SHIN, an SNU student who is returning to school as a senior this year, has been working part-time to pay his tuition and living expenses because of his family's financial circumstances. Last year, he did not get into the dormitory so he struggled just to afford his rent and the higher cost of living off campus. As a result, he suffered from depression, which led him to take a semester off from school. Out of desperation, he went to the dorm housemaster and explained his grievous situation, saying,"I have to get a loan as soon as possible to put down a deposit for my rented room, and find one or two more tutoring jobs for the rent. There is only one year left until I graduate, but I cannot focus on my studies at all."

Another SNU student, an international student from England, sent an email to his academic adviser, seeking help in getting a room in the dorm next semester."I am not planning to go back to Korea unless I get into the dorm," wrote the student. A junior did not get accepted into the dorm last winter though he had appealed earnestly to the housemaster about how his mother hurt her back and could not work anymore.

Recently, a number of SNU students have been complaining about difficulties getting accepted into the SNU Dormitory, Gwanaksa. More and more students have been sending e-mails, imploring the superintendents of the dormitory to accommodate them, though the sole criteria of admission remains to be random selection.

Currently, Gwanaksa has 11 buildings and can accommodate up to 2,392 undergraduates. The overall competition rate for this coming spring semester was 9.7 to 1. It was even higher for the popular, newly built building. Fifty-five hundred students applied for 460 openings, making the competition rate soar to a record -high of 12 to 1.

The main cause behind this heated competition is the recent increase in market rents in areas around the campus such as Shillim-dong. Living on campus is cheaper than living off campus for 300,000-500,000 won per month. Professor KIM Sung-hee, Head of Gwanak-sa, explains that Gwanaksa can accommodate only 22.4 percent of SNU students and that 2,000-3,000 more rooms would be able to make a huge difference. Nevertheless, there is no known plan to construct more buildings as of now.

However, this problem is not only limited to SNU. Most other campuses in Seoul are experiencing the same trouble. Moreover, Gwanaksa has been extra-popular for it does not have a curfew and offers opportunities to make international friends easily as it accommodates many foreign SNU students.

Written by LEE SuKyoung, SNU English Editor, sukyoung123n@gmail.com
Reviewed by Eli Park Sorensen, SNU Professor of Liberal Studies, eps7257@snu.ac.kr
Proofread by Brett Johnson, SNU English Editor, morningcalm2@gmail.com