Korea’s housing system known as jeonse is not simply an alternative form of rent.
It is something far more consequential.
Tenants typically deposit 50 to 80 percent of a property’s market value as a lump-sum security payment.
In Seoul, that can mean hundreds of thousands of dollars—sometimes close to a million.
Young couples often begin married life not by building savings, but by taking on substantial debt to secure a place to live.
