Pyeong to Square Meters Converter
Korean law requires floor areas to be advertised and recorded in square meters (m²), yet the first question anyone asks while apartment hunting in Korea is still “how many pyeong is it?” One pyeong is exactly 400/121 m², or about 3.305785 m² — the area of a square measuring six ja (about 1.818 m) on each side, a unit inherited from the traditional East Asian measurement system. This converter uses the exact 400/121 factor rather than the rounded 3.3 that most listings rely on. More important than the arithmetic, though, is knowing whether the figure you were quoted is exclusive area or supply area, so the tables and notes below explain the distinctions that trip up newcomers.
Examples
How many pyeong is an 84 m² exclusive-area apartment?
84 × 121/400 = 25.41 pyeong. Yet every agent in Korea will call that same unit a “34-pyeong” apartment. The 25.41 figure covers only the space behind your front door (exclusive area), while 34 pyeong is based on supply area — roughly 112 m², or 33.88 pyeong — which adds the shared stairs, corridors, and elevator halls of the building. Because the exclusive-to-supply ratio typically runs 73–80%, the very same 84 m² floor plan is marketed as a 32-pyeong type in one complex and a 34-pyeong type in another.
How many pyeong is a 59 m² exclusive-area apartment?
59 × 121/400 = 17.85 pyeong, normally advertised as a 24- or 25-pyeong type with a supply area of roughly 79–83 m². The number sounds small, but a standard 59 m² Korean floor plan still fits three bedrooms and one or two bathrooms, and if the balcony has been expanded the usable space feels three to five pyeong larger than the paperwork suggests. This is the most popular size band for newlyweds and two- to three-person households.
Converting 30 pyeong to square meters
30 × 400/121 = 99.17 m². If you searched for a “30-pyeong” listing, that 99 m² almost certainly refers to supply area, which means the exclusive area printed on the building register and the property deed will be closer to 74–79 m². Conversely, if you actually want 99 m² of exclusive space, you should be looking at units marketed as 39- to 40-pyeong types. Asking whether a quoted pyeong figure is supply-based or exclusive-based avoids this mismatch entirely.
Quick m² ↔ pyeong conversion table
| Square meters (m²) | Pyeong | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 33 m² | 9.98 py | Typical studio or small officetel (called “10 pyeong”) |
| 49 m² | 14.82 py | Compact two-bedroom apartment or villa |
| 59 m² | 17.85 py | Standard small-apartment exclusive area; marketed as 24–25 pyeong |
| 66 m² | 19.97 py | Older low-20s apartments (called “20 pyeong”) |
| 74 m² | 22.39 py | 74 m² exclusive; marketed as 29–30 pyeong |
| 84 m² | 25.41 py | The “national standard” size; marketed as 32–34 pyeong |
| 101 m² | 30.55 py | Entry point for mid-to-large units; marketed as 40-pyeong class |
| 114 m² | 34.49 py | 114 m² exclusive; marketed as 43–45 pyeong |
Calculated directly from 1 pyeong = 400/121 m² ≈ 3.305785 m², with pyeong values rounded to two decimal places. The marketing labels in the notes column are based on supply area and vary between complexes.
Advertised pyeong labels versus actual area
| Common label | Supply area (approx.) | Exclusive area (approx.) |
|---|---|---|
| 24-pyeong type | 79 m² (24 × 3.3058) | around 59 m² (ratio ≈ 74%) |
| 25-pyeong type | 83 m² (25 × 3.3058) | 59–62 m² (ratio ≈ 72–75%) |
| 32-pyeong type | 106 m² (32 × 3.3058) | around 84 m² (ratio ≈ 79%) |
| 34-pyeong type | 112 m² (34 × 3.3058) | around 84 m² (ratio ≈ 75%) |
| 43-pyeong type | 142 m² (43 × 3.3058) | around 114 m² (ratio ≈ 80%) |
An “XX-pyeong type” label converts the supply area (exclusive area + shared residential area) into pyeong, never the exclusive area. The exclusive-area ratio depends on the complex and layout and is typically in the 70–80% range.
FAQ
Exactly how many square meters is one pyeong?
One pyeong is exactly 400/121 m² = 3.305785… m². In the traditional system a pyeong is the area of a square six ja (one gan) on a side; since one ja is defined as 10/33 m, six ja equals 20/11 m, and squaring that gives 400/121 m². Because the decimal never terminates, listings shorten it to 3.3058 or just 3.3 — but using 3.3 introduces an error of about 0.58 m² per 100 pyeong, roughly 0.17%. This converter applies the exact 400/121 factor.
What is the difference between exclusive, supply, and contract area?
Exclusive area (전용면적) is the space behind your front door that only your household uses: bedrooms, living room, kitchen, and bathrooms. Add the shared residential area (stairs, corridors, elevator halls) and you get supply area (공급면적), the figure Korean marketing converts into a pyeong label. Add the other shared areas — underground parking, management office, security post, community facilities — and you get contract area (계약면적). Property deeds, building registers, taxes, and subscription eligibility all key off exclusive area, while the “XX-pyeong” label keys off supply area. Officetels are usually advertised by contract area, so an officetel and an apartment carrying the same pyeong label are not remotely the same size.
If the law mandates square meters, why does everyone still say pyeong?
Korea's Act on Measurement designates the square meter as the legal unit of area, and enforcement against non-legal units in commercial transactions tightened from July 2007, which is why pyeong disappeared from advertisements, contracts, and public registers. It survived in speech because it is intuitive: 3.3 m² is roughly one small room, or enough floor for two adults to lie down, so “25 pyeong” conjures an immediate mental picture while “84.97 square meters” requires a mental conversion first. The practical result is a dual system — square meters on paper, pyeong in conversation.
Why does a “34-pyeong” apartment show 84 m² on the property deed?
The two numbers describe different things. 84 m² is the exclusive area (25.41 pyeong), while 34 pyeong is the supply area (about 112 m²). The ratio between them typically falls between 70% and 80%: stair-access buildings (two units per elevator) score higher than corridor-access ones, and slab-type buildings generally beat tower-type ones. That is why one 84 m² unit is sold as a 32-pyeong type and another as a 34-pyeong type. Two apartments with the same pyeong label can differ by three or four square meters of exclusive area, so compare exclusive area rather than the marketing label.
Does an expanded balcony count toward the area?
No. A balcony is “service area” and is excluded from exclusive, supply, and contract area alike, with balcony depth up to a set limit from the exterior wall omitted from the floor-area calculation. Balcony expansion was legalised in 2005 and is now built in as standard on most new apartments; on an 84 m² unit, expansion typically adds 10–20 m² — three to six pyeong — of genuinely usable space. Two units with identical paperwork can therefore feel very different, so when viewing a property always check whether the balcony has been expanded and which rooms benefited (living room, bedroom, or kitchen).
How is the price per pyeong calculated?
Divide the price by the number of pyeong — but the answer changes dramatically depending on which area you use. For a ₩1 billion apartment with 84 m² exclusive and 112 m² supply area, the supply-area price (33.88 pyeong) is about ₩29.5 million per pyeong, while the exclusive-area price (25.41 pyeong) is about ₩39.4 million per pyeong. Korean market reports and estate agents conventionally quote the supply-area figure, and the “price per 3.3 m²” you see in the press means the same thing. Before comparing two listings, confirm that both prices use the same area basis.
Where pyeong came from, and why it vanished from official documents
Pyeong belongs to the East Asian cheokgwan measurement system and denotes the area of a square six ja (one gan) on each side. Linked to the metric system, one ja is 10/33 m, so six ja is 20/11 m and one pyeong is (20/11)² = 400/121 m² ≈ 3.305785 m². Related units survive in agriculture: one hop is a tenth of a pyeong (about 0.33 m²), 300 pyeong make one danbo, and 3,000 pyeong make one jeongbo. Rural land is still discussed in these terms, which is why farm listings sometimes quote majigi or jeongbo instead of hectares.
Korea formally adopted the metric system with its 1961 measurement law, but habit proved durable. Enforcement against non-legal units in trade and certification intensified in July 2007, and pyeong disappeared from sales brochures, building registers, property deeds, and purchase contracts, all of which now show square meters only. Using a non-legal unit for transactions or certification can draw an administrative fine under the current Act on Measurement, so agents write m² even while speaking in pyeong.
The unit endures in everyday language because it maps onto human perception. Three and a third square meters is about one small room, so a pyeong figure is immediately picturable, whereas an exclusive area of 84.97 m² is not. Anyone dealing with Korean property therefore moves constantly between the square meters on the documents and the pyeong in their head — and using 3.305785 rather than 3.3 keeps that translation accurate on larger properties.
A complete guide to Korean property area terms
Exclusive area (전용면적) is everything behind your front door that only your household uses: bedrooms, living room, kitchen, bathrooms, entryway, and built-in storage. It is the figure recorded on the property deed and the building register, and it drives acquisition tax, property tax, and housing-subscription eligibility — the “national housing scale” threshold is 85 m² of exclusive area, or 100 m² in eup and myeon areas outside the capital region. The numbers in Korean unit-type codes such as 84A or 59B also refer to exclusive area.
Shared residential area (주거공용면적) covers the indoor space residents of the building share: stairs, corridors, elevator halls, and the ground-floor lobby. Exclusive area plus shared residential area equals supply area (공급면적), and converting that supply area into pyeong produces the “XX-pyeong type” label used in the market. Exclusive area divided by supply area gives the exclusive-area ratio, typically 70–80%; corridor-access buildings score lower because of their long shared hallways, while stair-access layouts with two units per elevator score higher.
Other shared area (기타공용면적) is what the whole complex shares — underground parking, the management office, the security post, and community facilities such as gyms or reading rooms. Supply area plus other shared area equals contract area (계약면적), which is often the basis for management fees. Officetels are commonly marketed by contract area, so their exclusive-area ratio can sit in the 50–60% range and a “25-pyeong” officetel offers far less living space than a 25-pyeong apartment. Always compare exclusive areas when weighing an officetel against an apartment.
Finally, a balcony counts as service area and belongs to none of these categories. Expanding it changes how the home lives without changing a single number on the paperwork, which means an advertised area alone never tells you the whole story about usable space.
It also pays to verify areas against public records rather than marketing copy. The building register (건축물대장) lists the exclusive area, floor, and structure; the property register (등기부등본) confirms ownership alongside the area; and the government's Real Estate Public Price Alimi service publishes the officially assessed value of the home. Discrepancies between the pyeong label an agent quotes and the exclusive area on the register are not rare, so cross-checking the numbers before signing protects you from misjudging management fees or tax brackets.
Building an intuition for Korean apartment sizes
Knowing which layouts fit into which sizes lets you picture a listing before you see the floor plan. A 33 m² exclusive unit (9.98 pyeong) is a studio or one-and-a-half room: a combined sleeping and living space with a kitchen and bathroom attached. At 49 m² (14.82 pyeong) you get two bedrooms and a small living room; at 59 m² (17.85 pyeong) three bedrooms with one or two bathrooms, comfortable for up to three people. An 84 m² unit (25.41 pyeong) is designed around a family of four, with three bedrooms and two bathrooms as the norm. From 114 m² (34.49 pyeong) upward, expect four bedrooms, or three bedrooms plus a dressing room or study.
Comparing against familiar objects helps too. One pyeong (3.3058 m²) is about 53 sheets of A4 paper laid flat. A queen-size bed (roughly 1.5 m × 2 m) occupies 3 m², or about 0.91 pyeong. A standard Korean parking bay (2.5 m × 5 m) is 12.5 m², about 3.78 pyeong — so an 84 m² apartment covers roughly 6.7 parking bays of floor. Fixing one such reference in mind makes any unfamiliar number readable at a glance.
That said, identical exclusive areas can feel very different in person. Whether the balcony was expanded, whether the building is slab-type or tower-type, whether the living room and bedrooms line up across a four-bay frontage, and where the columns and load-bearing walls fall all change how much space you can actually use. Ceiling height matters as well: the same 25 pyeong feels cramped under a low ceiling. When viewing apartments, note the exclusive area, the expansion status, the layout type, and if possible the width and depth of each room — those notes will serve you far better later than the pyeong label alone.
Sources
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