Renting in Korea: contracts, deposits, and how to protect yourself

1. The three rent structures

• Jeonse (전세): one large refundable deposit, no monthly rent.

• Wolse (월세): smaller deposit plus monthly rent, the structure most foreigners use.

• Ban-jeonse (반전세): large deposit plus reduced monthly rent. A large deposit carries jeonse-style risk even in a monthly-rent contract.

2. Before you sign

• Check the property register extract (등기부등본). Confirm the landlord matches the owner and note any mortgages senior to your deposit.

• Compare the asking terms against official transaction data. Our free tools: concierge.youngji.kim/rent-check (monthly rent) and /jeonse-check (jeonse deposits).

• Management fees (관리비) are charged on top of rent. Ask for the itemized breakdown in writing.

3. After you sign: deposit protection

• Report the move-in and get a fixed-date stamp (확정일자) on the contract at the community center. Together with actual occupancy, this sets your priority for deposit recovery.

• Lease contracts above certain deposit/rent thresholds must also be reported under the lease reporting system (주택임대차신고). The community center handles both at once in most cases.

4. Common foreigner-specific traps

• Paying more than the market because listings target foreigners. Check the data first.

• Oversized deposits on monthly-rent contracts (ban-jeonse) without checking the owner's mortgage position.

• Verbal promises about repairs or move-out terms. Get everything into the contract text.