Room Sharing Between Elderly Students at Nowon-gu University

Monthly rent under 300,000 KRW without deposit, cheaper than nearby market price... Support for housing environment improvement within 1,000,000 KRW including wallpaper, flooring, and LED lighting replacement

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] Nowon-gu (District Mayor Oh Seung-rok) is launching a ‘room sharing’ project where local seniors and university students share living spaces to welcome the new semester.

Room sharing is a housing-sharing project in which seniors with extra living space provide rooms to university students at a low cost, and the students offer a modest rent along with life services such as companionship, securing doors and windows, and guidance on operating electronic devices as volunteer activities.

Applicants include seniors aged 60 or older who own homes in the area and enrolled or on-leave students from six universities located in Nowon-gu (Kwangwoon University, Samyook University, Seoul National University of Science and Technology, Seoul Women’s University, Induk University, and Korea Bible University).

The rental period is six months, with a monthly rent of up to 300,000 KRW without a deposit, which is cheaper than the surrounding market price. The rental period, rent, and additional costs such as electricity and water bills can be adjusted through mutual agreement considering housing conditions and transportation convenience.

If necessary, the district will replace indoor wallpaper, flooring, and lighting fixtures within a budget of 1 million KRW, and provide university students with donated items such as beds (mattresses), desks, chairs, and storage cabinets free of charge from the recycling center.

The arrangement process begins with the district visiting the senior’s home to check actual residence, room condition, and transportation convenience. Then, together with the applying university student, they visit the senior’s home to review the living environment and commuting distance before making a decision.

Even after matching, the district provides mediation through phone consultations and continuous monitoring to prevent conflicts in shared living.

Applications can be submitted via the room sharing website (www.nowon.kr/join/share), by visiting the district office’s Welfare Policy Division in person, or by phone. Detailed information is available in the announcements section of the room sharing website.

Since its launch in 2013, the room sharing project has benefited both seniors and university students, with 208 senior households and 243 students participating as of the end of last year. The first room sharing agreement ceremony of this year is scheduled to be held at 3 p.m. on the 28th in the district office’s Planning Situation Room.

District Mayor Oh Seung-rok said, “Room sharing is a project that solves senior loneliness and university students’ housing difficulties,” adding, “The district will actively support this so that seniors and university students can happily accompany each other.”

Welfare Policy Division (☎2116-3662)

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.