I heard beforehand that getting into dorms are difficult that even the SNU exchange advisor told us himself. He had also mentioned that there were no single rooms for exchange students, so if you do get into dorms, you are automatically going to be with random roommates. I only knew one exchange student who lived in the dorms, so getting living off campus was common for the majority of exchange students.
With that said, if you did want a single room dorm, a goshiwon is the closest thing to it except just off campus. I was able to find my goshiwon easily through www.goshipages.com which was one of the first links after searching “goshiwon Seoul National University”. On the main page it showed multiple South Korea universities, you can choose the one you’re going to and see goshiwons in your university’s area. Then you can review each goshiwon’s information, see photos of the rooms, amenities, benefits, prices, and who to contact, etc.
I chose Naejari Oneroomtel as my stay for the semester. It was shown as the closest goshiwon to Seoul National University and there were just many pros to it. The location itself was actually right next to the police station which made me feel extra safe. The closest convenience store is just a crosswalk away. There’s also a cafe and mini study library in the first floor of the goshiwon building. There are bus stops very close to it as well, good for going to campus or the subway station (however, both locations are also fairly walking distance).
There are 3 sizes of rooms to choose from and I chose the biggest sized room available which was 600,000 won (around $500) a month. You also just pay rent through won bills and give in person when rent is due. Luckily, I came to Korea at a time when I was actually able to choose which big sized room I wanted to be in. I chose room 414 and though I did not know at the time, I felt it was actually the best choice. Through being in that room I realized:
It is best not to choose a room close to the entrance of the floor
You will hear every, single, person, that goes through that door if you are in the rooms close to it
Keep in mind the fact that you will hear the hallway clearer than the people in the rooms beside you
I remember there was a time the entrance door would actually have this “door shutting slower” thing on it, which would always make a loud and long creaking noise. It was there for a long while until it was taken out. I felt very bad for those rooms close to it.
If you live close to the entrance on the 4th or 6th floor, you will also hear the kitchen and all its noises and conversations much more easily too
In conclusion from the previous bullet point, it is best to be on the 4th or 6th floor and far from the entrance door (if you have the choice)
Those floors have the shared kitchen and washer
If you are on the 3rd and 5th floors, you would always have to go through the stairs or elevator in order to get to the kitchen and washer
Just a bit more tedious if you need water or for food instances and for doing laundry
Between 4th and 6th floor, 4th floor is better
Closer to the ground floor to enter and exit building
Less stairs time and less elevator time
This is exactly how my room looked like. The only difference would be there were no
drawers below the bed so I was actually able to put my luggage conveniently underneath. The layout of rooms may vary but most of the time will look similar in theme. I really appreciated my own bathroom. In Korea, it is actually common to have the sink, toilet, and shower in one area. I also had a mini fridge, many shelves for storage, mini closet areas for hanging clothes, a pole close to the ceiling across the bed (also for hanging/drying), desk, rolling chair, and AC.
However do keep in mind, it is only the furniture provided (may possibly be only applicable to Naejari Oneroomtel):
Only the bedsheet was there
No blanket
No pillow
Bathroom
No toilet paper
No hand soap
Luckily, I did bring my blanket and was okay with just my airplane neck pillow, but when I arrived, I surely did not have toilet paper or hand soap. So I remembered having to just use my pack of napkins and body wash as hand soap. I had actually read a previous blog who also went to Naejari Oneroomtel saying that the owner provided those things but it may have only been when people had to quarantine once they arrived. By the time I arrived, it was a time when you no longer had to quarantine, so do bring those things (or buy them when you arrive).
However, there were still a lot of amenities, there are those 2 shared kitchens I had mentioned, where 2 washers are also in each of them. You could use those tools, pans, stove, microwave, air fryer, etc. for all your food needs. There were also plates, bowls, utensils, mugs for shared use as well. There was free rice, kimchi, ramen, coffee, and powder detergent. I do notice though that many goshiwons do tend to give similar benefits. However, for washing I do recommend getting fabric softener, though not required. You can get it at Daiso (there is one by the station), for only 2000 won (about $1.50) at the cheapest for 2 liters. Dryer located by the stairs between 3rd and 4th floor and on the 6th floor were 500 won coin (around $0.40) for 30 minutes. You could insert won bills if you want it to be longer. I used to use the dryer a lot in the beginning but after a while, I realized it is not so bad to air dry in your own room. There is that pole I mentioned by the ceiling, and it is conveniently placed in front of the AC. I often just hung my clothes there and let the AC do the work. Most of the time they are completely dry the next day.
Overall, I felt getting a goshiwon was the best decision. With all the amenities, it felt like a win-win situation and it was just nice to have my own space. It is great if you value privacy and it was nice to not worry too much about others possibly not being suitable or cooperative. I had heard multiple stories of my friends who lived with roommates having common troubles with chores, disagreements, noise, and worrying about their belongings. They are living with them everyday so I felt it could have taken a toll on my experience if I was in their position. I was glad I took the safe route which was just to live on my own rather than rely on hope that I get good random roommates. The only cons were that the walls are thin so you can sometimes hear people in the rooms next to you a little muffled and actually hear the hallway clearer (luckily people aren’t in the hallway for that long).
I recommend contacting goshiwon owners as soon as you can, because many other exchange students will be wanting to live in these goshiwons too! Specifically for Naejari Oneroomtel, if you decided you are set on living there I recommend just going straight to contacting them through KakaoTalk, because I had made an inquiry on the goshiwon’s official website, but the goshiwon owner ended up leading me to KakaoTalk to communicate anyway (by the way, KakaoTalk app is the main communication source in South Korea. Not once had anyone opted to contact through phone number, in and outside school, so just download it and make an account). Keep in mind that the goshiwon owner uses Papago (most accurate Korean translating) app to communicate, to translate their messages and to translate your messages. This is optional but, if you want to make sure your message comes across correctly, I often made my messages with simple words and checked through Papago from English to Korean then back to English. Also a while after the semester starts, she made a group chat through KakaoTalk with all the foreigners living in the building!
Another thing to keep in mind, is that actually in the middle of my stay there, the owner sold the 3rd and 4th floors to someone else, so she only manages the 5th and 6th floors. So if you want to live in the 3rd or 4th floors, it is named as Seoulguest Oneroomtel on the goshipages website, and their contact information will be there. Though both Naejari Oneroomtel and Seoulguest Oneroomtel show up separately, they are the same building! You just now have to contact different people according to which floors you want to be in.