As in many countries, South Korea’s single-person households often choose studio or small apartments — commonly called “one-room” or “two-room” here, depending on their size. One of the most popular alternatives is the officetel, a hybrid commercial-residential unit classified as quasi-housing under the Housing Act. As its name suggests, it can be used for both work and living, though most units are occupied solely as residences. An officetel building typically combines offices, retail spaces an

Seoul has earned a reputation as a city that never sleeps, and its overnight workers, students and partygoers alike need sustenance to make it through. South Korea's capital and most populous city offers plenty of ways to eat close to midnight or in the wee hours, but in other regions, too, there are ways to get a late bite, albeit with more limited options. Considered the country's main gateway, Incheon Airport has a number of restaurants, cafes and fast food joints on its premises. Most operat

I love to sing, but as a kid, belting out tunes on a karaoke machine usually meant rallying at least one friend to go to the local noraebang (singing room). For a boy who was a bit of a loner, this could be challenging. Then came the 2010s — and with them, a delightful invention: the coin noraebang (pay-per-song karaoke). A sanctuary for solo singers, it offered sweet salvation to those who want to sing their hearts out without the judgmental stares of others. Coin noraebang is just one of many

As a longtime resident of Seoul, I can personally attest to the city being among the safer places to live by oneself. Not once during the numerous late-hour adventures of my youth, staggering back home at night, have I been mugged or held at gunpoint -- which is partly because personal gun ownership is not allowed here. But no matter where you are in the world, there's always the risk of violence and crime, particularly for women, who are statistically far more vulnerable to certain types of cri

Affordable rent and a convenient commute shouldn't be all that matters Seoul, where I have lived by myself since 2012, is by far the largest and most populous city in South Korea, and it is also where more people live alone than any other region in the country. A February 2024 government report showed that there were 1.99 million single-person households in Seoul, accounting for 44.5 percent of all households in the city. Finding a place to live in the country's most expensive city can be a chal

Nearly half of all households in South Korean capital now consist of one person, and there's a reason for that "You become an adult only after you've put your hair in a topknot," a traditional Korean saying goes, referring to the premodern custom of a man putting his hair in a topknot for a wedding ceremony. Conventional wisdom that had dominated Korean society of yesteryear was that one truly comes of age only after committing oneself to marriage. That notion is quickly changing, however, with