Finding a place to live and signing contracts is a difficult process, and doing it in a foreign language makes it even difficult.

Having a real estate agent that can speak languages you are comfortable with can help, and Global Real Estate Agencies offer that exact service!

What are Global Real Estate Agencies?

Global Real Estate Agencies are basically agencies that can offer real estate and leasing services in languages other than Korean, which are certified by each city.

It was first started by Seoul in 2008, with the city now having over 200 Global Real Estate Agencies.

(But yes, other cities have their own list too!)

To check if the agencies are actually able to communicate in foreign languages, Seoul requires real estate agents that want to be certified to take language proficiency tests that check their listening, speaking and writing skills.

Having signed lease contracts with a lot of foreigners in the past (specifically using non-Korean lease agreement forms), having the U.S. CIPS or CPM designation, experience working abroad, other language certificates, etc are optional documents Seoul accepts to check fluency.

When you visit a Global Real Estate Agency, you will see a sign that shows they have the certification and the language they offer real estate and leasing services in.

Global Real Estate Agencies in Seoul

The full list of Seoul's Global Real Estate Agencies can be found on the city's official website, which looks like this ⬇️

A huge number of the agencies mostly offer English services. But there's around 40 that can speak Japanese and a handful that can speak Chinese, with a few Portuguese and Spanish options as well.