WeWork of New York comes to Korea
The first time I approached Wework was at New York, 2011. When the word ‘Smart Work’ appeared in the media like a buzzword, I, who was the head of space planning at TOZ, went to the US and Europe for about two months for a market research in order to make a new space business model. There is a picture of me visiting a co-working space and in the picture clearly emerges a logo, ‘WeWork Labs’. The primary role of WeWork Labs’ was incubating a startup that moved into WeWork. The picture below is a picture of the first branch of WeWork that appeared on the homepage at the time. At the WeWork of about six years ago, there were dozens of shared desks in clean office spaces, and freelancers and startup members from around the world working hard. At the time the picture itself was innovative: people from different companies working at the same space!
Afterwards, 6 years passed, and I heard that WeWork would also enter Korea. One of key issues of management of the co-working space is sustainability, but most of co-working spaces do not last more than 3 years. However, this was good news for me as I realized that WeWork grew up large enough to enter Asia. And I made a contract of three months with the Euljiro branch of WeWork last August, which is among all the branches the largest in terms of size, and containing the second-most number of tables.
Space accessibility that differs according to a type of membership
The Euljiro branch of WeWork employs 10 floors, almost half of the Daishin Finance building. An elevator designed particularly for WeWork runs from the seventh floor to the sixteenth floor, and the reception is located at the sixteenth floor which has the best view.
Each floor has a large bar and shared desks where you can have a drink, and we called such space ‘lounge’. Surrounding this lounge, offices of various sizes are located at the outskirts of the building. And the membership of WeWork is largely divided into three categories based on the access range of each space.
Hot Desk : about 350,000 won/month per person (unlimited use of the lounges of 10 floors with the shared desk)
Dedicated Desk : about 500,000 won/month per desk (unlimited use of the dedicated desk in the shared office apart from of the lounge)
Private Office : about 700,000 won/month per desk (unlimited use of the dedicated desk of the private office apart from of the lounge)
Hot Desk Membership
The Hot Desk Membership, recommendable to the people who want to experience WeWork for the first time, is about 350,000 won per month. With this membership you can use without limit the lounges of the ten floors that contain the shared desk. In fact, WeWork is open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, so no matter what membership one chooses, there is no restriction on access to WeWork. For our company, which does not have official time for closing or opening, the policy of WeWork of opening 24 hours seemed quite attractive. Whether one is a member who comes to the office early in the morning and works until the afternoon, or comes to the office in the evening and works throughout the night, in any case, there is no inconvenience in using the office. The floors of WeWork are bright like a day even after midnight, rather making me worry that a member might only work without knowing the passing of time.
Dedicated Desk Membership
This membership, which allows a person to use a private desk at a shared office where about 10 to 30 desks are at the same space, costs about 500,000 won/month per desk. With this membership several companies use one same large office, and the entrance is only possible through the card key that has already been provided. Although the office is shared, because each person has his or her own private desk, openness and independence can be interchanged quickly. Because several people use the same space sometimes some works can be difficult, such as videoconference or phone-conference. In such case, you can use the phone booth beside the shared office. At first, sharing the office with people you do not know can feel awkward, but after one or two weeks you get close to them as much as people of your own company, which can get you the opportunity of network or business you never conceived of.
Private Desk Membership
The Private Desk Membership, although there can be some difference from branch to branch, which provides the most private space, is about 700,000 won/month per desk. If you make a contract concerning a dedicated office, as you are using a completely independent space, it can be suitable in terms of business of which privacy is very important or when you want space where for 24 hours you are not disturbed. Such place is popular to the freelancer who has to work alone with concentration and to people who run a one-man business. From my personal thought, one drawback is that because the space is smaller than one might expect, it may feel a bit stuffy. Although WeWork, by policy, sets all walls to be transparent glasses, space for one or two people still feels a bit stuffy. Due to such reason if there is no cost restriction, make a contract concerning a space that has desks one or two more than the number of people who is to use it.
Praise as regards the shared office
The office to which we made a contract was a shared office where other companies were also located. This office is at the ninth floor of the Euljiro branch of WeWork, the space where four companies share 11 tables. The situation may differ from company to company according to the sector or work it is involved with, but in our case, we preferred a shared office several companies use together, rather than a small, independent office in which only three tables can be placed. There are three main reasons to this.
“ 1. The size of the office large enough to not feel stuffy / 2. the monthly fee 30% cheaper compared to the dedicated office / 3. the possibility for forming cooperation and network with other companies that have moved in”
First of all, the office space is large.
Normally, the number of workers of a startup is between 2 to 4. The office with 4 tables, even if the wall is the glass wall, is stuffy because the space is small. If you have to make a movement from the entrance to the innermost space, because your body touches the wall, you may feel inconvenient. Also, because movement of a person coming and going can distract a worker who is sitting down, it can be uncomfortable to both of them. However, as regards the shared office into which 10 or more people can go in, there is no such inconvenience. There is surplus space, making the office look generally wide and bright. Your table is just one, but the environment can feel more pleasant. However, there is a shortcoming here also. If there are 15 or more tables at a shared office, the place feels empty rather than pleasant. Above all, rather than feeling as if you are at an office, you feel as if you are put in an open and empty environment. Personally, I think the optimal size is that which can contain about 10 people.
Second of all, the monthly rent fee is cheap.
In the case of WeWork, a table at a dedicated office costs a bit less than 700,000 won per month. On the other hand, in the case of the shared office, the cost is a bit less than 500,000 won. There is about 30% difference in cost. If three people use it like us, calculated at a monthly basis, about 600,000 won is saved. In the case of a small-sized startup like us, if such money is gathered for two months, a person can be employed for a simple, part-time job.
Thirdly, unexpected cooperation is possible with a company that uses the same office.
In the case of us, we shared the office with ‘Lawdy’ which provides as a service online contract, and startup ‘Allim’ which specializes in brand marketing. As a result, for three months it was possible for us to make various forms of cooperation with them. ‘Allim’ that specializes in brand marketing participated in making of an event video of our partner company, and it is also planning to partly participate next year in the project we are preparing. In the case of ‘Lawdy’ that provides as a service online contract, we conducted a beta test for them before their official launch. We also provided feedback as regards the product. As a result, we could apparently decrease resources related to contract of our company.
The space that makes you a workholic
During three months about for two weeks have I sit up all through the night at WeWork. One time I did not leave the Euljiro branch of WeWork for three full days in order to work. The reason is simple. There was no need for me to leave this place in order to attain things necessary for me to work. Let me explain how that was possible.
The beginning of work always takes place at my office where I need to concentrate. Although there are 10 tables, usually people use just about the half and thus, there is not much noise in the office. After working with concentration for about 2 to 3 hours, I become a bit tired. Then, I go out to the lounge where there are standing bar, sofa, open desk and table for 4 people.
The lounge is an open space of about 50 to 70 pyeong where you can make some noise. It is full of energy, as it has a high ceiling and background music plays for 24 hours. I can certainly feel refreshed here as I get to have meetings with members of various companies and enjoy light conversations.
Then, if I have to make a call or do a job that requires a lot of attention, I go into a phone booth. Because this is a small place where only one person can enter to use his or her laptop, it is possible to fully concentrate here.
A bit later, if I get a message from the reception that a guest has come, I go down to the lounge at the 16th floor where there is the reception. If I simply enter the name of a guest and a visit time at the homepage, a clerk at the reception greets the guest in my place. If the guest comes according to the time a message is sent to me. This is an attractive service for a small company to which it is difficult to employ a secretary or have a reception.
After picking up the guest, I buy a packed lunch from the market beside and go to a standing bar. Sometimes I eat alone but usually I eat lunch as a part of meeting.
After eating lunch, we take coffee and beer at the lounge and go to the lounge of the 15th floor where the Myeongdong Cathedral can be viewed well. Every floor contains a lounge and in the lounge there is a self-canteen, making the lounge normally better than almost any café in Seoul in terms of atmosphere and quality.
After breaking the ice, we go to a meeting room that has been reserved to talk while looking at the material. It is possible to reserve a meeting room in 10 seconds at the homepage of WeWork where you can also check the reservation status. After the meeting, I go back to the office to complete the work, and order and eat a whole pizza with team members.
After working to the night, to 10 p.m., in order to feel refreshed, I go to a table tennis table at a corner of the lounge to play a game. When there is no one to play with playing darts by myself also is not bad. If you know how to play golf, screen golf is also good too. After easing out like that, I regain energy to work.
After working for several more hours, if the time is over 1 or 2 a.m., I go to the Quiet Room at the 11th floor to sleep. It is the only place among open WeWork spaces that does not have any windows. I turn off the light, go into a bean bag, wear a blindfold and headphones, and sleep until 7 in the morning. Like that, even if I work to the night, I can sleep 6 hours or more.
In the morning I go to and take a shower at the shower room at the 9th floor, and change my make-up. I drink espresso coffee at the 16th floor and buy a salad and eat it at the lounge. Then, I prepare for a meeting at 11 a.m.
Nothing is better for recruitment than this
If you ask what is the key to start-up, I will most likely answer “person.” Unlike large-scale companies that run by the system, in a start-up business, one person’s capacity is the company’s competency.
For startup, recruitment is the most important thing, but most startups are bad at recruitment. A startup cannot give a lot of money, the amount of work is enormous, the office is small, and the facilities in the office are inevitably lagging behind. Thus, there is no reason for talented people to apply to it. Unless you have special visions or conditions, forget the talent, it is extremely difficult to recruit even normal members. However, if you move into WeWork, those troubles of startup can be solved.
First, the working environment is as good as the big company.
The Euljiro branch of WeWork, which we moved in, was better than almost any head office of a global company in Korea. There is a lounge overlooking the Myeongdong Cathedral, which can take in about 100 people for a party, and a bar in every floor where you can have an unlimited drink of fine coffee, tea and beer. There is also a clean washroom with a shower room. There are several high-quality conference rooms with monitors you can use. There is also a screen golf course and table tennis facilities you can enjoy for free. There is a receptionist who will welcome you when you come in, dedicated personnel to receive parcels, and a canteen where you can eat fresh salads and a la carte dishes without leaving the building. It’s just that people working together are not part of the same company as me, but the environment is better than almost any headquarters of any global company. This is a fascinating element for young people of the Y-generation, who value the work environment in a pleasant and free atmosphere.
Transportation and infrastructure are excellent.
Most large co-working spaces, such as WeWork, are located in an area with good infrastructure, where transportation is convenient. In the case of the Euljiro branch of WeWork, it is located between Euljiro 2 and Euljiro 2 of the second line, at the Daishin Finance building, of which it uses 10 floors from the 7th to 16th. The elevators, and the entrance, are equipped with state-of-the-art facilities, and the location is also right next to Myeongdong Cathedral, which means the transportation is very convenient. The company I work for is only a small company with only three employees, but the business and environmental benefits we receive here are just as good as global conglomerates, so we can attract talented people who understand our vision.
WeWork, where we can really only ‘work’
For us, to whom efficiency is the top priority, the greatest strength of WeWork is that it is an environment where all employees can focus on ‘work’. If you are a businessman, you need a lot of resources to run a company. You have to clean the office every day, fill in regularly drinks and food for the staff, fill in A4 paper for copiers and faxes, and call someone if the internet or air conditioner breaks down. When new employees come in, you will have to reposition the place, and if you have a lot of meeting rooms, you might need an intranet reservation system. There are many times when there is not enough time to do real work because you are doing ‘work for work’.
But at WeWork this was not our job. For WeWork’s integrated management system did ‘work for work’ instead of our company. Every night at 10 o’clock, professional workers clean up the office and empty the trash. Beer is filled daily with new ones, and maintenance of copiers and faxes is also managed centrally. There is little problem with the internet or air conditioner, but if a problem arises, it will be handled immediately by notifying the administrator through the message on the homepage. In the month when a part-time student will help us for a month, we can apply for one more desk online, and a meeting room necessary can be booked in 10 seconds on the homepage. While at WeWork, we could really focus just on ‘work’.
When we say that the amount of money we spend on the Euljiro branch of WeWork is 500,000 won per desk, most say it is too expensive. Surely, it would be too expensive if you only rent a desk for a month and it costs 500,000 won. However, this 500,000 won includes both the access cost by which you can freely use all facilities of the 10 floors, including the private desk, and the office management cost that is often overlooked. Rather, this amount may be much cheaper than renting an empty office in a building. Indeed, according to an internal employee of a company that offers online recruiting services, for the company the cost of office maintenance has fallen by as much as 30 percent recently, after moving the headquarters to WeWork. In addition, the workload of the general affairs team has drastically reduced, and they were thinking about new work.
< WeWork operation/management services apart from space>
Cleaning office and shared space
Managing drinks including coffee/beer/milk/tea
Managing replicator and fax
Utilities such as internet, electricity, water supply
Guest reception and alarm
Courier service and receiving mail
Free parking for 2 hours per day
Conference room reservation and management system
Sale of salads and simple meals through the market
The place where residing companies form a community
Not long ago, a manufacturing startup, Blending Tea, which maintains partnership with our company, opened a pop-up store in the Euljiro branch of WeWork. It was an event for WeWork residents in which people set up tea bag sets prepared for Chuseok in WeWork lounge for two days, letting the residents taste the tea. During this period, 140 sets of Chuseok tea bags were sold on the spot, each worth 20,000 won. In addition, as we moved around the lounge, we were able to have follow-up meetings and partnership opportunities with the members of companies in WeWork that had seen the event, including a large domestic cosmetics company, Airbnb Korea, and WeWork Korea.
In fact, WeWork actively supports the growth and network of residing companies. One of the key activities of WeWork managers is to plan events and alliances for residing companies as community managers beyond simple branch operations/management. So, at the Euljiro branch of WeWork, big events are held in large lounges on the 9th and 16th floors almost every evening. Seminars on new technology and recruitment are held and global parties hosted by foreigners are sometimes also held. WeWork Euljiro supports a breakfast meeting called TGIM (Thanks God It’s Monday) every Monday. Any residing company at WeWork can join this free breakfast networking. For this, food and drink should be bought from a residing company at WeWork.
WeWork also has a policy of free use for all branches for residing companies, again letting them feel belonging as a community. In other words, if you have a WeWork membership in one branch, you can freely use all of the world’s other branches. For example, if I, who is a member of the Euljiro branch of WeWork, travel to Paris for work, I can freely use the coworking space of three WeWork branches in Paris. Of course, this is only possible through online reservation and to the extent the credit allows it, which is endowed differently from membership to membership; the use is not limitless as in the branch I am registered to. However, if you are not going to traveling overseas for a whole month, you can assume that there are virtually no restrictions.
In addition to the use of branches across the world, WeWork`s online community without borders also allows members to communicate across borders and regions. If you are a WeWork member, you can read posts from anywhere in the world, and automatic text translation systems are also applied in order to lower the language barriers. In fact, recruitment and partnerships are many times achieved through this online community.
In the end it’s WeWork again
Our company, which has been in the Euljiro branch of WeWork for 3 months, has put rest to the contract for two months during the holiday season where a long business trip to Europe took place and renewed the contract for 9 months next year. It was not easy to give up the utility and efficiency provided to the company through WeWork in the past three months, and the members’ individual satisfaction was high as regards the good working environment better than anything we have ever experienced. Smaller companies need to manage each member’s satisfaction and work efficiency with extreme care. From that point of view, we thought that there is not as good and cost-effective a place as WeWork.
At the entrance of WeWork, these words are written.
“Welcome Home”
For workers, the working place is more important than home. The Euljiro branch of WeWork is definitely another home for a working person like me. It is a house well-built where I can do what I like.
Reporter | Agnes Choi (Smart Work Director)
She has led the Space Business Team in TOZ, one of the most famous space business group in South Korea, and designed ‘Study Center’ and ‘Smart Work Lounge’. Since 2010, She has been collaborating with European consultants and experts to implement Smart Work in the large and mid sized Korean companies. She considers a coworking space as an alternative working space for the big companies. So she is designing a coworking space model and co-living space optimized for working people.
