Inside a Seoul Hotel Remade as Youth Housing With AI Training and Coworking

Lee Hae-seong, head of Nanum Housing, explains the coworking space at Eskis Gasan in Seoul’s Geumcheon District on April 30. He said the project kept much of the former hotel layout while adding resident-focused features such as study rooms, a shared kitchen and work areas so housing, learning and work can be handled in one place. [Photo by Baek So-hee]

“Many residents work in AI, and after joining the community my portfolio really got stronger,” said Lim Ji-yoon, a resident at Eskis Gasan. “They recruited residents and even ran speech training. There were many chances to do productive things.”

Lim, who moved into the complex through a special allocation for digital-industry workers, spoke during a visit on April 30 to Eskis Gasan in Seoul’s Geumcheon District.

South Korea’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport has begun expanding public rentals by remodeling nonresidential buildings. The program is part of a purchase-lease public rental housing initiative that buys vacant office and commercial properties and converts them into homes. The goal is to supply 2,000 units for young people and newly married couples near subway stations and university areas.

Eskis Gasan is a converted former hotel, once called Haedamchae Hotel. A second-floor hotel office was turned into a study room, and the rooftop was remade into community space including a lounge. The building is about a six-minute walk from Gasan Digital Complex Station on Seoul Subway Lines 1 and 7.

Designed as a “specialized” purchase-lease rental, it includes studios and meeting areas for digital-industry workers. A fitness room is on the second basement level, while the second floor has a coworking area set up like a shared office and a filming studio.

“It’s not just a place to live,” Lee said. “We tried to preserve the hotel structure as much as possible while reworking the layout for what young residents need.”

The complex also operates education programs alongside housing. It offers AI and startup-to-employment training for residents, with a curriculum designed using big-data analysis. Training can run up to 17 sessions, and some participants can be linked to startups or jobs. The layout is intended to encourage resident study groups and networking.

Lim said her monthly rent and maintenance costs are lower than when she lived in a one-room studio apartment, making her finances “much more stable.” She called access to study rooms and shared spaces the biggest advantage for continuing self-development. Another resident said information-sharing is active because people with similar interests live in the same building.

Rents were set to reduce housing costs. For a 16-square-meter unit, the deposit is 7.4 million won with monthly rent of 190,000 to 230,000 won. For units of 20 square meters or more, the deposit can be as high as 12.28 million won, with monthly rent around 330,000 won.

A room inside Eskis Gasan in Seoul’s Geumcheon District. [Photo by Baek So-hee]

The Korea Land and Housing Corp., or LH, expanded eligible purchases to buildings up to 30 years old across Seoul and key parts of the greater capital area, widening participation from the previous 10- to 15-year range. Eligible properties include neighborhood commercial facilities, office buildings and lodging facilities. LH plans to speed the program by using both direct implementation and private purchase-agreement methods.

Officials said a one-size-fits-all approach is difficult because whether a building can be converted depends on its structure and ownership. In buildings with divided ownership, securing consent can be challenging. The principle is to buy entire buildings when possible, while seeking owner consent in other cases.

Purchase prices will be set by weighing the applicant’s proposed price, appraised value and remodeling costs. A down payment is made when the sales contract is signed, and the balance is paid after rights issues are cleared and safety inspections are confirmed. The direct-implementation method was introduced in April, and a notice for the private purchase-agreement method is planned for next month, with purchases expected to begin in earnest in the second half of the year.

* This article has been translated by AI.

SoHee Baek