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Soaring Rent, Tuition, and Food Costs: University Students' Survival in an Era of High Prices
Soaring Housing and Tuition Burdens
Recently, in the residential area near Sungkyunkwan University in Jongno-gu, Seoul, the average monthly rent for a studio apartment under 33㎡ was found to be 738,000 won with a 10 million won deposit. This represents an increase of over 18% in just one year. Real estate agents report that acceptable rooms now start at a basic 600,000 won per month, and properties that were once available for 400,000 won are hard to find. As a result, students are facing significant difficulties in securing off-campus housing. Beyond housing costs, 125 out of 190 (65.8%) four-year universities nationwide raised their tuition this year, causing incoming freshmen who have left their hometowns for the capital to experience a double hardship, feeling apologetic to their parents and making efforts to save on heating costs.
Changes in Food Cost Reduction and School Supplies Purchases
Following increases in housing and tuition, rising food costs are forcing students to struggle to cut living expenses. External restaurants are compelled to raise menu prices by about 1,000 won due to rising ingredient costs. Consequently, many students are lining up at on-campus cafeterias, such as the one at Sookmyung Women's University, which offers breakfast for just 1,000 won. Furthermore, they are mastering survival skills in this era of high prices: purchasing essential major textbooks through second-hand transactions and reselling them after the semester to save money, and buying relatively cheaper pads (tablets) instead of expensive laptops for their studies. These are some of the arduous survival techniques they are learning in the face of the difficult reality of high prices.
*Source: YouTube: SBS News (2026-03-11)*
