December 10, 2025
SEOUL – Considerable portion of South Korean youth are struggling with housing issues, as recent government data showed that 5.3 percent of them are living in structures not intended for long-term residential use.
About 5.3 percent of households headed by those aged 19 to 34 were living in “residences that are not homes” in 2024, according to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport’s sample study of data on 61,000 households nationwide.
The non-homes category includes “gosiwons” — temporary single rooms with shared facilities such as bathrooms, kitchens and laundry spaces — as well as greenhouses and makeshift housing made from shipping containers, none of which are meant for permanent habitation.
This was much higher than the 2.2 percent for the general population, and it was also found that 0.1 percent of households married for seven years or less were in such conditions. The data suggests that younger Koreans face significant challenges securing proper housing.
Over the past several years, the percentage of young people living in non-homes fluctuated from 5.4 percent in 2017 to 3.2 percent in 2021, before rising again. This contrasts with the general population, where the rate stayed between 2.1 and 2.3 percent from 2017 to 2024.
The same report showed that while 60.7 percent of Koreans own homes, 82.6 percent of young people live in rented housing.
It was found that 8.2 percent of young Koreans are living in conditions worse than the minimum residential standards. The standard is legally defined as at least 14 square-meters for one person accompanied with basic conditions such as water supply, drainage, protection from noise and cold, along with safety measures from hazards.
Seoul Metropolitan Government’s report in June showed that households led by people aged 19-34 in the nation’s capital increased for the third straight year in 2023, accounting for 29.3 percent of the city’s households. Only about 20.4 percent of the total population of Korea is in that age group, indicating its tendency of wanting to live in Seoul.
This compounds the issue because Seoul is not only the most populous city in Korea, but also the most expensive in terms of housing.
The price-to-income ratio (PIR) — between the average salary and the price of the average home, measured in years of earning — was 6.3 years nationwide, but 13.9 years for Seoul. It means that an average person would theoretically have to save up their entire pay for nearly 14 years to afford a home in Seoul.
According to the recent Land and Housing Institute report, Seoul households in the younger age bracket were spending an average of 895,900 won ($609) a month on housing in 2023. It marked an increase of 12.7 percent from the previous year, and was the highest out of all regions in the country.
Considering that an average Korean makes 3.73 million won a month, young Koreans in Seoul are thought to spend around a quarter of their income on housing, mostly by paying the monthly rent.
As such, a decreasing percentage of the young population are living in their own homes.
A Ministry of Data and Statistics report last month showed that only 25.8 percent of the Seoul households headed by 30-something-year-olds owned homes, the lowest figure since the government started tally.