The Locali Promise
Your stay in Seoul,
without the risk.
If anything goes wrong, we refund 100% and find you an equivalent home — within 24 hours. The only platform-level promise of its kind in Korea.
Promises you can hold us to.
Most platforms describe their trust features. We make promises that come with consequences if we don't deliver.
Promise 1 · The only platform-level promise of its kind in Korea.
The Locali Guarantee — Full refund + replacement stay
If your stay turns out to be unsafe, unavailable, or significantly different from what was promised — fraud, misrepresentation, or unsafe conditions — Locali does two things within 24 hours:
- 1Refund 100% of your money — rent, service fee, everything.
- 2Find you an equivalent replacement stay — similar location, similar quality, similar price range.
You should not be on the streets of Seoul wondering what to do. That's our job, not yours. If we can't immediately find a replacement that meets the same standard, we cover your interim accommodation (hotel or alternative) while we do.
Personal accountability
This isn't a faceless company. I — Simun Yang, founder — personally handle every escalation. Email me directly during your stay if anything feels off.
commonkunst@gmail.comI read these emails. I respond. That's the promise.
Verify your unit before arrival
We collect a recent video walkthrough from every host and hold it privately on our servers. After you book, you can request the video anytime — we'll send it within 24 hours. Verify the actual unit, furniture, and condition before you arrive. No surprises on check-in.
Trust Guarantee Insurance
Starting later this year, every Locali stay will be covered by a $5,000 guest protection guarantee, underwritten by a Korean insurance partner.
Until then, the Locali Guarantee above (Promise 1) applies — backed by Locali and Simun directly.
Beyond our promises, every Locali stay includes
- ✓Team-verified property (we review before listing)
- ✓Identity-verified host
- ✓Deposit held by Locali, not by host
- ✓Verified payment processors (PayPal + Toss Payments)
- ✓English communication handled by us throughout your stay
- ✓14-day flexible cancellation
I have lived abroad for 10 years in countries such as Australia, Germany, and the UK. I rented homes in over 10 different cities and encountered many fraudulent listings. The devastation of being scammed out of accommodation — which should be the safest place — in a new city you arrived in with a mix of excitement and anxiety is indescribable. Fortunately, I myself was not a victim of serious fraud, but I have witnessed many of my foreign friends struggling with scams. The audacious tactics employed by scammers — such as false listings, extortion of security deposits, and unfair abuse of power — were astonishing, as they exploited people's lack of knowledge of the country's laws or their vulnerable position where they could not receive adequate legal protection.
Upon returning to Korea after 10 years of living abroad, I found the process of finding a home to be incredibly difficult, even as a Korean national. While various fraudulent schemes certainly exist in Korea, the system here differs significantly from other European countries, Australia, or even nearby East Asian nations like China and Japan. Furthermore, slow legal procedures compounded by language barriers make everything even more challenging.
I created Locali because I wanted to build a place where foreigners visiting Seoul could find housing with peace of mind. However, trust is not merely a slogan. This stems from understanding what can go wrong, being honest with you, and building a systematic framework to prevent such incidents from happening on the platform.
This page is the first step. Learn what to watch out for, and how we handle it.
— Simun Yang, Founder
COMMONKUNST Co., Ltd.
Section 3
Common scams to watch out for
These are the seven housing scams foreigners most commonly encounter when renting in Korea. None are rare. All are preventable if you know what to look for.
1. The ghost listing
A property that doesn't actually exist, listed on a website you found through a search. The photos are stolen from other listings. You send a deposit, you arrive in Seoul, and the address leads to a building where no one knows you. The "host" stops responding.
Why foreigners: Foreigners are targeted because you can't visit before you arrive. You don't have a local friend to check the address.
2. The fake landlord
Someone rents you a property they don't actually own — or don't have permission to sublet. A previous tenant, an unauthorized broker, or someone with stolen keys rents the unit. You sign what looks like a real contract. The real owner finds out (often because of neighbor complaints) and you have no legal standing.
Why foreigners: Foreigners are targeted because verifying the real owner requires reading Korean property registries (등기부등본).
3. Bait and switch
The apartment you arrive at is not the one in the photos. You booked a renovated unit with city views; you arrive to a smaller, older one facing a wall. The host says "the original unit had a leak, this is the same price." Refund refused.
Why foreigners: Foreigners are targeted because you're already in Seoul with luggage. Hosts know finding another place quickly is hard.
4. The escrow lie
A host claims to use a "Korean escrow service" to hold your deposit safely. No such service is involved. You wire to a "verified escrow account" — actually the host's personal account. After you wire, the money is gone.
Why foreigners: Foreigners are targeted because they assume Korea has Airbnb-style escrow built into normal rentals. It doesn't. Direct rentals in Korea are largely cash-and-trust.
5. Cross-border wire fraud
A host insists on a foreign wire transfer (often through a third-party "agent") for the deposit. You're asked to send USD via Wise, Western Union, or a service the host names. Once picked up, the money is unrecoverable. International wire fraud is one of the hardest categories of cybercrime to reverse.
Why foreigners: Foreigners are targeted because international payment feels normal to you, and the host frames it as "easier than dealing with Korean banks."
6. Unauthorized sublet
A long-term tenant sublets to a foreigner without the landlord's permission. The original lease forbids subletting (most Korean leases do). The landlord discovers it (utility records or neighbor complaints) and demands the foreigner leave. You have no contract with the actual landlord.
Why foreigners: This is one of the most common informal arrangements in foreigner-friendly neighborhoods like Itaewon, Hongdae, and Hannam.
7. The disappearing deposit
At checkout, the host invents damages or cleaning fees to keep your deposit. You paid one or two months' rent as deposit. The host claims wall damage, furniture stains, or pre-existing wear, and withholds all or most of it. You're flying home in a week.
Why foreigners: Pursuing a deposit dispute from outside Korea is genuinely hard. Hosts know this.
Section 4
Red flags — how to spot a scam before you pay
Most scams reveal themselves before you pay, if you know what to look for. Grouped by stage.
🚩 In the listing
- Photos look like stock images. Reverse-image search them (Google Images → camera icon). If they appear on multiple unrelated sites, walk away.
- Price is far below market. A studio in Hannam for $1,600/month, when the rest of the neighborhood is $2,800–$4,800, is almost always a trap.
- The same property appears on multiple sites at different prices. Different hosts, different prices, same photos — scam.
- The address is vague. "Near Itaewon Station" instead of an actual address is a warning sign. Real hosts give real addresses.
- No company name, no business registration number. Legitimate Korean short-stay operators have a business registration (사업자등록). Anyone refusing to share theirs has something to hide.
🚩 In the host's behavior
- Urgency. "Another guest is interested — can you wire today?" This is the oldest pressure tactic in any scam, and it works.
- Refuses video calls. A legitimate host can do a five-minute video walk-through of the actual unit. A scammer cannot.
- Refuses to share the property registry (등기부등본). This is the Korean property registry — a public document showing the actual owner. Any legitimate host should be willing to provide it. Refusal is a major red flag.
- Wants only direct bank transfer or wire. Legitimate Korean rentals can take cards, KakaoPay, Naver Pay, or PG payment services. Insisting on personal wire means no payment processor can dispute the transaction.
- Korean-only contracts with no English option, and won't explain the clauses. A reasonable host will summarize key terms in English or work through a translator. Refusal means they don't want you to know what you're signing.
🚩 In the payment request
- Wire to a personal account, not a business account. Korean business accounts are easy to verify. Personal account = no protection.
- Foreign currency wire requested. "Send me USD to my US-based intermediary" — almost always fraud.
- Full deposit + rent demanded weeks in advance. A reasonable rental takes a holding deposit when you book and the balance closer to move-in.
- No receipt, no contract, no signed terms. "I'll send the contract after you pay" — never.
🚩 When you arrive
- The unit is not the unit in the photos. Take photos and video immediately. Don't unpack.
- The door code doesn't work, the host is unreachable. Walk to a café and call your booking platform.
- The host says "go to a different building first to get the keys." Almost always a sign that the listed unit isn't the actual unit.
Section 5
How Korean rentals actually work
A foreigner who understands the basic structure of Korean rentals is much harder to scam.
Lease types
- Jeonse (전세)
- A uniquely Korean system. The tenant pays a large lump-sum deposit (often $200,000–$600,000 USD equivalent) and pays no monthly rent. The landlord uses or invests the deposit and returns it at the end of the lease. Almost never relevant for foreign mid-stay visitors.
- Wolse (월세)
- Monthly rent plus a smaller deposit (typically $2,000–$5,000 USD equivalent for a normal apartment, less for short-term). This is what most foreign mid-stay guests will encounter.
- Short-term / mid-stay
- Variations of wolse for one to three month rentals. Deposit is usually smaller ($300–$800 USD equivalent). This is Locali's space.
- Foreigner pension / guesthouse
- Licensed hospitality businesses (외국인관광도시민박업) that legally serve foreigners staying short-term.
Critical documents
The lease contract (임대차 계약서). A real Korean lease has the landlord's name, the tenant's name, the property address, the rent and deposit amounts, the start and end dates, and signatures. You should have a copy in English (or with English translation of key terms) before signing.
The property registry (등기부등본). The public record of who owns the property. Any Korean real estate office can pull it for ~$5. A real landlord will either provide one or let you pull it yourself. If the name on the registry doesn't match the person renting to you, do not pay.
The landlord's ID. Korean residents have a national ID number. The landlord should be willing to confirm their identity matches the registry.
The deposit system
In Korean rentals, the deposit is held by the landlord, not by an escrow service. This is normal in Korea, but it's the root cause of the "disappearing deposit" scam.
What protects you:
- Move-in registration (전입신고). If you stay long enough to register your address (typically requires an ARC), you gain legal priority on the deposit in case the landlord defaults. Mid-stay guests under 90 days usually can't access this.
- Booking through Locali — no deposit at all. With Locali you pay no security deposit — just your rent, the cleaning fee, and our service fee. There's no deposit for a host to hold or invent damages against, and if anything about your stay is wrong, our full-refund guarantee covers you.
Your rights as a foreign tenant
Korean tenant protection law (주택임대차보호법) applies to foreigners. In principle:
- You have the right to occupy the property for the lease term.
- You have the right to your deposit back, minus documented damages.
- You can take a non-paying landlord to court.
In practice, the harder problem is that pursuing claims from abroad is slow and expensive. The protections exist; using them as a foreigner who's already left Korea is the challenge.
Section 6
If something does go wrong
If you've already paid and something feels wrong, here's the order of escalation.
Before you've paid
- Stop. Don't transfer. Don't wire.
- Reverse image search the listing photos.
- Pull the property registry through any Korean real estate service.
- Ask for a video call showing the actual unit. If the host refuses, that's your answer.
- Pay through a credit card, PayPal, or PG service if you can — these have chargeback rights. Personal wires don't.
Right after you've paid (within 48 hours)
- Contact your bank or card issuer. Chargeback windows for fraud are short.
- PayPal: Dispute through the PayPal Resolution Center.
- Toss / Korean PG: Contact Toss Payments customer service.
- Document everything. Screenshots of the listing, of every message, of payment records.
- File a police report at the nearest police station (112 with English support).
During your stay (mid-dispute)
- Contact your embassy or consulate for citizens in distress.
- Dasan 120 — Seoul's 24/7 multilingual citizen service (English, Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese).
- Korea Travel Hotline 1330 — 24/7 in multiple languages.
- Korea Legal Aid Corporation (법률구조공단) — free or low-cost legal aid, English service in major cities.
After you've left Korea
- Document everything before you leave — photos of move-in and move-out condition, all communication.
- Pursue through your payment method first — PayPal, card chargeback, or PG dispute is faster than a Korean court case.
- Consider a Korean lawyer for amounts above ~$2,000.
- If a Locali stay: Email us directly. We mediate, document, and handle it.
Section 7
Your rights as a foreigner in Korea
The Korean legal system protects foreign tenants in principle. Here's what's available and where to find it.
Legal aid resources for foreigners
- Seoul Global Center — Free legal consultation in English, Chinese, Japanese, and Vietnamese. Walk-in available.
- Korea Legal Aid Corporation (법률구조공단) — Government-backed legal aid, English available by appointment.
- 1345 — Immigration Contact Center — 20+ languages, weekdays 9am–6pm.
- Dasan 120 — Seoul's 24/7 multilingual citizen service.
When to call which
- Fraud, theft, criminal: 112 (police, with English support)
- Emergency housing issue: 112 or 120
- Visa or immigration: 1345
- Civil dispute (deposit, contract): Seoul Global Center or Legal Aid Corporation
Realistic expectations
The Korean legal system is functional but slow. Civil cases — including most deposit disputes — typically take 6–18 months. For mid-stay foreigners (1–3 months), this means: do everything you can to prevent the problem upfront. Resolving it after you've left is genuinely hard.
This is part of why we built Locali the way we did.
Stay in Seoul, without the risk.
Curated, verified mid-stay homes — with the only platform-level guarantee in Korea.
Questions about safety, payment, or your stay? Email Simun directly: commonkunst@gmail.com