Desk out, bathtub in: Proposed gosiwon rule change draws mockery from young Koreans

A government proposal to scrap the mandatory desk requirement in gosiwon rooms — small, low-cost lodging units — while allowing bathtubs to be installed has drawn a wave of cynical reactions, particularly from Koreans in their 20s and 30s.

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport says the change is meant to recognize gosiwon as legitimate residential spaces for young people and single-person households, but critics are calling it out-of-touch policymaking.

The ministry put the revised "multi-living facility construction standards" up for public comment on Aug. 12, according to industry sources.

Under current rules, gosiwon rooms must be equipped with a desk and other study furniture, reflecting the facilities' original purpose as combined study-and-lodging spaces. Cooking facilities and bathtubs have been banned to prevent the rooms from functioning as fully independent residences, with shower stalls permitted only for hygiene purposes.

The ministry said it decided to ease those restrictions in light of the growing number of young people and single-person households using gosiwon as their primary residence, not just exam-prep students. Under the proposed revision, the desk requirement would be dropped and bathtubs would be allowed on an optional basis.

But young people — the very demographic most likely to live in gosiwon — have pushed back, saying the proposal does nothing to address the genuinely poor conditions in such facilities and is disconnected from reality.

Online communities and social media were flooded with reactions: "A gosiwon room is about the size of a bathtub — I had to rub my eyes when I read they want to put one in," "It's not like people can't wash because there's no bathtub," "What does installing a bathtub actually have to do with improving living conditions?" and "If you squeeze a bathtub into that tiny room, what happens with the moisture and mold?"

The backlash echoes the ridicule that greeted Democratic Party lawmaker Hwang Hee earlier, after he proposed converting decommissioned buses into temporary housing for young people — a plan that spawned a wave of mocking memes online.

The two proposals were quickly linked together online, prompting sharp reactions such as "Are they holding a youth-mockery contest?" and "Do they think young people struggling with housing insecurity are a joke?"

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon also weighed in, directly criticizing the government's youth housing policies.

Speaking at a forum between the Seoul Metropolitan Government and the People Power Party's Seoul chapter at the National Assembly on Wednesday morning, Oh said, "Converting old buses into housing and removing desks from gosiwon to install bathtubs will not solve the youth housing problem." He added, "The government's role is not to keep young people stuck in substandard housing — it is to build a housing ladder that lets them climb toward something better."

The ministry said the revision does not make bathtubs mandatory but rather lifts a blanket prohibition to allow them as an option, describing the move as an effort to bring the standards in line with reality after gathering input from the industry and other stakeholders.

The ministry plans to collect public feedback on the proposed revision through Aug. 31 and then finalize and implement the updated standards.