Living in a Goshiwon
Kevin J. Brenneman takes you on a tour of a Goshiwon (고시원) in Seoul (서울)! What’s a Goshiwon? Basically it’s a tiny place to stay that is inexpensive and doesn’t require any key money. For the rest of the details check out the video and the article below!
A Goshiwon is a small, economic, and flexible place to stay while on an extended stay in Korea. In a Goshiwon you don’t usually need to put down any, “Keymoney” or a deposit. Typically, the prices run anywhere from 200,000 Won for a SMALL room to 400,000 Won for a nicer and cleaner SMALL room. I lived in, Dub-cell Goshiwon, located in the nice area of Seodaemun-gu and paid 340,000 Won per month. Mine was equipped with cable television, a small fridge, DSL internet connection, a community kitchen, community bathrooms, showers, and a washing machine. It also provided free laundry soap, toilette paper, cooked rice, and bar soap. Though, you might opt not to use the bar soap. One of the biggest perks is you don’t have to worry about utilities. The monthly rent it is all inclusive. I even negotiated with the owner to pay on a day-by-day basis because ear the end of my stay I was not sure how long I was going to stay exactly. Again, it is all depends on you and the Goshiwon owner. The Goshiwon is supposed to be a quiet place and not a place for friends to gather. In fact, many university students either live in them or rent them during exams to study round the clock. Other people seem to be of low income status or in transition to something greater. Mine was very quiet for the most part. Occasionally I heard a faint TV in the background. Quite often I heard my neighbors “handphone” vibrating. The walls are usually extremely thin and even light talking can find its way around the building. I have seen some that don’t allow foreigners and others that are girls only. Though, there’s usually another not too far away. One more thing don’t forget to negotiate the price!
