As Korea enters the era of 8 million single-person households and high housing costs, the "self-storage" (urban storage) service that moves belongings from inside the home to outside is drawing attention from the real estate industry.
According to the real estate industry on the 17th, the domestic self-storage market was estimated at about 200 billion won as of the end of December last year.
Assuming 8% annual growth, it is expected to expand to 293.9 billion won by 2030; at 15% growth, to 402.2 billion won; and at 30% growth, to 742.6 billion won. By 2034, the domestic self-storage market size is projected to grow from 399.8 billion won to as much as 2.1209 trillion won.
The reason the growth of the domestic self-storage industry is becoming visible is that, as single-person households increase and demand for more efficient use of living space rises, storage services are becoming a core element of lifestyle.
The number of single-person households, the main customer base for self-storage, also surpassed 8 million in 2024, boosting storage demand in tandem.
According to the Ministry of Data and Statistics (MODS) "2025 single-person households in statistics," single-person households were found at 8,045,000 in 2024. After exceeding 7,166,000 in 2021 from 5,203,000 in 2015, the figure has entered the 8 million range in three years. The share of single-person households among all households also hit a record high, rising from 27.2% in 2015 to 36.1% in 2024.
Korea has one of the world's highest proportions of apartment living, and the recent spread of veranda expansion layouts has made a lack of storage space a chronic problem.
As Korea's per-capita national income reached $36,000 in 2024, surpassing Japan ($34,533), spending on hobby and leisure goods increased. Meanwhile, urban living space has actually shrunk, driving up demand for second living spaces.
In Japan, where self-storage is widespread, usage is about 1% of the number of households. In contrast, Korea's self-storage usage is still only 0.2% of the number of households. In the United States, about 9% of all households use self-storage.
The self-storage industry has already established itself overseas as a stable investment with low economic sensitivity. The market capitalization of Public Storage (PSA), a U.S.-listed REIT, is about 70 trillion won. The average annual investment return is about 18%, outpacing other sectors such as logistics (11.1%), residential (11.07%), and retail (9.03%). Japan, which has recorded growth for 16 consecutive years, has about 15,000 locations in operation, making self-storage an everyday infrastructure.
The corporations that quickly seized the shift in the domestic self-storage market are IM Box and Second Syndrome. IM Box has grown rapidly since its 2015 launch and operates about 200 locations nationwide.
IM Box is an urban self-storage service that allows customers to select and pay for a desired location and space via web or mobile app and access it at any time, 24 hours a day.
Users can choose storage spaces of various sizes depending on the size of their items and the storage period. The most commonly used size—1 meter wide × 1 meter deep × 2.4 meters high—is offered at around 100,000 won per month.
Rates are set as a flat monthly fee depending on location, space size, and usage period, and the service operates on a subscription model with automatic monthly payments for convenience.
All locations are equipped with unmanned, contactless operating systems and robust security facilities. Insurance is also in place to cover unforeseen incidents such as fire and theft, allowing not only individual customers but also corporate customers to expand space more safely near city centers.
IM Box uses artificial intelligence (AI) and geographic information system (GIS) analysis to precisely analyze single-person household density, living area, and floating population to select optimal self-storage sites.
IM Box plans to acquire asset to develop self-storage locations into urban infrastructure that combines AI and Internet of Things (IoT) technologies. To that end, it is currently in talks with global asset management companies and private equity (PE) firms to create an asset acquisition fund.
Second Syndrome's self-storage brand "Mini Warehouse Darak" launched in 2016 and now operates around 200 locations nationwide. Darak touts an unmanned control system using IoT technology as a strength. It focuses on user convenience with 24-hour temperature and humidity control and access management via mobile app. Darak pursues a city-centric strategy that primarily uses basement spaces in buildings in high-density residential areas such as Gangnam and Seocho in Seoul.
In May last year, Second Syndrome signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with GS Engineering and Construction to introduce Mini Warehouse Darak into the Xi apartments of GS Engineering and Construction.
A real estate industry official said, "The global self-storage market has already become a massive industry worth 43 trillion won in the United States," adding, "The domestic market remains at about 200 billion won, so it is drawing attention as an industry with very strong growth potential going forward."