When you go to see monthly-rent homes, you'll hear words like "villa," "officetel," "split-type one-room" and "10 pyeong." Before you sign a contract, learn what these words mean and how each type of home is different.
As of October 2026
| Type | In one line | Size and layout (typical) |
|---|---|---|
| Apartment | A multi-unit residential building of 5 floors or more. Several buildings are grouped together in one complex. It usually has 2 to 4 rooms | Usually 59㎡ (about 18 pyeong) or 84㎡ (about 25 pyeong) of exclusive area. The 84㎡ size is called the "national size" |
| Villa | A low-rise multi-unit residential building, usually 4 floors or fewer | Usually ranges from a 1.5-room of about 30㎡ to a three-room of about 99㎡ (30 pyeong) |
| Officetel | Officially an office-type building, but many people use it as a home. Many come with appliances and furniture already included | Usually a one-room of 5 to 7 pyeong (about 17 to 23㎡); 1.5-rooms also exist |
| Shop-house building | A building with a shop on the ground floor and homes on the upper floors | Varies from home to home |
An apartment (apateu) is, by law, a multi-unit residential building with 5 or more floors. It is usually part of a complex of several buildings, and each complex has a name (for example, "○○ Apartment"). It usually has 2 to 4 rooms, and exclusive areas of 59㎡ (about 18 pyeong) and 84㎡ (about 25 pyeong) are common. 84㎡ is generally thought of as a good size for a family of four, so it is called the "national size" (guk-min pyeong-hyeong). As more people live in one- or two-person households, smaller sizes like 59㎡ have become popular too.
A villa (billa) is not a legal term. It is a word for a low-rise multi-unit residential building built smaller than an apartment building. (It has nothing to do with a Western-style villa, meaning a vacation home.) It is usually a low-rise building of 4 floors or fewer. On paper, they are divided into row houses (yeonlip), multi-household houses (dasedae) and multi-family houses (dagagu). The buildings look similar, so you don't need to worry about the difference when looking for a monthly-rent home. Just know that the types exist. Sizes usually range from a 1.5-room of about 30㎡ to a three-room of about 99㎡ (30 pyeong). When you sign a contract, the real estate agent will pull the building register (geonchungmuldaejang) and the property registry (deunggi-bu deungbon) and explain them to you, so listen carefully then.
An officetel is classified as an office-type building under the Building Act, and as quasi-housing under the Enforcement Decree of the Housing Act, so it can be used as a home. The word "officetel" combines "office" and "hotel." It means a building designed so it can be used both as an office and as a place to live. Most officetels are designed to be lived in, so there is no problem living in one. Because they have many units, they often have a management office and security guards, so the building tends to be well looked after. Not every officetel is like that, though, so check whether there is a management office and security guards when you view the home. Officetels are usually one-rooms of 5 to 7 pyeong (about 17 to 23㎡), and 1.5-rooms also exist. "Apartel" (a blend of "apartment" and "officetel") is an unofficial term for an officetel that is about as large as an apartment.
A shop-house building (sangga-jutaek) is a building with a shop on the ground floor and homes on the upper floors. It usually wasn't built as housing from the start, so many units were fitted with little more than a kitchen and a bathroom afterward. As a result, living conditions may be somewhat worse than in other homes.
These are words you'll often hear when looking for a home. Knowing them in advance will make the agent's explanations much easier to follow.
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Move-in report (jeonip-singo) | A notice to your local community center (jumin-senteo) that your address has moved to the new home. It is an address registration, not a police report. Foreigners file a report of change of residence (cheryuji byeongyeong-singo) instead of a move-in report. It is also an address registration, not a police report |
| Fixed date (hwakjeong-ilja) | A date stamp put on your lease contract. If something goes wrong with the home, it fixes your priority among creditors for getting your deposit back |
| Building register (geonchungmuldaejang) | The government's official record of a building's details, such as its use, area and number of floors. The real estate agent pulls it and shows it to you |
| Title section (pyojebu) | The part of the building register that lists information about the whole building (address, number of floors, main use and so on) |
| Unit section (jeonyubu) | The part of the building register that lists information about each individual unit (use, area and so on) |
| Main use (juyongdo) | What the building has been approved to be used for. Examples: multi-unit housing, office-type building |
| Property registry (deunggi-bu deungbon) | A document that shows who owns the home and whether it has loans or collateral registered against it |
| Special terms (teugyak) | Extra promises written into the contract in addition to the standard wording |
An officetel can be protected by the Housing Lease Protection Act when it is actually used as a home. If you take possession of the home and complete your move-in report (jeonip-singo), you are protected by law from the next day. Even if the landlord changes or the home is sold, you can keep living there for the length of your contract, and you can protect your deposit. If you also get a fixed date, then in special cases such as the home going to a court auction, you can get your deposit back ahead of other creditors, in order of priority. You won't need this in normal times, when the landlord returns the deposit without trouble, but it is a safeguard in case the home changes hands.
However, some officetels are said to "not allow a move-in report." The reason is the landlord's taxes and how the landlord has declared the building's use.
Understanding the landlord's situation makes it easier to bring up the subject. Be sure to ask the real estate agent before signing whether a move-in report is possible in that officetel. If it isn't, your deposit is hard to protect, so remember that the larger the deposit, the greater the risk, and try negotiating conditions such as the monthly rent with the landlord.
The real estate agent will usually explain the building register. Knowing this part will help you follow along.
If you are a foreigner with an Alien Registration Card (ARC) and you move, you must file a report of change of residence (cheryuji byeongyeong-singo) within 15 days of the day you move. This report takes the place of the move-in report. So you don't need to file a separate move-in report as well. If you file the report of change of residence after taking possession of the home and also get a fixed date, your deposit can be protected. For the detailed steps, see the monthly rent contract guide and the Alien Registration Card (ARC) guide.
Home layouts are classified by how many rooms there are. The living room and kitchen are not counted as separate rooms, and are often together in one space.
| Layout | Features | Size (typical) |
|---|---|---|
| One-room (studio) | The bedroom, living room and kitchen are all in one rectangular space. There is no separate room | About 17 to 30㎡ (5 to 9 pyeong) |
| 1.5-room | Also called a "split-type one-room." It has one room, with the living room and kitchen together. In officetels, the room is often separated by a sliding door instead of a wall and a door | Starting from around 30㎡ (9 pyeong) |
| Two-room | It has two rooms, with the living room and kitchen together | Varies, from about 33 to 96㎡ (about 10 to 29 pyeong) |
| Duplex (loft) | Uses the high ceiling to put a sleeping area on an upper level. The upper level is usually too low to stand in, so it is a space for sitting or lying down. The stairs may be inconvenient | Usually about 17 to 26㎡ (5 to 8 pyeong) by floor area |
Sizes differ from home to home, so don't rely on the numbers alone; go see it in person. It's a good idea to check the direction and size of the windows, ventilation and soundproofing.
In Korea, people often describe the size of a home in pyeong. Even when documents are written in ㎡, listings and real estate agents talk in pyeong. 1 pyeong is about 3.3㎡.
| Pyeong | Converted to ㎡ (pyeong × 3.3058) |
|---|---|
| 6 pyeong | About 19.8㎡ |
| 8 pyeong | About 26.4㎡ |
| 10 pyeong | About 33.1㎡ |
| 13 pyeong | About 43.0㎡ |
Even the same "10 pyeong" can mean a different kind of area.
| Area | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Exclusive area (jeonyong-myeonjeok) | The area inside the unit that you actually use. People often call this the "actual pyeong" (silpyeongsu) |
| Supply area / contract area | The exclusive area plus shared spaces such as hallways and stairs. In an officetel, the contract area also includes things like the parking lot, so even with the same contract area, the space you actually use can be much smaller |
In apartment listings, an 84㎡ exclusive-area unit is often called a "34-pyeong" unit (34 pyeong-hyeong). That figure counts supply area, not exclusive area. So for the same home, a listing's "34 pyeong" and an actual size of about 25 pyeong (silpyeongsu) can both appear.
Be sure to ask the agent whether the pyeong size in the listing is the exclusive area or the contract area.
Full option (pul-opsyeon) means the home comes fully furnished, with appliances and furniture included as standard. Officetels are very often full option, and so are many newly built villas these days. Air conditioners, refrigerators, washing machines, wardrobes and induction cooktops are often included. However, a TV and a bed are mostly not included. It differs from listing to listing, so check what is included for each home.
When appliances or furniture break down, responsibility is usually divided like this. If the tenant caused the breakdown by misuse, the tenant repairs it; if it came from natural wear and tear after long use, the landlord repairs it. This is often written into the lease contract as standard wording, but it is hard to cover every possible case one by one.
An officetel's maintenance fee (gwallibi) tends to be higher than an apartment's. Based on the contract area, it is usually 10,000 to 15,000 won per pyeong (3.3㎡). For example, if the contract area is 10 pyeong, that is about 100,000 to 150,000 won a month. In an officetel, internet and IPTV (TV service delivered over the internet) fees are not included in the maintenance fee and are paid separately. As of the second half of 2025, about 60% of paid-TV subscribers in Korea use IPTV.
Maintenance fees differ from building to building. It's hard for a foreigner to tell whether a fee is reasonable, so before signing, whether it's an officetel or a villa, ask the agent roughly how much the maintenance fee usually comes to and whether that is a reasonable level. You can find an explanation of each item and how to pay utility bills in the guides below.
Think ahead about how you will get rid of your furniture and appliances when you move. These are the main ways.
| Method | How |
|---|---|
| Danggeun / Karrot (second-hand marketplace app) | An app where people in the same neighborhood buy and sell with each other. It supports an English interface, and you sign up with phone number verification. Upload photos and set a price. If you set the price to 0, it becomes a free giveaway ("free sharing"). |
| Bulky-waste sticker | Large furniture such as sofas, mattresses and desks is put out with a sticker attached. You can buy the sticker at a community center, at a convenience store (CU, GS25, 7-Eleven) or on your district office's website; prices start at 1,000 won and vary by size. In buildings with a management office or security desk, they sometimes handle it for you. In such buildings, ask the management office or security guard first; you may also be able to pay the fee at the security desk. Then put the item out at the designated spot. If you put it out without a sticker, you may be fined. |
| Home appliances | Refrigerators, washing machines and TVs are handled separately. Many local governments collect them for free, so apply by phone to your district office. |
You sign up for Danggeun (Karrot) with phone number verification. If you don't have a Korean number yet, first see the phone plan guide.
This article is for general information only. Actual contract terms and procedures may vary by region, property and timing. We recommend checking directly with a licensed real estate agent and your local community center before signing a contract.