Inside Seoul’s ‘closet’ homes: YouTube tour reveals reality of gosiwon living

When Drew Binsky stepped into a Gosiwon in Seoul, the doorway alone offered a clue to the life inside. The entrance measured barely 61cm (24 inches) across – narrow enough to require a slight turn of the shoulders to pass through.Binsky, an American travel YouTuber with millions of subscribers, documented his experience in his video “Inside Korea’s smallest apartment,” posted on February 1. The video tours several Gosiwon facilities across Seoul and drew more than 1.9 million views within days of its release, bringing renewed international attention to one of the city’s least visible forms of housing.“Behind the bright lights and advanced technology, many people are building their lives in rooms smaller than a closet,” Binsky said in the video after visiting a tour guide living in a Gosiwon in Seoul’s Eunpyeong district.Gosiwon – among Seoul’s cheapest and smallest housing options – were initially occupied mainly by students preparing for the highly competitive gosi law exams, before gradually becoming homes for people from a wide range of backgrounds.Residents usually pay around 360,000 won (US$250) per month. Utilities such as wireless internet and air conditioning are typically included, along with shared access to basic food such as rice, instant noodles and kimchi. According to figures cited in the video, roughly 150,000 people in Seoul live in Gosiwon.Drew Binsky crouches inside a Gosiwon bathroom. Photo: YouTube/Drew BinskyBinsky also draws on his own experience living in compact housing in South Korea while working as an English teacher in 2013. He recalls being struck by a bathroom design that merged the sink and shower into a single fixture – a space-saving arrangement that sometimes left him soaking wet after accidentally turning on the shower instead of the sink tap.