Where to Live in Seoul (2026): All 25 Districts Compared by Rent, Commute and Community

Short answer

Three things decide the district: how much rent you can pay, how long the commute is, and whether you want people nearby who speak your language. Start with rent, because it is the easiest to check. The table below uses Seoulstart's monthly government records.

• Lowest rent: sort the table below by monthly rent and look at the first rows.
• Foreign resident communities: Guro, Yeongdeungpo and Geumcheon are the largest.
• Students: Dongdaemun, Seodaemun, Seongbuk and Gwangjin.
• English-speaking residents: Gangnam, Yongsan and Seocho have the most US nationals.

Figures below describe August 2026. Rent figures are medians of contracts reported that month.

How to choose a district

Budget. Most foreign residents compare monthly rent (월세, wolse) with a large lump-sum deposit (전세, jeonse). Work out your real move-in cost first. Use the move-in cost tool and the jeonse vs wolse tool. Read How Korean Housing Works if the terms are new.

Commute. Find your workplace or school, then look at the subway map. We have not measured commute times for this guide. Check the door-to-door time on a map app at the hour you will travel.

Community. Some districts have large communities from one country, so you find shops, food and services in your language. The government counts below show where people live. They do not rate a district.

Family needs. Schools matter for families. We do not list schools by district because we have no verified list. Ask each school about admission before you rent.

Students. Four districts hold the largest student numbers (see the profiles below). Smaller rooms and officetels (오피스텔) are common near campuses. Read Goshiwon vs Officetel vs One-Room to compare room types.

All 25 districts compared by rent

This table shows the median monthly rent for officetels in every Seoul district, lowest first. An officetel is a studio-style unit that mixes living and office zoning. It is a common first home for single people.

Area	Monthly rent	Deposit	Contracts
Jungnang-gu	₩550,000	₩50m	69
Eunpyeong-gu	₩600,000	₩10m	137
Geumcheon-gu	₩600,000	₩10m	225
Guro-gu	₩600,000	₩20m	228
Gwanak-gu	₩600,000	₩20m	266
Nowon-gu	₩600,000	₩10m	21
Dobong-gu	₩650,000	₩10m	57
Gangseo-gu	₩650,000	₩20m	556
Gangdong-gu	₩670,000	₩10m	178
Dongjak-gu	₩700,000	₩20m	31
Yeongdeungpo-gu	₩700,000	₩30m	413
Yangcheon-gu	₩720,000	₩10m	45
Mapo-gu	₩750,000	₩10m	294
Seongbuk-gu	₩750,000	₩10m	51
Seongdong-gu	₩750,000	₩20m	91
Dongdaemun-gu	₩770,000	₩10m	342
Seocho-gu	₩820,000	₩10m	143
Songpa-gu	₩845,000	₩30m	332
Gangbuk-gu	₩850,000	₩10m	53
Seodaemun-gu	₩865,000	₩10m	134
Jongno-gu	₩870,000	₩10m	132
Gangnam-gu	₩900,000	₩10m	210
Gwangjin-gu	₩900,000	₩10m	154
Jung-gu	₩900,000	₩20m	115
Yongsan-gu	₩1,000,000	₩35m	96

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.

See reported contracts in the price explorer

Medians come from reported contracts. A district with few contracts can jump from month to month, so open its rent page before you decide. For Seoul as a whole, see the Seoul rent page.

Rent depends on the type of home. Here are the medians for Seoul as a whole:

Home type	Monthly rent	Deposit	Jeonse deposit	Typical size
Apartment	₩1,000,000	₩100m	₩630m	58.1 m²
Officetel	₩700,000	₩10m	₩230m	23.1 m²
Villa or row house	₩550,000	₩40m	₩230m	30 m²

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.

See reported contracts in the price explorer

Villas and row houses (빌라) are another option. Here is the villa view for every district:

Area	Monthly rent	Deposit	Contracts
Dobong-gu	₩395,000	₩44.7m	100
Nowon-gu	₩400,000	₩20m	66
Gangseo-gu	₩450,000	₩60m	328
Geumcheon-gu	₩460,000	₩50m	103
Jungnang-gu	₩460,000	₩62.2m	140
Yeongdeungpo-gu	₩460,000	₩50m	144
Eunpyeong-gu	₩500,000	₩50m	211
Gangdong-gu	₩500,000	₩59.4m	290
Guro-gu	₩500,000	₩30m	105
Gwanak-gu	₩500,000	₩50m	245
Yangcheon-gu	₩515,000	₩40m	158
Dongjak-gu	₩525,000	₩50m	172
Songpa-gu	₩530,000	₩70m	532
Gangbuk-gu	₩545,000	₩20m	130
Seongdong-gu	₩550,000	₩25m	60
Gwangjin-gu	₩575,000	₩35m	218
Jung-gu	₩585,000	₩30m	50
Dongdaemun-gu	₩590,000	₩10m	137
Jongno-gu	₩600,000	₩20m	92
Mapo-gu	₩600,000	₩20m	266
Seodaemun-gu	₩600,000	₩10m	190
Seongbuk-gu	₩600,000	₩20m	153
Seocho-gu	₩740,000	₩50m	200
Gangnam-gu	₩850,000	₩25m	276
Yongsan-gu	₩1,000,000	₩30m	92

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.

See reported contracts in the price explorer

If you plan to buy, or want a sense of how expensive each district is, here are apartment sale medians:

Area	Median sale price	Typical size	Sales
Gangnam-gu	₩2.88b	84.3 m²	89
Seocho-gu	₩2.1b	84.5 m²	84
Songpa-gu	₩1.94b	84.4 m²	171
Yongsan-gu	₩1.87b	84.8 m²	43
Seongdong-gu	₩1.73b	84.6 m²	54
Jung-gu	₩1.55b	84.8 m²	29
Dongjak-gu	₩1.53b	84.5 m²	121
Mapo-gu	₩1.5b	84.1 m²	113
Gwangjin-gu	₩1.4b	74.9 m²	45
Gangdong-gu	₩1.34b	83.1 m²	164
Yeongdeungpo-gu	₩1.28b	73.9 m²	140
Jongno-gu	₩1.19b	84.9 m²	23
Yangcheon-gu	₩1.09b	70.7 m²	123
Dongdaemun-gu	₩1.05b	84.6 m²	135
Seodaemun-gu	₩1.01b	75.2 m²	123
Seongbuk-gu	₩940m	79.6 m²	178
Eunpyeong-gu	₩855m	74.9 m²	211
Gangseo-gu	₩840m	60 m²	260
Gwanak-gu	₩779m	77.7 m²	115
Guro-gu	₩710m	71.1 m²	205
Gangbuk-gu	₩700m	83.7 m²	75
Nowon-gu	₩670m	59.4 m²	524
Jungnang-gu	₩620m	59.4 m²	193
Geumcheon-gu	₩593m	79.7 m²	106
Dobong-gu	₩545m	72.6 m²	216

Medians of contracts reported in August 2026. Source: Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport real transaction records (국토교통부 실거래가), processed by Seoulstart. Updated monthly.

See reported contracts in the price explorer

Want to compare districts side by side? Use the price explorer compare view. To see rents on a map, open the price explorer map. For a longer look at the numbers, read Average Rent in Seoul and Seoul Apartment Prices.

Central Seoul

Jongno-gu (종로구)

Jongno holds Seoul's old center. It had 13,767 registered foreign residents in 2023, about 9.4% of the district, and 5,452 international students. The Seoul Global Center (서울글로벌센터) is here at Jongno 38. An officetel in Jongno-gu rents for a median ₩870,000 a month. See the Jongno rent page.

Jung-gu (중구)

Jung sits in the middle of the city, next to Jongno. It had 12,975 foreign residents in 2023, about 10.2% of the district, which is one of the highest shares in Seoul. An officetel in Jung-gu rents for a median ₩900,000 a month. See the Jung rent page.

Yongsan-gu (용산구)

Many US nationals live in Yongsan. It had 2,334 US nationals in 2023, the second most in Seoul, and 16,226 foreign residents in total (7.6% of the district). It has two Global Village Centers: Itaewon and Ichon. Read the neighborhood guides for Itaewon, Hannam-dong and Yongsan. An officetel in Yongsan-gu rents for a median ₩1,000,000 a month. See the Yongsan rent page.

Seongdong-gu (성동구)

Seongdong had 12,610 foreign residents in 2023 (4.5% of the district). It also has a Foreign Resident Center, the Dongbu center. Read the Seongsu neighborhood guide. An officetel in Seongdong-gu rents for a median ₩750,000 a month. See the Seongdong rent page.

Northeast Seoul

Dongdaemun-gu (동대문구)

Dongdaemun is Seoul's student hub. It had 11,744 international students in 2023, half of its non-Korean residents (50.5%). It also had 26,085 foreign residents in total. It had 8,703 Chinese nationals, the second most of any district in Korea. An officetel in Dongdaemun-gu rents for a median ₩770,000 a month. See the Dongdaemun rent page.

Gwangjin-gu (광진구)

Gwangjin had 24,570 foreign residents in 2023 (7.1% of the district) and 6,768 international students. In 2023 it also had 7,725 Chinese-Korean residents (중국 한국계). An officetel in Gwangjin-gu rents for a median ₩900,000 a month. See the Gwangjin rent page.

Jungnang-gu (중랑구)

Jungnang had 10,759 foreign residents in 2023 (2.9% of the district). An officetel in Jungnang-gu rents for a median ₩550,000 a month. See the Jungnang rent page.

Seongbuk-gu (성북구)

Seongbuk had 18,400 foreign residents in 2023 and 7,489 international students, nearly half of its non-Korean residents (47.7%). It has both a Global Village Center and a Foreign Resident Center. An officetel in Seongbuk-gu rents for a median ₩750,000 a month. See the Seongbuk rent page.

Gangbuk-gu (강북구)

Gangbuk is in the north. Its foreign resident count was below 10,000 in the 2023 source, so it is not among the larger communities. An officetel in Gangbuk-gu rents for a median ₩850,000 a month. See the Gangbuk rent page.

Dobong-gu (도봉구)

Dobong sits at the northern edge of the city. Its foreign resident count was below 10,000 in the 2023 source. An officetel in Dobong-gu rents for a median ₩650,000 a month. See the Dobong rent page.

Nowon-gu (노원구)

Nowon is in the far northeast. Its foreign resident count was below 10,000 in the 2023 source. An officetel in Nowon-gu rents for a median ₩600,000 a month. See the Nowon rent page.

Northwest Seoul

Mapo-gu (마포구)

Mapo had 15,216 foreign residents in 2023 (4.2% of the district) and 3,800 Chinese nationals. It has the Yeonnam Global Village Center. Read the neighborhood guides for Hongdae and Mapo. An officetel in Mapo-gu rents for a median ₩750,000 a month. See the Mapo rent page.

Seodaemun-gu (서대문구)

Seodaemun is a student district. It had 7,732 international students in 2023 (45.3% of its non-Korean residents), and 19,286 foreign residents in total. It also had 1,349 US nationals. An officetel in Seodaemun-gu rents for a median ₩865,000 a month. See the Seodaemun rent page.

Eunpyeong-gu (은평구)

Eunpyeong is in the far northwest and has a Foreign Resident Center at Eunpyeong-ro 21-gil 14-26. Its foreign resident count was below 10,000 in the 2023 source. An officetel in Eunpyeong-gu rents for a median ₩600,000 a month. See the Eunpyeong rent page.

Southwest Seoul

Yeongdeungpo-gu (영등포구)

Yeongdeungpo had 50,424 foreign residents in 2023, about 12.6% of the district, the second most in Seoul. The Chinese-Korean community is large here (33,746). The Seoul Foreign Resident Center is at Dosin-ro 40, and the city's Global Youth Education Center is at Mullae-ro 164. An officetel in Yeongdeungpo-gu rents for a median ₩700,000 a month. See the Yeongdeungpo rent page.

Guro-gu (구로구)

Guro had the most foreign residents in Seoul in 2023: 53,138, or 12.6% of the district. About 34,630 are Chinese-Korean residents. An officetel in Guro-gu rents for a median ₩600,000 a month. See the Guro rent page.

Geumcheon-gu (금천구)

Geumcheon had 31,320 foreign residents in 2023, 12.7% of the district, the highest share of any Seoul district. It has both a Global Village Center and a Foreign Resident Center. An officetel in Geumcheon-gu rents for a median ₩600,000 a month. See the Geumcheon rent page.

Gangseo-gu (강서구)

Gangseo had 13,023 foreign residents in 2023 (2.4% of the district). An officetel in Gangseo-gu rents for a median ₩650,000 a month. See the Gangseo rent page.

Yangcheon-gu (양천구)

Yangcheon has a Foreign Resident Center at Mokdongdong-ro 12-gil 59. Its foreign resident count was below 10,000 in the 2023 source. An officetel in Yangcheon-gu rents for a median ₩720,000 a month. See the Yangcheon rent page.

Dongjak-gu (동작구)

Dongjak had 19,269 foreign residents in 2023 (5.0% of the district), including 6,847 Chinese-Korean residents. An officetel in Dongjak-gu rents for a median ₩700,000 a month. See the Dongjak rent page.

Gwanak-gu (관악구)

Gwanak had 29,112 foreign residents in 2023 (5.9% of the district), including 12,275 Chinese-Korean residents. An officetel in Gwanak-gu rents for a median ₩600,000 a month. See the Gwanak rent page.

Southeast Seoul

Gangnam-gu (강남구)

Gangnam had the most US nationals in Seoul in 2023: 2,473. It had 10,823 foreign residents in total (2.1% of the district). The Gangnam Global Village Center is on Yeoksam-ro. Read the Gangnam neighborhood guide. An officetel in Gangnam-gu rents for a median ₩900,000 a month. See the Gangnam rent page.

Seocho-gu (서초구)

Seocho had 1,924 US nationals in 2023, the third most in Seoul. The Seorae Global Village Center is at Seorae-ro 28. An officetel in Seocho-gu rents for a median ₩820,000 a month. See the Seocho rent page.

Songpa-gu (송파구)

Songpa had 12,981 foreign residents in 2023 (2.1% of the district) and 1,333 US nationals. An officetel in Songpa-gu rents for a median ₩845,000 a month. See the Songpa rent page.

Gangdong-gu (강동구)

Gangdong has a Foreign Resident Center on Cheonho Yet-gil. Its foreign resident count was below 10,000 in the 2023 source. An officetel in Gangdong-gu rents for a median ₩670,000 a month. See the Gangdong rent page.

Where to get help in your language

Seoul runs seven Global Village Centers: Gangnam, Geumcheon, Seorae, Seongbuk, Yeonnam, Ichon and Itaewon. It also runs seven Foreign Resident Centers: Seoul (Yeongdeungpo), Dongbu (Seongdong), Gangdong, Geumcheon, Seongbuk, Yangcheon and Eunpyeong. The Seoul Global Center (서울글로벌센터) is at Jongno 38, floors 4 to 5. The city's foreigner portal is global.seoul.go.kr.

How to check a specific building before signing

A district is only the first filter. Before you pay a deposit:

1. Open the district's rent page and compare the asking rent with the median for the same home type.
2. Ask the agent for the registry record (등기부등본) and read who owns the home and what debts are on it. Read Korea Housing Guide for the three records that protect your deposit.
3. Use the move-in cost tool to add the deposit, fees and first month.
4. Walk the route from the home to the subway at the time you will travel.
5. Read Renting an Apartment in Korea and the first month housing timeline before you sign.

Data note

Counts of foreign residents are from the Ministry of the Interior and Safety (MOIS) 2023 report, which counts residents as of 1 November 2023 and was published in October 2024. MOIS publishes this count every year. We use the 2023 edition because it is the newest one with a district table we could check. Rent and sale figures come from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (국토교통부) real transaction records, processed monthly by Seoulstart. For the full Seoul picture, open the Seoul rent page.

@misc{seoulstart-where-to-live-in-seoul,
  author = {{Seoulstart Editorial Team}},
  title = {{Where to Live in Seoul (2026): All 25 Districts Compared by Rent, Commute and Community}},
  year = {2026},
  publisher = {Seoulstart},
  url = {https://seoulstart.com/guides/where-to-live-in-seoul},
  note = {Last updated October 24, 2026}
}