How does heating work in a goshiwon in winter?

It is included and the room does get warm — but the control is usually not yours, and that is the part to plan for.

The two common setups:

1. Central building heating on a schedule. The operator runs it during set hours, typically evening and early morning. You cannot turn it up. This is the most common arrangement in older buildings.
2. An individual unit in your room — often the aircon running in heat mode, or a small wall heater. You control it. Better, and increasingly standard in newer buildings.

Either way it is included in the rent. There is no winter bill.

What to actually expect: Korean buildings are heated, and indoor spaces here are generally warm — sometimes very warm. You will not be wearing a coat indoors. What people complain about is not cold, it is the schedule: the heating going off at 23:00 when you are still studying, or the room being cool at 06:00.

What helps, and this is worth 30,000 won total:

- A warm blanket or a 전기요 (electric heating pad for the bed), 20,000 to 40,000 won. This is what Koreans use and it solves the schedule problem completely.
- A humidifier. Korean winters are extremely dry and heated rooms are drier. Nosebleeds and cracked skin are common and surprise people. 20,000 to 30,000 won.
- Slippers. Floors are cold in the morning.

One thing specific to your situation coming from Kenya: the dryness will affect you more than the cold. Seoul in January is around 20 to 30 percent humidity, which is desert-level. Get the humidifier in week one, not in January when you have already had two nosebleeds.

When viewing, ask: "난방 방에서 조절할 수 있어요?" — can I control the heating in my room. A yes is worth a little extra rent.