I fully admit being late to the K-Pop party. But, like millions of others, I was totally amused by Psy's hit video and song. I belt out "Oppan Gangnam Style!" in the car while I'm driving and have even attempted the equestrian-style dance move he's now made famous (It wasn't pretty).
As I understand it, Gangnam is a district of Seoul, know for its trendiness and the wealthy lifestyle of its residents. The area has its own Rodeo Drive and lots of bars, cafes and upscale shopping. Detractors call it a haven for the "nouveau riche." Reportedly, it's a very expensive place to live, where the average apartment now costs $716,000 — well above reach for the average Korean. The home above was recently featured in the Wall Street Journal as its House of the Day. It's on the market for $3,800,000.
Of course, doing what I do, I went searching for Gangnam-gu rentals, just to get a sense of what's available there, along with any hints of the decor. The newness of the apartments struck me, as did the small sizes. I pulled a few for you to check out.
1. A $1,400 furnished 600 ft apartment from Craigslist
2. This studio is for rent for $762 a month.
3. This 3 bedroom, 2 bath apartment is listed at $6,280 a month.
4. A furnished studio for $1,076 per month
5. $673, not including utilities or the building fee.
6. 500 square feet for just over $2000 a month
7. A whopping 200 square feet for $717 a month.
8. 330 square feet for $1400
Please note that the rents listed above may not include utilities and/or building fees.
Major city-dwellers, does this look and sound like any areas of your city? Better yet, if you live in Seoul, or even Gangnam, are these pretty representative of the neighborhood?
(Images: as credited above.)
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nooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I will be soooooo happy when this "sensation" has passed. I've been lucky enough to avoid it in most places, but it occasionally creeps up in unexpected places.
$762 a month for a studio would be pretty cheap in the DC area, depending on where you looked.
I didn't jump on the Gangnam Style bandwagon, but I find it interesting. It's meant to be a bit of a social commentary making fun of the ridiculously rich that make up the Gangnam district. Kind of the parallel of the US's 1% combined with the Hollywood plastic surgery culture.
Good for South Korea for having an international pop sensation.
Oh and you're not really late to the K-Pop party, as the K-Pop party hasn't really arrived. I personally don't see the reason anyone would listen to the majority of the acts, which are more engineered than a pack of Oreos, but to each their own. PSY has actually become an example of how K-Pop could be successful, and why it hasn't been so far: he isn't as manufactured as the girl and boy bands that are coming out of Korea.
This article puts Gangnam Style in context of a larger picture. http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2012/10/08/121008fa_fact_seabrook?currentPage=all
Most of those "photos" are renderings. :/
Have to say, I rather dig the hot plate/washing machine combination in the studio photo. Reminds me of an apartment in NYC (Barrow St) that had a stove/oven/DW combination appliance (Oven up top).
I live in Seoul. The monthly rentals you've posted don't have the mandatory deposit, which is sort of a down payment since the price is really high. It would depend on how spacious your apartment is but usually a very cheap and small place would require a deposit of $20,000. If you're looking for comfort and close vincinty to a subway station, etc., you would probably need to pay a deposit from $60,000 to $300,000. And this is not counting the monthly rental fee, so all I can say is that it's really tough for Seoulites!
This weekend my husband was attempting the PSY butt shuffle (there was liquor involved) and the dogs completely flipped out. Just a warning, dogs apparently don't like Gangnam style dancing.
My husband and I are looking for a place in Downtown Toronto. The one we just saw was 580 square feet and was $1800 +++/month. The one we turned down was 600 sqft @ $2100 ++, but it did have a view of the highway and we could purchase parking for $10,000. OMG I hate renting!
I really hated any reference to this dude until I saw him interviewed. He has a cute family, he went to the Berklee School of Music in Boston, and his parting advice was to "dress classy, dance tacky." It's nice to find out that someone with this much success is actually charming.
That last one reminds me of the article AT linked a few months ago showing photos of the homes of former drug dealers. That room divider in front of the bed is absolutely horrid.
Actually Kang-nam covers a great expanse of space south of the river - The relatively smallish area that has the 'famed' Rodeo Drive is called Apgujeong-dong which is both a residential and shopping district in the Kangnam. Most of Kang-nam is not all that glittery but when compared to the rest of Seoul, it has its sparkle. Just outside Kang-nam Underground/Metro Station is the spot to meet friends or that new BOY friend. Temporarily tall skiiiinny girls totter about on their high heels hand-in-hand, smiling like big headed full-face make-up lollipops and with even bigger smiles! HOW fun & funny. I had an apt in Kangnam near the underground for a few years - rented for me by Samsung while I was teaching ESL for their fashion school. Luckily, it wasn't too expensive because they got one for me on the 4th floor - four is the BAD LUCK number in Asia. It was sterile as all heck but a luxury apt in Seoul due to location and newness. Wish I had loved living in concrete - btw - opa is a term for a younger single guy/man who is your friend, maybe work colleague. You can call any guy that until he marries. After that he he is called agasi ( - he's old - no fun - done). K-pop has been going since 1997/8.
Wow. Every time I go to work, I hear that song and every time I do, I make a mental note to look up what this song really means.Of course, by the time I get to the office I have actual work to do. Thanks for the info.
None of the pictures are renderings
If you can't make it to South Korea, just go down to LA's K-Town!
So SK has "key money" also... #5 (which seems rather cute) has a deposit of ~$9000. Well, the bathroom finish is a bit weird for such a tiny place, but oh well.
I lived in Busan (2nd largest city on the southern coast) and these look pretty similar to both of my apartments... with nicer appliances. 90% of my friends in apartments had only a stove, no oven. Also, both of my tiny bathrooms had only a shower head coming out of the wall and a drain in the middle of the tiled floor. It did make for easy cleaning, just hose everything down!