If you work in a factory town, you pick between two kinds of housing: a dormitory from your employer or a one-room that you rent yourself. Since November 27, 2023, no national percentage cap limits what an employer collects for a dormitory. The amount is agreed between you and your employer, so you need to know what is fair before you sign.
Dormitory or your own room?
Both can work. What changes is who controls the room.
| Employer dormitory (기숙사) | Your own one-room (원룸) | |
|---|---|---|
| Who sets the cost | Your employer, by agreement with you | The landlord, in your lease |
| Deposit | Ask your employer whether any deposit applies | You pay a deposit and can lose it if the landlord cannot repay |
| If you leave the job | Ask your employer what happens to the room | The lease continues until it ends |
| Rules | Labor Standards Act dormitory standards apply (5+ workers, or any size for E-9 and H-2) | Housing Lease Protection Act applies |
| Address report | Needed when you move in | Needed when you move in |
Read goshiwon vs officetel vs one-room for the room types, and your worker rights for the wider picture. This guide is for foreign workers in manufacturing towns, including holders of E-9, E-7-4, H-2, F-4, and F-2-R status. The Labor Standards Act dormitory standards apply at workplaces with five or more regular workers. For E-9 and H-2 workers, the Employment Permit System law makes the employer follow them at any size of workplace. The rules on dormitory information, the standard labor contract, and changing workplace come from the Employment Permit System law, so they cover E-9 and H-2 workers, and the workplace-change rule covers E-9 workers only. They do not cover E-7-4, F-4, or F-2-R holders.
What can your employer charge for housing now?
Before 2023, a MOEL guideline capped the dormitory fee at 8 to 20% of monthly ordinary wage. That cap no longer exists. The Foreign Workforce Policy Committee decided in July 2023 to replace it with guidelines that reflect local market prices, and MOEL abolished the old guideline on November 27, 2023.
Here is how it works now:
- No duty to pay. MOEL says an employer does not have to pay a foreign worker's room and board.
- A reasonable amount. If the employer provides a dormitory, it may collect a reasonable amount.
- Regional guideline. Each regional labor office (지방고용노동청 or 지청) publishes its own dormitory cost guideline (숙소비 산정 가이드라인). Examples exist for Yeosu, Uijeongbu, and Daejeon. Find yours through your regional office or the Employment Permit System (고용허가제) forms on EPS and 고용24.
- Agreement. The regional offices tell employers to decide the amount together with you, so that it is not excessive.
- Written consent. MOEL says an advance deduction from wages is possible with your written consent. The Yeosu notice attaches a deduction consent form (공제 동의서).
This guide does not give a regional amount, because the numbers sit in attachments that Seoulstart could not read. Ask your employer which guideline applies and what the monthly amount is.
Your employer must also use the standard labor contract (표준근로계약서). Using another form can bring an administrative fine of up to ₩5 million.
Compare the amount with your regional guideline first. If the deductions look too high, call 1350.
Dormitory standards and your rights
An employer who provides a dormitory must follow the Labor Standards Act (근로기준법) dormitory rules if the workplace has five or more regular workers. An employer of E-9 or H-2 workers must follow them at any size of workplace and protect your health and safety. Use this list when you check a room:
- Bedroom size: at most 8 people per bedroom, and at least 2.5 square meters per person.
- Sharing: men and women must not share a room. Workers on different shift times must not share a bedroom, unless their sleeping hours are fully separate.
- Facilities: toilet and washing or bathing facilities, light and ventilation, heating and cooling, and fire-safety equipment.
- Locks and storage: locks on bedrooms, toilets, and bathing facilities, plus space to store your belongings.
- Location: not in a place with heavy noise or vibration, a high risk of landslide or snow slide, damp or flood-prone ground, or contamination from waste.
- Privacy: your employer must not invade your privacy in the dormitory. Dormitory rules need the consent of a person who represents the majority of the residents.
Breaking the dormitory standards can bring a criminal fine of up to ₩5 million for the employer.
Information before you sign
When the employer signs the labor contract with you, it must give you dormitory information in advance. The same applies if the employer changes the dormitory after signing. The information must come on the dormitory information sheet (외국인 기숙사 시설표) and include photos or video of:
- The outside of the building
- The inside of the bedroom, including the lock
- The toilet and washing or bathing facilities, including the lock
- Heating and cooling
- Light and ventilation
- Fire equipment
- Storage space
Changes must be given in writing in advance. When you get your room, compare it with these photos.
If the housing is bad
The Act on Foreign Workers' Employment (외국인근로자의 고용 등에 관한 법률) lists a dormitory that breaks the dormitory information rule among the reasons you can change workplace without being at fault. A MOEL notice names two housing cases:
- The employer gave you a vinyl greenhouse or an unlawful temporary structure as housing.
- The employment office told the employer to fix a dormitory that breaks the standards above, or to fix missing or wrong dormitory information, and the employer did not fix it in time without a good reason.
Photos, your labor contract, and the dormitory information sheet help you show what happened. For the steps, call 1350 or visit your Employment Center (고용센터).
Since January 1, 2021, MOEL has refused new employment permits where a container or other temporary structure inside a vinyl greenhouse is the dormitory, unless the local government issued a temporary-structure report certificate. That rule is stated for agriculture, livestock, and fishing workers. It is not a statement about factories.
Rents by city
Many workers rent a one-room in a villa (다세대 or 연립). The table below shows the median monthly rent from real lease contracts reported to the government, from Seoulstart's monthly data. The latest update covers August 2026. These are not asking prices. Half of the reported contracts were cheaper and half were more expensive.
| Area | Monthly rent | Deposit | Contracts |
|---|---|---|---|
| Eumseong-gun, North Chungcheong | Too few | 5 | |
| Gumi-si, North Gyeongsang | Too few | 9 | |
| Changwon Seongsan-gu, South Gyeongsang | Too few | 4 | |
| Gimhae-si, South Gyeongsang | ₩340,000 | ₩10m | 26 |
| Cheonan Seobuk-gu, South Chungcheong | ₩380,000 | ₩3m | 47 |
| Ansan Danwon-gu, Gyeonggi | ₩400,000 | ₩5m | 108 |
| Siheung-si, Gyeonggi | ₩400,000 | ₩5m | 124 |
| Pocheon-si, Gyeonggi | ₩400,000 | ₩5m | 56 |
| Asan-si, South Chungcheong | ₩400,000 | ₩4m | 18 |
| Jincheon-gun, North Chungcheong | ₩400,000 | ₩5m | 11 |
| Ulsan | ₩400,000 | ₩5m | 65 |
| Ansan Sangnok-gu, Gyeonggi | ₩450,000 | ₩5m | 266 |
| Geoje-si, South Gyeongsang | ₩450,000 | ₩5m | 24 |
| Hwaseong Manse-gu, Gyeonggi | ₩500,000 | ₩5m | 42 |
| Pyeongtaek-si, Gyeonggi | ₩500,000 | ₩3m | 283 |
| Gimpo-si, Gyeonggi | ₩525,000 | ₩10m | 40 |
Medians of contracts reported in August 2026. Rent figures are for new leases, the price someone moving in signs; where fewer than 10 new leases were reported, all leases are used. Source: Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport real transaction records (국토교통부 실거래가), processed by Seoulstart. Updated monthly.
A place with few reported contracts shows "Too few" instead of a number. Here is Ansan Danwon-gu as an example. Median villa rent: ₩400,000. Median deposit: ₩5m. Median size: 43.1 m². A median says nothing about one building, so use it to set a budget and then check real contracts.
Some workers prefer a small officetel (오피스텔). Here are the same places for that type:
| Area | Monthly rent | Deposit | Contracts |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hwaseong Manse-gu, Gyeonggi | ₩450,000 | ₩3m | 39 |
| Gimhae-si, South Gyeongsang | ₩450,000 | ₩5m | 60 |
| Changwon Seongsan-gu, South Gyeongsang | ₩460,000 | ₩5m | 116 |
| Ansan Sangnok-gu, Gyeonggi | ₩475,000 | ₩5m | 38 |
| Ansan Danwon-gu, Gyeonggi | ₩500,000 | ₩5m | 199 |
| Ulsan | ₩600,000 | ₩5m | 255 |
Medians of contracts reported in August 2026. Rent figures are for new leases, the price someone moving in signs; where fewer than 10 new leases were reported, all leases are used. Source: Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport real transaction records (국토교통부 실거래가), processed by Seoulstart. Updated monthly.
Open a rent page for monthly detail: Ansan Danwon-gu, Ansan Sangnok-gu, Gimhae, Ulsan, Changwon Seongsan-gu, Gumi, or all of Gyeonggi. The price explorer shows reported contracts month by month. Plan your first-month cash with the move-in cost tool.
Where the industrial areas are
City websites confirm these industrial areas:
- Ansan: Ansan's own table lists the Banwol national industrial complex (반월국가산업단지) with 109,097 workers and the Sihwa national industrial complex (시화국가산업단지) as of the fourth quarter of 2024. The Sihwa figure is 33,538 workers in the part of the complex inside Ansan. Most of the Sihwa complex lies in neighboring Siheung.
- Changwon: the Changwon national industrial complex (창원국가산업단지) is in Changwon.
- Gumi: the Gumi national industrial complex (구미국가산업단지) is in Gumi and Chilgok County.
- Ulsan: the Ulsan-Mipo national industrial complex (울산·미포국가산업단지) is in the Nam, Dong, and Buk districts. The Onsan complex (온산) is in Ulju County.
- Gimhae: the city lists 18 completed industrial districts with 1,081 firms.
For the other towns in the table, Seoulstart shows rents only. Search Seoulstart Jobs for openings, then check the rent before you accept housing far from the plant.
Renting your own room safely
Read how to avoid deposit scams and the lease documents checklist before you sign. Test the deposit with the deposit safety tool, and compare asking prices with real transaction prices.
Small-deposit priority
If the landlord's house is auctioned, the small-deposit priority rule (소액임차인 최우선변제) repays part of your deposit before other creditors. The amount depends on the region. These are the figures for towns in this guide that the decree names or leaves under "other regions":
| Area | Total deposit limit to qualify | Amount repaid first |
|---|---|---|
| Hwaseong, Gimpo | ₩145 million | ₩48 million |
| Ansan, Pyeongtaek, Ulsan (except Ulju County) | ₩85 million | ₩28 million |
| Gimhae, Changwon, Gumi, Geoje, Ulju County (Ulsan) | ₩75 million | ₩25 million |
Three limits apply:
- The amount repaid first is capped at half the value of the house.
- Several tenants in one house, or a household living together, are counted together.
- Siheung is in the overcrowding control zone (과밀억제권역) except the Banwol special area, so ask which rate applies before you rely on it.
Rules and amounts can change, so check the decree before you sign. The protection needs you to move in and register your address before an auction is registered. Also get a confirmed date (확정일자) on the lease: it protects the rest of your deposit.
Report your address within 15 days
A registered foreigner who moves must report the new address within 15 days of moving in. File at the ward or town office (시ㆍ군ㆍ구 or 읍ㆍ면ㆍ동) or at the immigration office, and hand in your Alien Registration Card (외국인등록증). Not reporting can bring a criminal fine of up to ₩1 million.
Next steps
- Ask your employer for the dormitory information sheet with photos and the monthly amount in writing.
- Compare the amount with your regional labor office guideline.
- Check the rent in your town in the table above, then open the area page on Seoulstart Housing.
- If you rent, protect the deposit and report your address within 15 days.
- For visa and permit questions, read the E-9 visa guide, the EPS guide, and the guide to what happens after you pass the EPS test.