About Locali
We're a small team in Seoul,
fixing one specific problem.
My story
I'm Simun Yang, founder of Locali.
I've spent ten years living abroad — two years in Australia, seven in Germany, and one in the UK. I went there as a language student, then as a university student, then as a working professional. Each time, the hardest part wasn't the language or the culture. It was finding a place to live.
In Europe, in Australia, the question wasn't just "where will I sleep?" It was "who will I share a kitchen with for the next year?" Shared houses are the norm. Your flatmates become the people who make a new country feel like home — or remind you every day that you're far from it. The quality of my life abroad was decided, again and again, by who I ended up living with and where.
When I came back to Korea and watched friends arrive here from abroad, I noticed something. Korea works the opposite way. The housing system assumes you have a Korean credit history, a Korean phone number, a Korean guarantor, a Korean lease deposit of tens of thousands of dollars. For a foreigner staying one to three months, almost none of this fits. Hotels are expensive. Airbnb is for vacation. Standard rentals don't work. Most foreigners end up in whatever they can find — which is often not where they actually want to be.
I started Locali because I think the place you live matters too much to leave to chance. Especially in a country you've chosen on purpose.
If you're coming to Korea, you're going to spend most of your time with Koreans — colleagues, classmates, neighbors, the person at the corner café. The first step to a good life here is being in a neighborhood where that life can actually happen. Where you can walk out the door and meet the city on your own terms.
That's what we curate. Mid-stay homes in real Seoul neighborhoods, matched to who you are and why you're here. We handle the parts of arrival that are hard for foreigners — communication, paperwork, getting set up — so you can spend your energy on the part that matters: actually living here.
I speak English and German fluently, and I run Locali from Seoul. If anything ever feels off during your stay, you can reach me directly.
Welcome to Korea. We hope you stay a while.
Who's behind Locali
Simun Yang
Founder · Seoul-based
Spent a decade living abroad as a student and working professional in Australia, Germany, and the UK. Speaks English and German fluently. Now based in Seoul, building Locali for foreigners coming the other way.
Yes, that's a real photo. Yes, we're a real team. We answer DMs.
A short note on color
Why Locali looks the way it does
The deep green you see across this site is borrowed from 단청 — the painted patterns under the eaves of Korean palaces and temples — and from the shaded green of a 한옥 courtyard at midday. We chose it because Seoul's real luxury isn't loud. It's restraint. The silence of a temple morning. The dark wood of an old library. The weight of a hand-bound book.
The bursts of coral, magenta, and gold that catch your eye on buttons and titles — that's 한강 노을, the Han River sunset that makes every visitor stop walking on the bridge. We use it sparingly on purpose. A sunset that takes over the whole sky is one you stop noticing.
Most foreign-facing brands in Korea either copy Silicon Valley minimalism or shout in tourist-bureau colors. We wanted Locali to feel like a place a thoughtful Korean would actually send a friend.
How we operate
Operated from Seoul
All operations handled by Korean speakers physically in Seoul. We can walk to most of our listings.
Transparent pricing
You see the rent (all host fees included) and our service fee separately. No hidden markup.
Refund + alternative stay if anything goes wrong
Every listing is independently vetted by our Seoul team. If the stay doesn't match what we showed you, or the host cancels, we refund you in full and find you an alternative stay.
Reply within 1 hour
During Korea business hours, we reply to all guest inquiries within 1 hour. KakaoTalk + Email.
No subscriptions, no traps
Pay once per stay. Service fee is upfront. No auto-renewal, no surprise charges.
Independent business
Locali is an independent business in Korea. We're not a side project. This is what we do.
Questions before you book?
Email us, message us on KakaoTalk, or send a question via the chat button (bottom right). We'd rather answer 100 questions than have you book uncertain.
hello@localiseoul.com