I believe the system was adopted in the old days with very high interest rates (~10% was common) - landlords could easily expect to make enough return. It's ac

I believe the system was adopted in the old days with very high interest rates (~10% was common) - landlords could easily expect to make enough return. It's actually greatly favorable to landlords. Just think about what happens when one side is out of money. Under the monthly rent system, landlords can't get any more money until they evict the renter (which is a lot of hassle, anywhere in the world). Under the "jeonse" system, if the landlord becomes bankrupt, the renter is suddenly out of a large portion of their total wealth, and will be evicted by the new owner - without any money to find the next place. (There are insurances to protect renters but the risk is still there.)