Some of the 2013 freshmen and enrolled Soongsilians must have started living on their own for the very first time in their lives. The students who aren’t living at their homes, where their loving families are present, may be experiencing loneliness. Somewhere deep inside, however, they may be feeling some delight due to their newfound liberty. This can mean that from a helpless person who always needs supervision and help, one has grown up to become a mature individual. Moving out for the first time can bring lots of feelings like these, but I think that the most prominent feeling would be perplexity. Doing the house chores can become a burden to the first-timer, and can be frustrating.

There are many ways of moving out, like moving into a dormitory, but what can give one the most freedom is getting a small apartment room for one’s self. This is called ja-chwee (자취), which means “to live on meals cooked by oneself.” If you stretch out the meaning a bit, it means doing the laundry and all the other chores that your parents used to do for you. It is living your life on the next level. ST is going to help the students who are starting out on this new path, by giving them information on the places where they can live.

One-rooms near the school

The most popular place where college students can live alone is a place called one-room. A one-room is basically a one-room apartment consisting ofa bedroom, a kitchen, a living room, and a bathroom. It is ideal for a person living alone. The one-rooms near SSU have an area of approximately 5-8 pyung (16.52-26.45 m2). The rental contract for such one-rooms includes a list of “options”: a aundry machine, a refrigerator, a desk, a closet, and sometimes an Internet connection. So you could consider these small details and data, you should take time examining the contract before you sign it.

You can go house-hunting by yourself, get help from real estate companies, or surf the Internet sites (Peter Pan’s House Hunt Cafe: <http://cafe.naver.com/kig/>; One-Rooms Near SSU Cafe: <http://cafe.naver.com/kig012.cafe>). ST tried a bit of house-hunting by going to real estate companies and one-rooms for rent. When hunting for a house, safety, distance from the school, and convenience should be carefully considered. ST sorted out the offers given to us that met these conditions, and found out about the cost and the rent. Given the fact that conversion factor between the monthly rent and deposit money is usually 10~12%, the total cost was 55,000,000 to 70,000,000 Won.

LH College students’ rental housing

As you might know, renting a one-room is usually pricey, and especially for students who have just left their homes, it may be frustrating. To ease these stresses even a bit, the Ministry of Land, Transport, and Maritime Affairs and LH Public Corporation came up with an idea. Since 2012, they have been recruiting college students who want to rent houses. This recruitment for rental housing is for the college students who hail from another region. To ease their burden of paying for housing and the stress that comes with living alone, the ministry and LH are offering 3,000 rental houses this year (2013). With a low deposit of 1,000,000-2,000,000 won and a monthly rent of 70,000-170,000 won, a student can rent a house for two years. The student can renew the contract two times, which means that he/she can live in the house for a maximum of six years. A total of 10,349 houses were made available for this purpose in 2012, and this year (2013), 13,000 houses have been made available. You might be wondering how this is possible since the deposit money and rent are very low. Here’s how it works:

First, LH nominates a student for recruitment. The nominated student looks for a house near the school, and once he/she has found one, he/she reports it to LH. LH goes to that house and enters into a two-year contract with its owner. After that, LH enters into another contract, this time with the student. Thus, basically, it’s a double-contract. LH demands from the students almost only the interest on the price that it paid to the house owner for the rental of the house. This allows the students to rent the house at a very low rate.

The rental housing recruitment for 2013 is already over, but due to the positive eedback it acquired, it will now be done annually and will thus be held again next year. If you weren’t able to sign up for it because you’ve just found out about it, check the Websites of the Ministry of Land, Transport, and Maritime Affairs and LH Public Corporation once in a while to find out when the next recruitment will start. Here is a chart that shows the priority list of the applicants, based on 2013.

As mentioned earlier, living by yourself will be somewhat exciting but will also be frustrating, but if you see it as a chance to grow from your younger self, it may be worthwhile. Lastly, ST made a self-check-up list for those who got an apartment for themselves and have started to live in it. Check if you were able to cover all the details, and if you got the best offer.

Must-checks!

For living
a. Amount of sunlight (For the room’s atmosphere and to prevent mold)
b. Hydraulic pressure: Turn the tap to hot water and check to see if it’s okay. (The water pressure usually becomes weaker if the water is hot.)
c. Windows: Check if there are security grills and screens.
d. Toilet: Check inside.
e. Heating and air-conditioning
f. Sink: Look to see if there’s a sign of vermin inside the drawers and pipes.
g. Place for the laundry machine

For avoiding rip-offs
a. Check if the rent payment is advanced or deferred. (Lots of students sometimes pay a month’s rent more.)
b. Check the copy of the contract, and have all agreements put in writing in the contract rather than done only verbally.
c. When paying the rent, make sure to get an official receipt or other proof of payment.
d. Check if the building is on mortgage, and if it is, check to see for how much. (You might have trouble getting back your deposit money.)