Korea University (고려대) short-term rental: an Anam and Bomun guide
"Is there anything between a guesthouse bunk bed and a one-year Korean lease?"
"Can I actually walk to campus from there?"
If you are searching for a Korea University (고려대학교) short-term rental, you are probably not a tourist. Exchange students, visiting scholars, summer-campus participants, patients heading to Korea University Anam Hospital (고려대학교안암병원) and parents flying in for a graduation all need the same thing: a furnished place for a few weeks or a few months, in a neighbourhood you can actually live in.
The campus itself sits in Anam-dong (안암동), Seongbuk-gu (성북구), in the north-east of central Seoul. The useful search radius is wider than the campus gate, though, and that is what this guide covers.
▼ Browse short-term rentals in Seongbuk-gu ▼
Why visitors end up house-hunting near Korea University
A standard Korean lease is a bad fit for a short stay. Landlords ask for a jeonse or wolse deposit that can run from KRW 5,000,000 to well over KRW 50,000,000 (approx. USD 3,700 to over USD 37,000), the minimum term is usually one or two years, and the unit arrives empty. Nothing about that works if you are here for one semester.
The usual fallbacks each have a catch. A Goshiwon (고시원) or Goshitel is a budget single room of roughly 5–8 ㎡ with a shared kitchen, cheap but claustrophobic for more than a few weeks. A Hasuk (하숙) is old-style boarding with meals included, warm but short on privacy. Hotels near Anam are scarce, and the ones in Jongno charge by the night for a room with no kitchen and no washing machine.
Past the one-week mark, a furnished short-term rental usually wins on both money and sanity.
Short-term rental platforms in Korea sit in the gap: deposits in the hundreds of thousands of won rather than the tens of millions, contracts from one week upward, and the appliances already in place. For a foreign visitor without a Korean credit history or a guarantor, that difference is not a convenience. It is often the only route.
Anam, Bomun and Sinseol-dong: three walkable pockets
Most people type "Korea University" into a rental search and look at nothing else. Widen it by two subway stops and your options multiply, because Line 6 (안암역, 보문역) and the Ui-Sinseol light rail stitch this whole area together.
① Anam-dong (안암동) — the campus doorstep.
Anam Station exit 1 puts you about five minutes from the Korea University main gate. This is the student core: cheap kimchi-jjigae places, print shops, late-night convenience stores. It is also the loudest and the tightest on space, and most of the stock is small studios built for one person.
② Bomun-dong (보문동) — quieter, one stop away.
Bomun Station is one stop on Line 6 to Anam, which means roughly a ten-minute door-to-gate commute. The streets are residential low-rise rather than student strip, so you get proper apartments at reasonable rates. Bomun also interchanges with the Ui-Sinseol light rail, and the Jongno district boundary is about a ten-minute walk south.
③ Sinseol-dong (신설동) — the transfer hub.
Two stops from Bomun, Sinseol-dong Station connects Line 1, Line 2 and the Ui-Sinseol line. From here Dongdaemun is two stops, Jongno and Euljiro are within fifteen minutes, and Cheongnyangni Station gets you an ITX train to Gangneung on the east coast.
For anything further afield, Itaewon (이태원) is a direct Line 6 ride of about 25 minutes, and Gangnam takes roughly 40 minutes with one transfer.
Daily life around campus: commute, groceries, food and noise
Commute. From Bomun or Anam you are on Line 6, which is rarely as crushed as Line 2 or Line 9. Buses along Bomun-ro and Jongam-ro cover the gaps, and a taxi to the campus gate runs about KRW 5,000 (approx. USD 4).
Groceries. This is a genuine advantage of the area. Cheongnyangni Market (청량리시장) is one of Seoul's big traditional markets and sits about 1.5 km east, where fruit and vegetables cost a fraction of supermarket prices. For everyday shopping there are neighbourhood supermarkets and 24-hour convenience stores within a few minutes' walk, and Coupang delivers to the door.
Restaurants. Anam's student streets are where you eat cheaply. Bomun and Sungin-dong lean toward family-run Korean places, and the Jongno side adds older restaurants that have been there for decades.
Noise and parking. Anam-dong gets loud around the campus bars until late. Bomun-dong is markedly quieter, which matters if you are here to write a thesis rather than to party. Street parking is scarce across all three pockets, so confirm a parking space before you book if you plan to drive — most short-stay guests here simply do not.
Green space. Naksan Park (낙산공원) and the Seoul City Wall trail are about a 20-minute walk south, with one of the better skyline views in the city at dusk.
Hotel, serviced residence or short-term rental
The three options behave very differently once your stay stretches past a week.
Hotel | Serviced residence | Liveanywhere short-term rental | |
|---|---|---|---|
7 nights | KRW 700,000–1,200,000 (approx. USD 520–890) | KRW 900,000–1,500,000 (approx. USD 670–1,110) | KRW 200,000–450,000 (approx. USD 150–330) |
30 nights | KRW 2,500,000–4,000,000 (approx. USD 1,850–2,960) | KRW 3,000,000–4,500,000 (approx. USD 2,220–3,330) | KRW 700,000–1,300,000 (approx. USD 520–960) |
Kitchen | ❌ | ✅ small | ✅ full |
Washing machine | ❌ paid laundry | ✅ shared or in-unit | ✅ in-unit |
Changing dates | Rebook each time | Contract amendment | ✅ adjustable, no penalty |
Utilities | Included | Usually extra | ✅ included |
Deposit | Card hold | 1–2 months' rent | Around KRW 300,000 (approx. USD 220) on average |
A hotel is the right answer for three nights. At thirty nights it is simply the most expensive way to live without a kitchen.
The figures above are platform-wide ranges across Seoul, not quotes for a specific unit. Rates near a major university climb during the March and September intake weeks, so book early if your dates are fixed to a semester.
What to check before you book a short-term rental in Korea
✔️ Is it genuinely furnished? Confirm washing machine, refrigerator, cooktop, bedding and towels. Towels and toilet paper are often not provided in Korea, unlike in a hotel.
✔️ Are utilities included? Korean winter heating bills are real money. A listing marked utilities-included removes the surprise.
✔️ What is the actual deposit, and when does it come back? Ask for the amount for your specific night count, not the platform average.
✔️ Can the dates move? If your visa appointment, hospital schedule or semester start shifts, you want to adjust without a penalty.
✔️ Is the contract electronic? You should be able to sign before you land, without a Korean bank account or a visit to an agency.
✔️ How far is the nearest station, in minutes on foot? Seoul listings quote walking minutes. Anything over twelve minutes feels long in August humidity or in January.
✔️ Read the reviews from guests who stayed a month. A three-night reviewer will not have tested the boiler, the water pressure or the neighbours.
A real short-term rental near Bomun Station — guest review
Two-room apartment, 5-minute walk from Bomun Station, Seongbuk-gu (Listing ID : 11764)
Deposit KRW 330,000 (approx. USD 245, 30-night basis) / KRW 134,000 per night (30-night basis, utilities included) / 30-night total KRW 4,020,000 (approx. USD 2,980, utilities included)
Rating ⭐ 4.5 (2 reviews)
approx. 69 ㎡ (21 pyeong) | apartment | two rooms | 1 queen bed
For a shorter stay the same unit is listed at KRW 840,000 for 6 nights (approx. USD 620, utilities included), with the same KRW 330,000 deposit. Pyeong (평) is the traditional Korean floor-area unit; 1 pyeong is roughly 3.3 ㎡, so 21 pyeong lands near 69 ㎡ — large by Seoul standards and unusual in a short-let.
The host describes it as looking wider in person than in the photos, and set up for remote work.
It comes fully equipped: a washer-and-dryer tower, a double-door refrigerator, sofa, desk and dining table, microwave and toaster, floor and stand lamps, a vanity with a full-length mirror, and a queen bed.
On location, the host lists Bomun Station at a 5-minute walk and the Jongno district about 10 minutes away on foot. That puts Korea University one stop up Line 6, and Dongdaemun and Euljiro inside a 20-minute ride.
📍 Recent guest review (May 2026 · J** · ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐, written in English by the guest)
The guest described a very clean, quiet and well-maintained apartment where they slept comfortably, with strong water pressure and everything in the unit working properly. They also noted the host was kind and quick to respond, and said they would book the place again on their next trip.
Finding a short-term rental in Seongbuk-gu on Liveanywhere
Liveanywhere lists furnished homes across Korea for stays from one week upward. Search by area or station, set your dates, and filter on what matters for a longer stay: fully furnished, utilities included, and reviews from guests who stayed weeks rather than nights.
The practical points for a foreign visitor are the electronic contract you can sign from abroad, an average deposit of around KRW 300,000 (approx. USD 220) instead of a Korean lease deposit, and dates you can adjust without a penalty if your semester or treatment schedule moves.
Search "Seongbuk-gu", "Anam" or "Bomun" rather than only "Korea University", and the same commute opens up at a lower rate.
You arrive with a suitcase, and daily life starts the same day.