In South Korea, an officetel (Korean: 오피스텔, a portmanteau of 'office' and 'hotel') is a multi-purpose building with residential and commercial units.
Office space is usually parceled out or leased to trading companies and small- to medium-sized businesses.
As the scale of construction grows over time, officetels tend to offer more commercial and housing features through amenities like sports centers and shopping facilities.
After the Asian financial crisis of 1997, the construction of officetels has increased rapidly due to governmental deregulations, and they are now taking a substantial portion of the housing market in the Seoul Metropolitan Area.
[3] After that, demand increased, so construction companies and housing cooperations took part in the growing the trend of building officetels.