Pyeong to square meters
Every apartment listing in Korea quotes two different numbers for the same home. Here is how to read both.
84㎡ = 25.41 pyeong
Type in either box and the other follows. One pyeong is exactly 3.3058㎡.
What Koreans call it vs. what the listing says
| What people call it | Exclusive area | In pyeong |
|---|---|---|
| Studio / officetel | 39㎡ | 11.8 pyeong |
| Small 2-room | 49㎡ | 14.82 pyeong |
| A “24-pyeong” flat | 59㎡ | 17.85 pyeong |
| A “29-pyeong” flat | 74㎡ | 22.39 pyeong |
| A “32-pyeong” flat | 84㎡ | 25.41 pyeong |
| A “39-pyeong” flat | 101㎡ | 30.55 pyeong |
| A “43-pyeong” flat | 114㎡ | 34.49 pyeong |
The name on the left comes from the supply area, so it shifts by a pyeong or two between buildings. The square meters and pyeong are exact, using 1 pyeong = 3.3058㎡.
What a pyeong actually is
A pyeong (평) is 3.3058 square meters — roughly a 3.3 metre square, or about 35.6 square feet. It came from the size of two tatami-style floor mats and stuck.
Korea legally switched to square meters in 2007, so every official document, lease and listing is written in ㎡. People never switched. Ask a Korean friend how big their flat is and you will hear “32 pyeong”, not “84 square meters”.
So you need both numbers. The ㎡ figure is what you sign; the pyeong figure is what you talk about.
Why 84㎡ is called 32 pyeong when it converts to 25
This is the part that confuses everyone. 25.41 pyeong is the honest conversion of 84㎡ — but the same flat is advertised as a 32-pyeong home. Neither number is wrong. They measure different things.
Exclusive area (전용면적) is the space behind your front door: rooms, kitchen, bathroom. This is the 84㎡ on the listing, and it is the number that decides your property tax and, usually, your rent.
Supply area (공급면적) adds your share of the corridors, stairs and lobby. It is a bigger number, and dividing it by 3.3058 is where “32 pyeong” comes from.
The gap between the two is called the exclusive rate. It runs around 70–80% in apartments and can drop to 50–60% in an officetel — which is why an officetel always feels smaller than its advertised pyeong.
The sizes you will actually see
84㎡ is the default Korean family flat. Koreans call it the “national size” because so much of the country was built to it. Three rooms, two bathrooms, a living room.
59㎡ is the compact version — two or three small rooms, common for couples and small families. 39㎡ and below is studio and officetel territory, usually one room plus a kitchen strip.
Above 100㎡ you are in the larger, older, or more expensive stock. Prices per pyeong rise sharply there, so most listings you scroll past will sit between 59 and 84.
Mistakes worth avoiding
Do not compare a pyeong figure with a ㎡ figure. If one listing says 32 pyeong and another says 84㎡, they are the same size. Convert one side first.
Check which area a rent quote is based on. Two flats with the same supply area can differ by several square meters of actual living space.
Officetels are the trap. A “20-pyeong officetel” can have less usable floor than a 15-pyeong apartment, because so much of the supply area is shared corridor.
If you are furnishing the place, our other calculators are in English too, and the Korean side has appliance sizing for the exact ㎡ you just worked out.