'Parasite' Family Nationwide 380,000 Households... 96% of Semi-basement Housing Households Concentrated in the Seoul Metropolitan Area

▲ (Provided by National Assembly Legislative Research Office)

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Chun-hee] It has been revealed that there are 380,000 households living in semi-basement or basement dwellings, like the Ki-taek (Song Kang-ho) family in the movie 'Parasite.' Among them, 96% reside in the Seoul metropolitan area, and the majority of residents are identified as housing-vulnerable groups.

The National Assembly Legislative Research Office disclosed these findings on the 19th through a report titled "(Semi-)Basement Housing Status and Implications," highlighting poor living conditions, disaster risks, and exposure to crime as the main issues of semi-basement or basement housing.

According to this report, which cites the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport's "2018 Housing Survey," the total number of households living in semi-basement or basement floors nationwide was counted at 379,605. However, the proportion of (semi-)basement housing nationwide has been on a decline, from 3.7% in 2006 to 1.9% in 2018. Here, under the Building Act, a "basement floor" is defined as a floor whose floor level is below ground level, with the average height from floor to ground being at least half the height of that floor. A "semi-basement floor" has no clear legal definition but is considered to be where the height from the floor to ground is less than half the height of that floor.

Notably, 364,483 households, or 96% of these, live in the Seoul metropolitan area. This accounts for about 3.8% of the total 9,686,012 households in the metropolitan area. The proportion is even higher in Seoul, where 222,706 (semi-)basement households make up 5.8% of the total 3,839,766 households. In contrast, outside the metropolitan area, only 15,122 households live in (semi-)basement housing, representing a mere 0.1% of the 10,293,176 households.

Regarding this concentration of (semi-)basement housing in the metropolitan area, the report explains that the continuous population increase due to urbanization has caused a housing shortage, leading to the use of (semi-)basement spaces?originally intended as boiler rooms or shelters in detached houses?as residential spaces, resulting in a large distribution of (semi-)basement housing in the metropolitan area.

By housing type, multi-family houses accounted for 44.2%, detached houses 32.5%, and row/multi-unit houses 20.0%. The report analyzed that "following the 1984 amendment to the Building Act, which relaxed the regulation on basement floors from a floor-to-ground height of two-thirds of the ceiling height to one-half, the construction of semi-basement residential spaces in multi-family and detached houses expanded." However, it added, "Recently, pilotis structures have been applied on the first floor to secure parking spaces in multi-unit houses, so (semi-)basement residential spaces have not increased significantly."

The occupancy type of (semi-)basement housing showed that monthly rent accounted for the largest share at 58.9% (223,477 households), followed by jeonse (long-term deposit lease) at 25.0% (94,901 households), free occupancy at 11.3% (42,859 households), and owner-occupied at 4.8% (18,368 households).

The report anticipates that most (semi-)basement housing falls below the minimum housing standards. Looking at the status by housing area, 50.5% are 40㎡ or less, and 31.4% are between 40㎡ and 50㎡. Considering the distribution by household size, with 38.9% being single-person households and 28.9% being households of four or more members, it is highly likely that many fall short of the minimum residential area of 43㎡ for a family of four. Furthermore, the current minimum housing standards stipulate that "to ensure safety and comfort, appropriate soundproofing, ventilation, lighting, and heating facilities must be provided, and the location must not be in areas with significant risks from natural disasters such as floods," yet many (semi-)basement homes are exposed to such risks.

▲ Status of Policy-Considered Households in (Semi) Underground Housing (Provided by the National Assembly Legislative Research Office)

In fact, among (semi-)basement households, policy-priority groups such as basic livelihood security recipients (29.4%), low-income households (15.5%), households with disabled members (15.5%), and youth households (12.3%) predominantly reside there. The report attributes this to "relatively lower rent compared to above-ground housing."

The report pointed out the need for effective support measures to improve the living environment of (semi-)basement housing. While housing owners and landlords should primarily take responsibility, it recommended that government and local authorities' support policies be implemented concurrently.

First, the report raised the need to consider physical support such as housing repair and renovation to improve the residential environment. Last month, Seoul City announced plans to support insulation, cooling, and other home repair works for 1,500 low-income (semi-)basement households through the "Semi-basement Household Support Project," which gained attention following the movie 'Parasite.' Alongside this, as low rent is a key reason for choosing (semi-)basement housing, the report suggested long-term policy alternatives such as supplying public rental housing and providing low-interest loans for jeonse and monthly rent deposits.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.