I think there is a pretty big scam going on in South Korea, specifically on VRBO where apartments are being bait and switched.
I booked a VRBO a few weeks ago because of its proximity to my clinics and even specially messaged the host to get the street address so I can map the walking route to the clinic. The day of check in- the host sends me check in instructions...to a completely different location. Initially they actually sent me a completely different address and I thought the scam was that an apartment didn't exist. I ended up going to the new address on the dot, putting in a code and an old man appeared who looked like they've lived there forever. Then, when I call VRBO, after an hour of trying to reach no doubt some scam call center, they sent me to a completely different building across the street and blamed it on "Korean addresses." I've been in Korea for a bit, this is not a valid excuse. But hey, I am...somewhere inside.
Then I realized that the actual scam is that there is an apartment but it is not what you booked. The apartment has marginally similar furniture but is clearly not the same apartment. It is a much older building across town, the amenities listed are gone, there is no view. You have to walk up 4 flights of stairs after surgery with all your luggage. I actually think this is a SRO with public bathrooms and I can hear sketchy people all night. But because I think they think you're just "happy" to not be stranded somewhere in the middle of the night that you're not going to rock the boat and ask for your money back so you're stuck there. The worst part is the location- the new address is nowhere near your clinics and they intentionally don't give you the exact address until you're close to checking in.
I think this is how the scam works. The listing is designed to have beautiful pictures (that they probably stole from somewhere) but is intentionally vague about the specific details like exact location, check in and codes. They hire an English speaking CSR with a US phone number so you feel that you are actually renting from a person. They'll communicate beautifully and give you an address that makes you think that it is worth the price you are paying in the area you want to be in. I think they will know you are vulnerable if you mentioned going to a clinic- you are unlikely to move and/or complain. Everything is fine until the day you check in.
When you check in, they will send you to whatever crappy apartment, SRO, flophouse they have available that day. Maybe the actual apartment exists somewhere but you will get whatever is in their scam network. The "host" on the other end is actually a person in a call center whose only job is to get VRBO to pay them out. They will lie and say you've already checked in, they see your stuff there, they "helped you with your luggage." They will then assume you will stay because you don't have a choice, are scared of this hellhole you are stuck in and do not want to be kicked out of the apartment. By the time you complain to VRBO, they will take the money, shut down the listing and make a new listing or a new account with an infinite number of call center flunkies.
I have no idea why VRBO lets this happen. Basically, I think the issue is that VRBO allows hosts to put guests in places that are "similar" and that hosts are not penalized until it is "markedly different" and will always side with the host if you dispute this. I read other reddit posts that mentioned being sent miles away, driving distance from where they were supposed to be. Now that I have this hunch, I'm seeing multiple listings on VRBO that seem too good to be true or are following this pattern (e.g., no reviews, decent pricing, pictures that doesn't look like the location).
Now, I'm stuck. If I continue to complain to VRBO, I'm kind of afraid whatever this network is is going to kick me out of the apartment, make up a bunch of stuff to keep my money and/or worst of all, use the code to access the sketchy apartment in the middle of the night while I'm here.
So yeah, book a hotel. If you need a hotel with kitchen amenities, I stayed at UH Gangnam prior to this nightmare and had a refrigerator, kitchen and didn't worry about being kicked out in the middle of the night.