The Hotel-Converted House That Was Said to "Go See for Yourself"... Suitable Only for Single-Person Households

[Visited a Hotel Converted into Housing]

Shared Laundry and Cooking Facilities
Mismatch with Demand from 3-4 Person Middle-Upper Class

Criticism Continues Online

Korea Land and Housing Corporation (LH) announced on the 1st that it has started moving in from the 30th of last month by supplying the youth-tailored shared housing "Anam Saenghwal" to stabilize housing for university students and young people. Despite its excellent location, a downtown tourist hotel that had been vacant for a long time due to the impact of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) was remodeled. Photo by Moon Honam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Chun-hee] "There is criticism that government policies leading to rising housing prices are producing 'hotel beggars.'" (Song Seok-jun, People Power Party lawmaker)

"Have you ever visited a hotel remodeling site? If you do, you will see that the government is supplying housing that supports young people." (Kim Hyun-mi, Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport)

On the 1st, the hotel site that Minister Kim Hyun-mi confidently said "you will know if you visit" during the National Assembly Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee's urgent inquiry on the 30th of last month was revealed. It is 'Anam Saenghwal,' located near the one-room housing area of Korea University in Anam-dong, Seongbuk-gu, Seoul.

The building, completed in 2012 and used as urban lifestyle housing, was converted into the tourist hotel 'Richen County' and remodeled into 122 rooms. The deposit was set at 1 million KRW, about 45% of the market price, with monthly rent ranging from 270,000 to 350,000 KRW and a maintenance fee of 60,000 KRW.

The hotel site actually visited did not seem lacking for single young households. Storage spaces, often criticized as a problem in one-room units, were provided in various forms such as built-in closets, and various furniture including refrigerators and clean bathrooms were also equipped.

Prospective resident Lee Han-sol (27) said, "I run a one-person vegan fashion brand, so I liked that there are diverse common spaces such as a cafe and co-working space," adding, "I currently live in a rooftop room in Dongdaemun-gu with a deposit of 3 million KRW and pay 450,000 KRW monthly, but this place has most of the necessary furniture and the rent is cheap, so I liked it."

However, this housing lacks laundry and cooking facilities indoors. Park Se-young, head of the LH Social Housing Leading Project Team, explained, "It is for young people who want to live in the city but cannot," and "common facilities were provided to secure living space," but the dining facilities and recycling stations in the basement were not considered adequate for the scale of 122 residents.

Jeon Mo (26), who saw photos of the interior, said, "If there are no cooking facilities indoors, it is practically a dormitory or a goshiwon with good facilities," and "If I had the means, I would want to find a better room." Lee Mo (30) also said, "I wonder if the creators have ever lived in a one-room unit. It seems like creating another housing class," and lamented, "If you build one, please build it properly and supply it."

Korea Land and Housing Corporation (LH) announced on the 1st that it has started move-ins from the 30th of last month by supplying the youth-tailored shared housing "Anam Saenghwal" to ensure housing stability for university students and young people. Despite its excellent location, a downtown tourist hotel that had been vacant for a long time due to the impact of COVID-19 was remodeled. Photo by Moon Honam munonam@

That's not all. As the housing was revealed, criticism has been pouring in online. This housing policy is far from alleviating the middle class's suffering from the jeonse (long-term deposit lease) crisis.

In fact, the government's recent jeonse and monthly rent measures show a completely different direction from addressing the middle class's jeonse difficulties during the actual implementation process. Instead of apartments suitable for 3-4 person households, there is a growing gap in perception as only easily supplied 1-2 person households are being promoted.

This gap is clearly reflected in the term 'hotel beggar.' Regarding Song's 'hotel beggar' remark the day before, Jang Kyung-tae of the Democratic Party criticized, "'Ji-Ok-Go' (basement, rooftop, goshiwon) residents and single-person youth households living in hotels are called beggars? I don't know how far this kind of language will go."

However, the term 'hotel beggar' actually originated from sarcastic remarks like "How can multi-person households live in hotels?" and "Do they think the people are beggars?"

A man in his 40s, A, said, "A deposit of 1 million KRW and monthly rent of 300,000 KRW is certainly helpful for young single-person households," but added, "But three family members cannot live in a one-room unit. I don't know what the government expects from the people." A man in his 30s, B, criticized, "They say there is no middle-class jeonse, but how can they proudly promote monthly rental housing for single residents?"

Experts pointed out that the government still has not properly established supply measures. An industry expert said, "The industry has long emphasized supply as an efficient measure for stabilizing the real estate market, but after denying it, the government has now shifted its stance to expanding supply, yet it still seems to have no clear idea of what kind of supply is actually needed."