"It's nice my daughter got into a Seoul university, but the studio rent is 700,000 won"... Regional parents under heavy financial strain

According to The Financial News, the average monthly rent for studios near 10 major universities in Seoul rose 2% in a year to reach the 620,000 won range this year. Average maintenance fees climbed into the 80,000 won range, up more than 5% from last year, further increasing students' housing costs.

On the 24th, real estate platform Dabang analyzed January studio rental prices near 10 major universities in Seoul. Based on a 10 million won deposit and a studio of 33 square meters or less in exclusive area, the average monthly rent came to 622,000 won. This is a 2.0% increase from the same month a year earlier (609,000 won), marking the steepest rise since 2019.
By university, studios near SKKU had the highest monthly rent at 738,000 won. This represents an 18.1% jump from January last year (625,000 won), the largest increase among the areas surveyed.
They were followed by Ewha Womans University (Ewha) at 711,000 won, Yonsei University at 683,000 won, Korea University at 663,000 won, Hanyang University (HYU) at 642,000 won, Kyung Hee University (KHU) at 622,000 won, Sogang University and Hankuk University of Foreign Studies (HUFS) at 599,000 won each, Seoul National University (SNU) at 489,000 won, and Chung-Ang University at 469,000 won.

Maintenance fees rose an average of 5.1% compared with a year earlier.
The most expensive maintenance fees were found near Ewha and Chung-Ang University, both at 102,000 won. That is 24.4% higher than the average maintenance fee of 82,000 won near the 10 Seoul universities surveyed.
In particular, maintenance fees near Chung-Ang University surged 21.4% from a year earlier (84,000 won), offsetting much of the impact of an 11.0% drop in monthly rent.
Following Ewha and Chung-Ang University, studio maintenance fees were highest near SNU at 89,000 won; Korea University and HUFS at 85,000 won each; KHU at 83,000 won; Yonsei University at 79,000 won; HYU at 77,000 won; SKKU at 67,000 won; and Sogang University at 49,000 won.
Students' effective housing costs (rent plus maintenance fees) come close to an average of 704,000 won. The area around Ewha is the most expensive at 813,000 won, followed by SKKU at 805,000 won and Yonsei University at 762,000 won.
A representative from Dabang explained, "Average studio rents near major universities in Seoul, which had been on an upward trend after August 2024, dipped slightly in July last year before rising again," adding, "The strong rental market appears to have affected university districts as well."

sms@fnnews.com Reporter Seong Min-seo Reporter