Korean Students in Singapore: Housing Near Tanjong Pagar's Korean Community

Tanjong Pagar is Singapore's established Korean district, sometimes called "Little Korea," home to the Korean Association in Singapore, Korean marts like Emart and Lee Mart, and one of the densest clusters of Korean restaurants in the country along Tanjong Pagar Road and Amoy Street. No Lazybee house sits inside Tanjong Pagar itself, but all three, Ivory Heights, Thomson Grove, and Chiltern Park, are a manageable MRT ride away, which matters if you want to be close to campus without losing easy access to Korean food, groceries, and community.

This guide covers what's actually in Tanjong Pagar, how far it sits from NUS, NTU, and SMU, and which Lazybee house gets you there fastest depending on where you're studying.

What Makes Tanjong Pagar Singapore's "Little Korea"

The nickname isn't marketing. As of 2023 there were just over 21,000 Koreans living in Singapore, the world's 18th-largest Korean diaspora community, and recent estimates put the number closer to 24,000 (Wikipedia). A large share of that community, expatriates, business owners, and students together, has clustered around Tanjong Pagar for long enough that locals now call the area Koreatown.

71B Tanjong Pagar Road houses the Korean Association in Singapore and the Korean Chamber of Commerce, giving the area a genuine administrative anchor, not just restaurants. Korean marts including Emart and Lee Mart stock ingredients that are otherwise hard to find, and the strip along Tanjong Pagar Road and nearby Amoy Street has built up a dense run of Korean barbecue, fried chicken, and stew spots, among them Go! K-BBQ on Amoy Street, Todamgol, and Dal Bam (Eatbook; thinkerten.com). Amoy Street Food Centre itself sits about a 4-minute walk from Tanjong Pagar MRT, so hawker food and Korean restaurants both sit within the same short stretch.

As of 2023 there were just over 21,000 Koreans living in Singapore, the world's 18th-largest Korean diaspora community, with recent estimates closer to 24,000.

For a Korean student, this means the area functions as more than a place to eat. It's where you'd go for ingredients you can't find at a regular NTUC, for community events tied to the Korean Association, and simply to hear Korean spoken on the street when you want that.

How Far Is Tanjong Pagar From NUS, NTU, and SMU?

Tanjong Pagar itself sits right at the edge of the CBD, and general commute patterns into and around the CBD are already covered in our guide to living by commute time to the CBD, so this section sticks to the specific distances that matter for this guide: how far Tanjong Pagar sits from each campus.

To SMU, Tanjong Pagar is close. The subway ride to Singapore Management University, changing at City Hall, takes around 12 minutes, and a direct SBS Transit bus from Tanjong Pagar Exit C covers the same distance in a similar time (Rome2Rio). Since SMU's campus sits in the city itself, this is the shortest of the three commutes by a wide margin.

To NUS, expect a transfer. Tanjong Pagar is on the East-West Line, and one-north MRT, the station nearest NUS's Kent Ridge campus, sits on the Circle Line, so the standard route changes trains at Buona Vista. Total travel time by subway runs around 25-30 minutes (Rome2Rio).

To NTU, it's the longest of the three. Tanjong Pagar and Pioneer or Boon Lay, the two stations nearest campus, both sit on the East-West Line, so there's no train change, but it's a long ride across the island, followed by a shuttle bus (services 179 or 199) from either station into the middle of campus (IAMCR). Budget close to an hour door to door once the shuttle is factored in.

Which Lazybee House Puts You Closest to Tanjong Pagar

Lazybee runs three co-living houses across Singapore, and each one reaches Tanjong Pagar differently.

Ivory Heights, in Jurong East, has the most direct connection. It sits by the Jurong East MRT interchange, and Jurong East to Tanjong Pagar is a straight run on the East-West Line, no transfer needed, in around 24 minutes (Rome2Rio). Ivory Heights also happens to sit on the same line as NTU's nearest stations, so if NTU is your campus, this house does double duty.

Thomson Grove, near Lentor MRT on the Thomson-East Coast Line, has the shortest last-mile walk. The Thomson-East Coast Line now runs into the CBD, and Maxwell station on that line sits roughly 500 metres, about a 6-minute walk, from Tanjong Pagar MRT and the Korean restaurant strip itself (mynetbizz.com). For an evening run to Amoy Street for Korean food, this is the most direct of the three.

Chiltern Park, in Serangoon, is the furthest from Tanjong Pagar of the three but still workable. Serangoon MRT connects to the North East Line, which runs toward Outram Park, an interchange with the East-West Line one stop from Tanjong Pagar. Expect roughly 25-30 minutes with that one change.

Full detail on all three houses, room mix, and neighbourhood, is in our guide to Chiltern Park, Ivory Heights, and Thomson Grove.

Matching the House to Your Campus

If NTU is your priority, Ivory Heights is the clear pick: it sits on the same East-West Line that runs to both Pioneer/Boon Lay and Tanjong Pagar, so campus and community both stay reachable without a transfer to Tanjong Pagar specifically.

If NUS or SMU is your priority and you want to weigh commute against Tanjong Pagar access more evenly, Thomson Grove's short last-mile walk to Maxwell puts it closest to the Korean cluster itself, while Chiltern Park's dual-line access from Serangoon (Circle Line and North East Line) gives more routing flexibility if your daily commute changes across semesters. Neither NUS nor SMU sits directly on the same line as any of the three houses, so in both cases you're weighing a genuine trade-off rather than finding a house that does everything at once. Our commute-to-CBD guide is the better read if you want to compare these routes against other parts of the island too.

What Matters Beyond Commute

Safety. Singapore ranked second globally on the Safe Cities Index, behind only Tokyo, and first in Southeast Asia on the Global Residence Index's 2026 safety rankings, with a safety score of 0.90 (kakapo.travel; Global Residence Index via seasiastats). All three Lazybee neighbourhoods, Serangoon, Jurong East, and the Lentor Hills area near Thomson Grove, are established residential estates with the same baseline of well-lit MRT walks and managed buildings that make Singapore rank this way in general.

A room that's already set up. Arriving from Korea with limited luggage and no local network is a different move from a local one. A furnished room with wifi and utilities already included removes a real source of first-week stress, before you've even worked out where the nearest Korean mart is.

Verified housing before you commit. Booking sight unseen from overseas, whether through an agent, a listing site, or a WeChat-equivalent group chat, carries the same risks anywhere: unrealistically low prices, deposit requests before a viewing, or listings copied from a real property. If you can't view in person, insist on a video walkthrough and confirm any agent's registration on the Council for Estate Agencies' website before sending anything. Our guide on viewing a room remotely covers this in more depth.

Matching Your Lease to Your Student Pass

Singapore's private rental market has one hard floor: no lease under three months, and that applies to every operator, co-living included. Past that floor, match your lease length to your Student Pass validity, not the landlord's default 12-month term, since your pass typically renews annually alongside your enrolment. Our guide on renting on a Student Pass vs EP vs S Pass walks through this in detail.

Where Lazybee Fits

None of Lazybee's three houses sit inside Tanjong Pagar itself, and that's worth being upfront about. What each one offers instead is a genuine, workable connection to it: Ivory Heights on the same line as NTU and a direct run to Tanjong Pagar, Thomson Grove a short walk from Maxwell station into the heart of the Korean restaurant strip, and Chiltern Park with the routing flexibility of two MRT lines out of Serangoon.

Every room comes furnished with utilities and wifi included, so there's nothing to source separately after landing. Current room availability and pricing across all three houses is always up to date at lazybee.sg, since that's the only place the numbers stay accurate.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why is Tanjong Pagar known as Singapore's Little Korea? A large, established Korean community has clustered around Tanjong Pagar for years, drawn by the Korean Association's office at 71B Tanjong Pagar Road, Korean marts like Emart and Lee Mart, and a dense strip of Korean restaurants along Tanjong Pagar Road and Amoy Street.

Does Lazybee have a house in Tanjong Pagar? No. Lazybee's three houses, Ivory Heights (Jurong East), Thomson Grove (near Lentor), and Chiltern Park (Serangoon), each sit a manageable MRT ride from Tanjong Pagar rather than inside it.

Which Lazybee house is closest to Tanjong Pagar? Thomson Grove has the shortest last-mile connection, a roughly 6-minute walk from Maxwell MRT station once you're off the Thomson-East Coast Line. Ivory Heights has the most direct train connection, a straight East-West Line ride with no transfer.

Is Singapore safe for Korean students living off campus? Yes. Singapore ranks second globally on the EIU's Safe Cities Index and first in Southeast Asia on the Global Residence Index's 2026 rankings. The usual practical checks, a well-lit route from the MRT, a verified rental, still apply anywhere on the island.

How do I avoid rental scams booking from Korea before I arrive? Insist on a video walkthrough if you can't view a room in person, never send a deposit before a signed agreement, and check any agent's registration on the Council for Estate Agencies' website.

Room listings across all three Lazybee houses, with current availability and pricing, are always live at lazybee.sg.

Sources: URA, Short-Term Accommodation guidelines; URA, Renting Property guidelines; MOM, Employment Pass eligibility; MOM, S Pass eligibility; ICA, Apply for a Student's Pass.