How do you find a goshiwon if you can't read Korean?

Walking the neighbourhood genuinely works and is what a lot of students end up doing. But there is a better order.

1. Korean listing sites with a translation layer. 고시원넷 (goshiwon.net), 고방, and Naver Real Estate carry far more stock at better prices than any English site. Open them in Chrome with translate on, or point Papago's camera at the screen. The listings are formulaic — price, size, window or not, private bathroom or not — so machine translation handles them fine.

2. Naver Map, searched for 고시원 plus your neighbourhood. This shows you actual buildings with photos, phone numbers and street view. Being able to see the street before you go is worth a lot.

3. Walk the streets around your school. Goshiwon advertise with banners on the building and a phone number, and many have vacancies they never list online. Sinchon, Anam, Hoegi and Noryangjin have them densely. This is how you find the ones that are not on any site.

4. Your school's international office and its student group chat. Students leaving at the end of a term hand rooms over constantly. February and August are the best months for this.

5. English-facing agencies exist and are the easiest route, at a premium of roughly 50,000 to 100,000 won a month for the same room. Whether that is worth it depends on your first week.

The phrases that do the work when you phone or walk in:

빈방 있어요? — do you have a free room
한 달에 얼마예요? — how much per month
창문 있는 방 있어요? — do you have a room with a window
화장실 방에 있어요? — is the bathroom in the room
볼 수 있어요? — can I see it

That is enough for the entire transaction. Operators deal with people who barely speak Korean all day long, including Korean exam students who do not want to chat.

One practical note: bring a Korean-speaking classmate if you can, and go on a weekday afternoon. Sunday is when nobody is there to show you anything.