The government will ease regulations to allow bathtubs to be installed in individual rooms in goshiwon. It will also remove the requirement that every room must be equipped with study facilities such as a desk. The move reflects the reality that goshiwon have shifted from temporary lodgings for test takers to living spaces for one-person households such as young people and low-income residents. However, the ban on installing individual cooking facilities will remain.
According to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT) on the 15th, the ministry gave advance notice on the 12th of a revision to the "construction standards for multi-occupancy living facilities" reflecting these changes. Opinions on the revision will be accepted through the 31st.
Current construction standards prohibit installing cooking facilities and bathtubs in each room of a goshiwon. Toilets and shower booths may be installed. Each room also must be equipped with study facilities such as a desk so learners can study.
In this revision, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT) decided to delete the clause banning bathtub installation and the requirement to install study facilities. An official at the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT) said, "In light of the recent increase in cases where goshiwon are used as living spaces for one-person households, we aim to reasonably improve certain construction standards unrelated to safety."
The current standards were established in 2015. At the time, goshiwon were mainly perceived as facilities where test takers stayed and studied. The government limited installation, judging that if each room had cooking facilities and even a bathtub, goshiwon could be used as de facto independent dwellings like studio apartments.
However, the role of goshiwon has changed as one-person households have increased and urban housing costs have risen. According to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT)'s 2022 "survey on housing conditions in accommodations other than dwellings," there were about 158,000 households living in goshiwon and gositels nationwide. They accounted for 35.7% of the 443,000 households living in non-dwelling facilities overall, the largest share.
Under the Building Act, goshiwon are multi-occupancy living facilities, not dwellings. Under the Housing Act, they are classified as quasi-dwellings along with officetels and dormitories, so their residential function is recognized. This revision does not convert goshiwon into ordinary dwellings but fine-tunes certain facility standards to match actual usage.
The ban on installing individual cooking facilities will remain as is. The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT) excluded this from the current revision, judging that allowing cooking facilities in each room could blur the line between multi-occupancy living facilities and independent residential facilities. Shared cooking facilities inside goshiwon can continue to be used as they are now.
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT) plans to finalize the revision after collecting public comments. The effective date and the scope of application to existing goshiwon will be determined in the final notice.