Co-living offers students somewhere to live and a social life

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Co-living offers students somewhere to live and a social life

Published: 24 Jan. 2023, 06:00 Updated: 03 Mar. 2023, 18:22

The lounge area of Episode Suyu 838 [SK D&D]

Dorms and studio apartments may be the most common housing options for students, but they're not the only way — co-living is an alternative, with a rising number of complex specifically designed to target international residents.

One of those is Episode Suyu 838, a 23-story-tall building in the middle of Suyu-dong in Gangbuk District, northern Seoul. When entering the lobby, people aren’t greeted by the usual-looking apartment ground floor with lines of mailboxes and elevators. Instead, you find a cafe-like lounge area with racks of magazines and chairs to relax in.

Co-living is a housing model in which residents lease individual rooms, but share communal spaces, such as the kitchen, living room and gym. Some have cafes, small libraries and even pet playgrounds. Rent tends to be higher than affordable student housing options such as dorms, with the monthly rent of a single room at Episode Suyu 838 ranging between 630,000 won ($510) to 850,000 won.

“For me, it was the best out of all the options I had,” said Noe Ranson, a foreign student living in the co-living house since August last year. “The deposit was not that high, the rent is okay with me, and the place looks very good, even better than others I've seen.”

Noe Ranson, left, and Joice Maitrini, pose for a photo during an interview at Episode Suyu 838. [PARK SANG-MOON]

Aird, a service run by start-up HireDiversity, rents rooms at co-living houses and leases them specifically to foreigners. Episode Suyu 838 is operated by SK D&D, but Aird rents and re-leases 100 of the 818 rooms in the building. It also offers rooms in other co-living houses such as the Local Stitch Creator Town in Euljiro, central Seoul, and the Mangrove Sinseol in Dongdaemun District, eastern Seoul.

Although renting a house through a sub-leaser might not seem like everybody's first choice, HireDiversity advertises its services by providing a discount on the lump-sum deposit needed for co-living houses, which can be a tricky concept for people new to Korea. The discount is only given when people apply for documents such as visas, alien registration cards and work permits through its agents, which require a commission.

The start-up was founded in 2020, reporting revenue of 1.2 billion won in the first half of last year.

Joice Maitrini, living at Episode Suyu 838 since February last year, is one of the residents that was glad for the extra help provided by the company.

“I got to know Episode Suyu 838 from Aird, because it partners with my school,” said Maitrini. “Before I came to Korea, I received an email that introduced me to Aird and then it also helped with getting visas and a lot of other things, and it was really helpful for me when I arrived here.”

Home appliances available for residents at Episode Suyu 838's single room [PARK SANG-MOON]

One of the main reasons people choose to live in co-living houses is the additional facilities they get access to. At Episode Suyu 838, its working lounge is a favorite of many.

The lounge has a long line of desks where residents can work on their laptops or study for exams. Couches are available for those who prefer to work casually, but there are also small individual rooms where people can concentrate and study in silence.

“I really like the working lounge because I live right next to it and I just love the peaceful vibe of everyone working and minding their own business,” said Ranson. “I can just sit there on the sofa listening to ASMR, which I really enjoy doing.”

The building’s rooftop, decorated with fairy lights and showing a scenic view of Mount Bukhan, is an area where people are welcome to mingle amongst themselves. Plenty of couches, tables and chairs are laid out, with residents visiting to finish their day off with a can of beer in the warmer seasons.

The rooftop area at Episode Suyu 838 [SK D&D]

Facilities are shared among residents, so they naturally get to know each other and make friends as they keep running into each other.

“When I was studying for mid-terms on the sixth floor, I met a neighbor that I know from my school,” said Maitrini. “He told me that there is a KakaoTalk group chat for people living here, and I joined that community.”

“The group chat has about 60 something members in it, and they have a regular meeting on Wednesdays with about 20 people coming."

People voluntarily gather, but social events that range from makgeolli tasting to end-of-year parties are also officially hosted by the co-living houses.

For foreigners new to Korea and wanting to make more friends, social events are a valuable opportunity to get to know more people. There’s a variety of co-living houses that offer similar experiences, with many units also specifically catering to the foreigners.

Dwell, a co-living house in Dongdaemun District, central Seoul, rents rooms only for foreigners. One of its recent gatherings was during the 2022 Qatar World Cup, with residents watching Korea’s game against Uruguay in the shared lounge with the classic combination of fried chicken and beer. Residents there tend to meet up for regular barbecues on the roof, host Halloween parties and regularly go plogging around the neighborhood.

“I made a few friends while living here,” said Ranson. “Last week I had a party at Episode Suyu 838 and I even met some people there who were also from my university, which is Korea University, and it’s been a very fun experience staying here.”