Guryong Village

Guryong Village (Korean: 구룡마을) is a shanty town in Seoul, South Korea. It is just across a six-lane motorway from Dogok-dong of the affluent Gangnam District.[1][2][3]

Guryong Village
Shanty town
Guryong in 2013
Guryong in 2013
Guryong Village is located in Seoul
Guryong Village
Guryong Village
Coordinates: 37.4765°N 127.0643°E / 37.4765; 127.0643
CountrySouth Korea
RegionSudogwon
CitySeoul
SettledOctober 14, 1925
Founded1988
Population
 • Estimate 
(2012)
2,500

It has been called "the last slum in Seoul's glitzy Gangnam district",[4] "the last shanty town in Gangnam",[1] and "the last remaining urban slum in Seoul",[5] although this claim has been treated skeptically due to the continued existence of at least two other notable areas.[6]

The settlement first arose around the time of the city's rapid development prior to the 1988 Olympic Games. It was an illegal settlement at the time, as it was built on privately-owned land.[7]

The settlement persisted over decades, despite multiple efforts to resettle the residents. Beginning in the mid-2010s, the Seoul government has been gradually moving residents out of the area, and offering them apartments in the area or elsewhere at significantly reduced rents. By 2019, it was reported that 406 of 1,107 households (36.7%) had been relocated.

History

The area the village is on has been inhabited since October 1925, although it only turned into a shantytown beginning in 1988. This was due to the city's rapid development prior to the 1988 Olympic Games, in which people in low-income areas were evicted from their houses and became squatters at the site.[1][3][8][9][10]

Its exact number of inhabitants is unknown, and has also changed over time.[3] When the village first arose, it had around 8,000 people living in 2,000 households.[7] In 2005, it was reported that the area had 4,000 inhabitants.[3] Between 2012 and 2014, the population was given as 2,500.[1][10] The residents are primarily impoverished elderly people who earn extremely little per day.[3][9][11] In 2011, its inhabitants received temporary residence cards.[12]

Firefighters battling a 2014 fire in the village

In 2014, it was reported that the area the village sat on was around 286,929 square meters (about 70 acres).[8] The impromptu structures on the area are estimated to be around 1,200[13] to 2,000.[8] The area of each individual house is estimated to be around 16 to 99 m2 (170 to 1,070 sq ft).[3]

Due to the lack of enforced safety standards, the village has been affected by a number of fire accidents.[5] This includes one in January 2023, when a fire destroyed more than 60 homes in the town and forced the displacement of 62 residents.[14][15] The village reportedly has a number of services, including a post office,[12] a kindergarten and church, a security service, and even utilities like water, gas and electricity, for which payments are communal.[3][12]

Plans to demolish the village

In the past few decades, there have been a number of efforts to demolish the village and relocate its residents, but progress has been slow due to disagreements on which course of action to take and how to deal with the village's residents.[1][8][16][17] In 1991, a proposal to redevelop the land was interrupted by a real estate scandal in the Suseo-dong area.[7]

In 2015, it was proposed that the government would demolish Guryong and arrange subsidized housing for its former residents.[4] In 2016, the Seoul Metropolitan Government designated the area an official district and announced a series of efforts to relocate residents and redevelop the area.[18] In 2019, it was reported that 406 out of 1,107 households (36.7%) had been relocated.[19] In 2020, the Seoul Metropolitan Government announced that it had approved an action plan that was set to be completed by 2025. As part of the plan, the village would be gradually demolished and apartments would be built in its place. Villagers would be offered a drastically reduced rent to live in these apartments.[18]

See also

References
  1. Blason, Jo (14 July 2014). "Gangnam, shanty-style: life in Seoul's Guryong Village slum – in pictures". The Guardian.
  2. Karen Bell (2014). Achieving Environmental Justice: A Cross-National Analysis. Policy Press. pp. 87–89. ISBN 978-1-4473-0594-1.
  3. Young-yu, Yang; Yong-whan, Chung; Dong-ki, Min (12 February 2005). "A Village the City Ignores". Global Action on Aging. Archived from the original on 26 May 2015.
  4. Park, Ju-Min (4 May 2015). "Go inside the last surviving slum of Seoul's glitzy Gangnam district before South Korea demolishes it". Reuters.
  5. Kyung-min, Lee (5 December 2014). "Seoul to develop shanty town in Gangnam". The Korea Times.
  6. Bandun, Ron (9 March 2021). "Counting down Seoul's last moon villages". The Korea Times. Retrieved 18 June 2022.
  7. 박, 정환 (2022-10-19). "첫삽도 못뜬채 멈춰 버린 '구룡마을'…개발 30년史 살펴보니" ['Guryong Village', Stopped Before Even Lifting the Shovel... Examining Its 30 Year History]. 뉴데일리 (in Korean). Retrieved 2023-08-04.
  8. Eun-Jee, Park (21 July 2014). "Redevelopment of a Gangnam slum languishes". Korea JoongAng Daily.
  9. Yoo, Reera (4 May 2015). "Seoul to Demolish the Last Surviving Slum Near the Ritzy Gangnam District". KoreAm. Archived from the original on 20 May 2015.
  10. Taylor, Kirsty (8 February 2012). "Coals to keep Guryong shantytown warm". The Korea Herald.
  11. "The Slum Next Door to Gangnam Exposes South Korea's Wealth Gap". Bloomberg.com. 2020-12-17. Retrieved 2021-02-14.
  12. Williamson, Lucy (22 March 2012). "South Korean shanty town on sought-after real estate". BBC News.
  13. Hyo-Sung, Ahn (13 November 2013). "Fire exacerbates split in Guryong". Korea JoongAng Daily.
  14. Chen, Jessie Yeung,Gawon Bae,Heather (2023-01-20). "500 evacuated as massive fire breaks out in one of Seoul's last slums". CNN. Retrieved 2023-03-10.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  15. Shin, Hyonhee; Kim, Daewoung (2023-01-20). "Hundreds evacuated as blaze erupts in slum next to Seoul's posh Gangnam district". Reuters. Retrieved 2023-03-10.
  16. Da-ye, Kim (18 June 2014). "Clash looms over developing shanty town in Seoul". The Korea Times.
  17. "Guryong Village turns into battle zone". 6 February 2015.
  18. "서울시, 개포동 구룡마을 실시계획 인가… 사업추진 속도". biz.chosun.com (in Korean). 2020-06-07. Retrieved 2021-02-14.
  19. 강남구청, MEMEWE GANGNAM. "개포 구룡마을 도시개발사업 | MEMEWE GANGNAM 강남구청". MEMEWE GANGNAM 강남구청 | GANGNAM-GU OFFICE (in Korean). Retrieved 2021-02-14.
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