This is the first real decision international students face, usually before they have even arrived. The difference between the two is not the freedom people talk about, but what each one asks you to absorb. A dormitory trades rules for a much lighter administrative load; your own place trades money and paperwork for control over your time.
What a dormitory takes off your plate
Being on or beside campus keeps the commute short, and most dormitories have staff on site, which means there is someone to ask when something goes wrong in your first weeks. During a first semester in an unfamiliar language that access matters more than it sounds. The larger practical gain is that an entire sequence disappears: no deposit, no contract, no move-in cleaning, no arranging an internet connection.
What a dormitory asks in return
Shared living comes with rules. Many dormitories operate a curfew, locking the doors somewhere between midnight and one, and some require you to report nights spent away. Cafeteria hours are fixed too, which collides with late evening classes. In a two or four person room, personal space is limited and differences in routine become friction. Put someone who sleeps early and someone who sleeps late in one room and both end up worn down by it.
What self-boarding gives and takes
You are not tied to anyone's schedule and the space is yours to arrange. Inviting friends over and cooking your own food are both straightforward in a way they are not in a shared building. Against that, a deposit and monthly maintenance fees appear, you sign a contract with real obligations, and move-in cleaning and internet installation become your tasks. Note that this administrative load lands at the start of term, precisely when your schedule is least settled.
How to decide
Budget, lifestyle and the location of your campus settle most of it. If the upfront deposit is difficult, or this is your first time living in Korea, starting in a dormitory for one semester and moving once you know the area is the low-risk path. If a curfew would collide with your classes or part-time work, that alone decides it in favour of your own place. And if you do go that way, remember that you must report your change of residence to immigration within fifteen days of moving in.
A line-by-line cost comparison and what dormitory terms look like at different universities are in the dormitory and self-boarding comparison on the WeBring blog.