South Korean Photographer Sim Kyu-Dong Shows How The Poor Live In ‘Goshitels’ In 30 Powerful Photos
To foreigners, South Korea is known for its advanced technology, impressive skyscrapers, delicious food, and honorable traditions. However, there is a side of the country that visitors rarely see, such as ‘Goshiwon’ and ‘Goshitel’— cramped, cheap, tiny home units where South Korea’s poor live.
South Korean photographer Sim Kyu-dong spent around 5 years living in Goshiwon in Seoul when he moved there for work and documented the lives of the poor people there with his camera. The photographer who arrived from Gangneung in Gangwon Province had no other choice for better living conditions because the rent for Goshiwon was cheap, there was no need for a deposit, and there were no maintenance fees.
In an in-depth interview with Bored Panda, Sim explained what inspired him to do the photo series, talked about his passion as a photographer, and mused about what it takes to become a professional photographer.
“Goshiwon is actually built for examinees preparing for various tests such as the state bar exam or civil service examinations. I used Goshiwon whenever I leave my home and stay in Seoul. It was good accommodation,” Sim said. “In such a way, I spent about 5 years in Seoul’s Goshiwon.”
Goshiwon rooms are very similar to dormitory rooms, have shared kitchen areas and bathrooms, and attract a lot of students and migrant workers. Meanwhile, Goshitel rooms are slightly more spacious but much barer. Goshiwon and Goshitel are often used as synonyms in South Korea.
Scroll down for the full interview with the photographer, upvote the interesting photos that left an impression on you, and share what you thought of them in the comments below, dear Readers.
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The prices in Seoul can be sky-high, so the photographer was glad that he was paying only 220,000 won (now around 186 dollars or 169 euro) per month in rent for a room in Sillim-dong. Depending on the area, a month’s rent in Goshiwon or Goshitel can be nearly double that in some places.
The rooms in Goshiwon usually have a bed, a desk, and a closet for your things, but everything else is shared with other residents. The vast majority of Goshitel are in Seoul, but there some others peppered around the country. The quality of living in Goshiwon is quite bad, even if the base necessities are there. It's no wonder that some people who live there, including the photographer Sim, became depressed.
“I naturally recognized that Goshiwon was used as a new type of dwelling,” the photographer told Bored Panda, saying that they were perfect for him, not just examinees. “One day, when I told someone that I am living in Goshiwon, their answer was: ‘Which exam are you preparing for?’ I felt strange whenever I heard this question.”
According to Sim, he had an “unpleasant feeling” whenever he heard that question because people implied that the place he lived in wasn’t “right.”
“So, I decided to show the new residence form of Goshiwon with photographs. Once the public became aware of these new facts, I thought it would be meaningful to those living in the Goshiwon.”
Sim revealed to Bored Panda that he majored in nursing at university. “When preparing for college entrance exams, I heard that a male nurse tends to get a job more easily and I applied to this major. However, I thought that my future life as a nurse might not be pleasant for me.”
“I wondered whether I could live doing pleasant work. So I tried a lot of different jobs. Just then, I enjoyed taking pictures and I was thinking of my job as a photographer. After that, I went on the road as a travel and wedding photographer. But soon, I felt that the commercial photographs took away from the charm of the photos which purely I liked. At that time, I thought I should show Goshiwon and the best way I could do that was with photography. That’s why I took pictures of Goshiwon. As my photos were released, I was called a photographer.”
The photographer admitted that the project “was pretty tough” and that he had hoped to show off his pictures at an exhibition or in the media. “In a system which is dominant with professional photographers, I am just an amateur.”
“Consider why you want to be a photographer if you want to become a professional photographer. If your answer is just that it looks cool to be popular, stop it. Ask yourself again whether you really want to be a photographer based on the photos themselves, not the reputation,” Sim gave some very direct and blunt advice to people who want to become professional photographers.
“Originally, I did not want to be a photographer,” he said, noting that he simply enjoyed taking pictures that “represented” him. “I even wanted to be able to live off of only taking photos. It is pretty hard to succeed as a photographer. Of course, I was not successful either and I do not want it anymore. I just would like to live doing what I really want and enjoy passionately. That is all.”
Thats the hallway? Damn! If your room is at the end, and everyone has their doors open.... 🤪
Must be tough to have visitors, but they're making the best of it. Friends are like gold in situations like this.
This is so sad...My washroom is bigger than those 'apartments'. No wonder depression abounds.
This was a really fascinating piece of Photojournalism. Seeing people living in these tiny living spaces that aren’t much larger than closets is pretty sad. I’m not seeing a lot of windows either, which is equally as depressing. Prison cells are probably bigger. I don’t understand how we can’t make housing units that are both affordable and nice looking.
Nope. Couldn't do it. I think I'd almost rather live outside in a tent. I'm not a big fan of tight spaces. I would never be able to have visitors because having someone trapped with me in a space that small would send me into a panic attack. Yeah, I'd definitely go with the tent.
Better get used to it, because soon those will be the living standards for middle-class of the developed world.
Great photos. Does anyone know if women live in similar accommodations?
Reminds me of the truly fantastic South Korean drama Strangers from Hell, set in a building with tiny rooms like the ones in the pictures above...and with the added bonus of all the tenants being psychopaths lol.
I can see no windows. When I trained as a nurse in Australia the rooms were about this size, but with windows.
this is sad and stuff but look at this the other way - what could be done with these resources in a more efficient and comfortable way? they at least could do most of the rooms for 2 or even 3 people since the most space-hungry thing in the room is the bed. Always try to think what's (actually) could better, not what's wrong and inevitable. I like the spacious environment but wouldn't mind moving somewhere like this if I was allowed to do some minor changes. (I guess, I am just very tolerant of living conditions - a difficult roomate would be bigger issue)
If this solves the problem of people being homeless, that's better than people living on the street in tents.
I shared a tiny room with my husband. There was a community kitchen, laundry, and bath to share with about 150 others. There were drawbacks, but overall it was awesome. We, as humans, are pack animals. To me, I had privacy and a tight community. It was fantastic.
I can't help but think about the people in Mauritania living in cardboard boxes
Too many of the poor in the US are living on the streets and barracks-like shelters. These people appear to have nice possessions, computers, clean clothes, shelter from the elements.
at some point humanity decided it was ok to live like this :/ ya they are alive, they have things to be grateful for, and they have shelter. but damn this just doesn't seem right. all of the housing is getting smaller and smaller and more costly for mid/low income households.
You should see the condition in Hongkong? It is much worse. Bad sanitation. The Korean small apartment is much more cleaner.
You should see the poor condition in Hongkong. Bad sanitation. South Korea small appartment is much more cleaner.
Is it gender specific or are women allowed? are there separate spaces like this for women?
There are probably different levels of quality goshiwon too -- in the Korean series (variously translated to Oh My Ghostess, or Oh My Ghost) the main character briefly lived in one that had no window (windowed ones were more expensive) but had room for a bunk bed with storage space beneath and a desk and seemed small but much more pleasant than those shown here -- maybe if the photographer had chosen rooms rented by girls or women, they'd look more appealing.
TBH, my bedroom is not much bigger than those. I have lived in a 5th wheel trailer for 3 1/2 years. I live in the loft. You have to make the best use of space. But I have the rest of the trailer: kitchen, living room and dinette in the same room. It looks like some of these rooms don't even have a way to cook food. Hopefully, they have a shared kitchen. That bathroom is about the size of mine, but the sink is located outside of it. That one looks so crowded. That must be miserable. Fortunately, I live with my 2 sons. These people here look so lonely.
I suppose that all the woman must be married or have well to do boyfriends. I feel that this post is sexist and not showing the true nature of things.
Unfortunately, it seems that some of these people developed a bad lifestyle, add to their bad financial situation, it just spirals downward quickly, sending them rock bottom.
This is so sad...My washroom is bigger than those 'apartments'. No wonder depression abounds.
This was a really fascinating piece of Photojournalism. Seeing people living in these tiny living spaces that aren’t much larger than closets is pretty sad. I’m not seeing a lot of windows either, which is equally as depressing. Prison cells are probably bigger. I don’t understand how we can’t make housing units that are both affordable and nice looking.
Nope. Couldn't do it. I think I'd almost rather live outside in a tent. I'm not a big fan of tight spaces. I would never be able to have visitors because having someone trapped with me in a space that small would send me into a panic attack. Yeah, I'd definitely go with the tent.
Better get used to it, because soon those will be the living standards for middle-class of the developed world.
Great photos. Does anyone know if women live in similar accommodations?
Reminds me of the truly fantastic South Korean drama Strangers from Hell, set in a building with tiny rooms like the ones in the pictures above...and with the added bonus of all the tenants being psychopaths lol.
I can see no windows. When I trained as a nurse in Australia the rooms were about this size, but with windows.
this is sad and stuff but look at this the other way - what could be done with these resources in a more efficient and comfortable way? they at least could do most of the rooms for 2 or even 3 people since the most space-hungry thing in the room is the bed. Always try to think what's (actually) could better, not what's wrong and inevitable. I like the spacious environment but wouldn't mind moving somewhere like this if I was allowed to do some minor changes. (I guess, I am just very tolerant of living conditions - a difficult roomate would be bigger issue)
If this solves the problem of people being homeless, that's better than people living on the street in tents.
I shared a tiny room with my husband. There was a community kitchen, laundry, and bath to share with about 150 others. There were drawbacks, but overall it was awesome. We, as humans, are pack animals. To me, I had privacy and a tight community. It was fantastic.
I can't help but think about the people in Mauritania living in cardboard boxes
Too many of the poor in the US are living on the streets and barracks-like shelters. These people appear to have nice possessions, computers, clean clothes, shelter from the elements.
at some point humanity decided it was ok to live like this :/ ya they are alive, they have things to be grateful for, and they have shelter. but damn this just doesn't seem right. all of the housing is getting smaller and smaller and more costly for mid/low income households.
You should see the condition in Hongkong? It is much worse. Bad sanitation. The Korean small apartment is much more cleaner.
You should see the poor condition in Hongkong. Bad sanitation. South Korea small appartment is much more cleaner.
Is it gender specific or are women allowed? are there separate spaces like this for women?
There are probably different levels of quality goshiwon too -- in the Korean series (variously translated to Oh My Ghostess, or Oh My Ghost) the main character briefly lived in one that had no window (windowed ones were more expensive) but had room for a bunk bed with storage space beneath and a desk and seemed small but much more pleasant than those shown here -- maybe if the photographer had chosen rooms rented by girls or women, they'd look more appealing.
TBH, my bedroom is not much bigger than those. I have lived in a 5th wheel trailer for 3 1/2 years. I live in the loft. You have to make the best use of space. But I have the rest of the trailer: kitchen, living room and dinette in the same room. It looks like some of these rooms don't even have a way to cook food. Hopefully, they have a shared kitchen. That bathroom is about the size of mine, but the sink is located outside of it. That one looks so crowded. That must be miserable. Fortunately, I live with my 2 sons. These people here look so lonely.
I suppose that all the woman must be married or have well to do boyfriends. I feel that this post is sexist and not showing the true nature of things.
Unfortunately, it seems that some of these people developed a bad lifestyle, add to their bad financial situation, it just spirals downward quickly, sending them rock bottom.