the deposit. If you terminate early, you may forfeit some or all of it.
One More Thing Worth Knowing
If neither you nor your landlord sends formal notice 1–6 months before the lease ends, the contract auto-renews (묵시적 갱신) for the same term. If that happens, you can still terminate with 3 months' notice as a tenant. Just be aware of your lease end date — Korean landlords sometimes count on tenants missing this window.
Renting in Korea has a learning curve, but once you've done it once, you understand the system. The jeonip-shingo and hwakjeong-ilja steps feel bureaucratic until the day you hear about someone who skipped them and lost their deposit. Do the paperwork. It's twenty minutes and it protects everything.
