With redevelopment striking a shantytown, a Seoul initiative offers residents somewhere to go

Residents of Seoul shantytowns facing eviction due to redevelopment projects will move into city-run public rental housing, Haedeunjip, the city government announced Tuesday.

Selected tenants are expected to sign leases for 42 units and move in in stages through the end of the year, according to the Seoul Metropolitan Government.

In December 2021, Haedeunjip, which translates roughly to "a home where sunlight and hope come in," was built on land donated to the city through the redevelopment of subdistricts Nos. 11 and 12 in Yang-dong, Jung District, an area known as the Namdaemun jjokbang village.

Jjokbang are tiny, bare-bones rooms typically occupied by some of Korea’s poorest and most housing-insecure populations.

Last September, 142 households from the former Namdaemun shantytown moved into Haedeunjip. The city is now making another 42 units available, including units that have become vacant since then. Of those, 41 are 14.21 square meters (153 square feet), and one is 20.71 square meters.

Redevelopment projects in these neighborhoods have long faced criticism for displacing residents through large-scale demolition. Some residents, however, have nowhere else they can go.

Haedeunjip took a different approach. It became Seoul’s first shantytown redevelopment project to secure replacement housing before asking residents to leave. This allowed residents to relocate before their old buildings were demolished.

A privately led redevelopment project in the Changsin-dong shantytown in central Seoul is now following the same model.

The city selected the 42 households based on criteria developed in consultation with experts. Housing vulnerability carried the most weight, including how long applicants had lived in their current homes and the quality of their living conditions. Officials also considered factors such as disabilities, the risk of forced eviction and how close applicants lived to Haedeunjip. Among 84 applicants, 42 were selected.

The group includes six former residents of Yangdong subdistricts Nos. 11 and 12. It also includes 27 others who still live within the redevelopment area but face eviction because their buildings are being renovated or redeveloped.

The phased relocations are expected to be completed by the end of the year. The city will provide basic household items such as single beds, small appliances and tableware through a partnership with the Salvation Army’s hotel furniture- and appliance-recycling initiative.

Residents will also have access to welfare consultation services inside the complex, where they can seek advice on receiving daily living assistance, nursing consultations, medical care, basic livelihood support, self-reliance guidance and emotional support.

"Our priority was to provide stable housing to people who need it most, particularly those at immediate risk of eviction," Jeong Jin-woo, head of the welfare office at the city government, said. "We want to do more than simply give residents a place to live. We will provide housing and welfare support together so they can build stable lives in their communities."

BY MOON HEE-CHUL [[email protected]]