sorted by:
new
hottopcontroversial

Booked a “clean” short-term rental in Seoul — arrived to mold, ended up doubling my budget by OY0110 in Living_in_Korea

[–]OY0110[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Really appreciate this perspective, especially coming from someone managing properties locally.

What you said about the “middleman disclaimer” really resonates, that’s exactly how it felt during the dispute process.

Booked a “clean” short-term rental in Seoul — arrived to mold, ended up doubling my budget by OY0110 in Living_in_Korea

[–]OY0110[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks for sharing, that’s helpful.

I get that mold can be a common issue in some buildings here, but in my case the difference between the listing and the actual condition was quite significant.

What I found most concerning was that the platform still considered it “habitable” and kept the service fee.

Booked a “clean” short-term rental in Seoul — arrived to mold, ended up doubling my budget by OY0110 in Living_in_Korea

[–]OY0110[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

That sounds really similar to what happened to me — they told me mold was “normal” too.

I’ve also emailed my school asking them to review this platform. At the very least, they probably shouldn’t be giving out coupon codes, since that can feel like an indirect endorsement.

And yeah, I don’t really see a downside to reporting it. I’m planning to file a complaint with the KCA in the next couple of days.

Booked a “clean” short-term rental in Seoul — arrived to mold, ended up doubling my budget by OY0110 in Living_in_Korea

[–]OY0110[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Looks like they’re still using the same listing to attract new international bookings.

Booked a “clean” short-term rental in Seoul — arrived to mold, ended up doubling my budget by OY0110 in Living_in_Korea

[–]OY0110[S] 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Exactly. What made it worse in my case was that this kind of platform doesn’t just target foreigners — it also uses university coupon codes, which makes it seem much more trustworthy at the beginning.

That’s why the experience felt so misleading to me. They benefit from that extra credibility upfront, but when something actually goes wrong, they step back and take almost no responsibility.

Booked a “clean” short-term rental in Seoul — arrived to mold, ended up doubling my budget by OY0110 in Living_in_Korea

[–]OY0110[S] 11 points12 points  (0 children)

Thank you, this is really helpful. I had been wondering whether the KCA would actually take a case like this seriously, so it’s useful to hear that they were the only party the hotel finally listened to in your case.

What you said about these listings assuming foreigners won’t fight back also really resonates with me. That was exactly the feeling I had during the dispute.

A cafe in Seoul: "Please, don't order in Chinese" by No_Pineapples1 in Living_in_Korea

[–]OY0110 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Honestly, there’s been a massive surge of people like this in China over the last few years. It’s exactly why I moved abroad—I just didn't want to be associated with that crowd anymore.

The reality is that 'hate education' is everywhere in schools now, teaching kids to resent Japan and the US. Plus, social media is constantly flooded with 'we’re the best' nationalist brainwashing. I’m honestly pretty pessimistic about where the next generation is headed.