"This is a full-fledged apartment."
Reactions like that broke out across the model house for Mokdong Yunseul Xi in Seoul's Yangcheon district on the 1st, as visitors stepped into a 115-square-meter unit. With a living room and three bedrooms lined up in a four-bay, flat-plate layout, the unit was hard to distinguish at first glance from a recently built mid- to large-size apartment. The reason it looked so spacious — 13 or 14 paces from one end of the living room to the other — was the balcony. A movable transparent wall between the living room and the balcony can be opened or closed depending on the temperature or the occasion, and opening it merges the two spaces. GS E&C said the 115 square meters of exclusive-use floor area, combined with a balcony of about 16.5 square meters, brings the usable space to 132 square meters.
The developer also spent on finishes. Premium brands such as Villeroy & Boch were used for faucets and bathroom fixtures, and major options including an extra room configuration, a refrigerator and a clothing care system are provided at no charge. "We designed it so that buyers don't have to weigh options — they only have to decide whether to live here, with no additional cost," a sales official said. A resident "persona" was set for each unit type, with dining areas oriented to views, wide living rooms and protruding balconies applied differently by type.
Yunseul Xi is legally classified as an officetel — a studio-style unit used as either a home or an office. Built on a general commercial zone around 924 Mokdong, the former site of KT's Mokdong property, the complex spans three buildings of up to 48 floors above ground and six below, with 651 units in total. As the government enforces tough lending curbs centered on apartments, officetels have gained relative appeal. "Mortgage amounts are capped for apartments, while officetels can carry a loan-to-value ratio of up to 70% with no cap on the amount," a sales official said. "No housing subscription savings account is required, either."
Yunseul Xi also draws attention as the first presale in central Mokdong in more than a decade, since Mokdong Central Prugio, a 248-unit complex completed in 2015. Mokdong is seen as a market that assigns officetels asset values on par with apartments. A comparably sized unit in Mokdong Shinsigaji Complex 7 changed hands for 3.3 billion won last month, and a similar-size unit in Hyperion, the area's established landmark officetel, traded in the 3.1 billion won range earlier this year. "Interest is high across Mokdong and the southwestern belt including Bucheon and Gwangmyeong," said Kim Pil-moon, sales director for Mokdong Yunseul Xi. "We expect demand to build further once residents start moving out for the Mokdong Shinsigaji rebuilding."
Presale prices of around 100 million won per 3.3 square meters of supply area are under discussion. "On an exclusive-use basis, it is not 100 million won per 3.3 square meters," a sales official said. "We plan to set relatively lower prices for lower floors and higher prices for upper floors." GS E&C will disclose the prices when applications open on the 3rd.
Positioning itself as a high-end officetel, Yunseul Xi has also invested in shared amenities. A membership fitness club of about 3,000 pyeong (roughly 9,900 square meters) called Concorde Club by Josun, operated by Josun Hotel & Resort, will occupy the first through third basement levels, while the 47th floor will house a sky lounge called Club Cloud that takes advantage of panoramic views. For the exterior, the developer worked with installation artist Ned Kahn on a signature design in which panels ripple in the wind. The name "Yunseul," which refers to ripples glinting in sunlight or moonlight, was drawn from that facade.
