Cramped life in 'gosiwon', Korea's smallest, cheapest homes

Have you ever heard of ‘gosiwon’? Gosiwon refers to a form of dormitory-style single room accommodation common in South Korea that first appeared around the 1980s, mostly near universities in Seoul.

These facilities provided cheap accommodation, mostly small in size - between 3 and 6 square meters - and intended for students preparing for state-run exams to be lawyers or senior government officials.

But nowadays, gosiwons are more associated with poverty, having become a symbolic residential facility for socially disadvantaged people who cannot afford more comfortable accommodation.

고시원GosiwonSouth Korea