Yeongdeungpo Station Shantytown Reborn... Project Accelerates with District Designation Completed

▲ Public housing project bird's-eye view for improving the residential environment and urban maintenance of the shantytown near Yeongdeungpo Station, Seoul (Provided by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport)

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Chun-hee] The aging residential area around Yeongdeungpo Station’s jjokbangchon (rooming house village) in Seoul is being reborn as a residential, commercial, and welfare town. The entire jjokbangchon will be demolished and about 1,200 units of permanent rental housing and Happy Housing, along with various complex facilities, will be constructed.

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, Seoul Metropolitan Government, and Yeongdeungpo District announced on the 15th that, following the completion of the Central Urban Planning Committee’s review of the Yeongdeungpo jjokbangchon public housing project, the area will be designated as a public housing district through a notification on the 17th.

This project follows the "Yeongdeungpo Jjokbangchon Residential Environment Improvement and Urban Maintenance Public Housing Project Promotion Plan" announced last January. At that time, the government revealed plans to redevelop 10,000㎡ of this area to supply a total of 1,200 housing units, including 370 permanent rental housing units, 220 Happy Housing units for newlyweds and young people, and 600 units of sale housing. Yeongdeungpo District, Korea Land and Housing Corporation (LH), and Seoul Housing and Communities Corporation (SH) will jointly participate as project implementers.

This area was already designated as an urban environment maintenance project zone in 2015. At that time, an urban environment maintenance plan was established for 41,165㎡ around Yeongdeungpo Station’s jjokbangchon. However, only housing measures for about 100 residents were prepared, which was criticized as a limitation of the policy, and the project was eventually halted. Subsequently, Yeongdeungpo District directly proposed the jjokbangchon maintenance to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, leading the government and related agencies to form a task force (TF) to promote the current plan.

The appearance of the jjokbangchon near Yeongdeungpo Station in Seoul. [Image source=Yonhap News]

According to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, the current residential environment for residents of the jjokbangchon around Yeongdeungpo Station is extremely poor. Despite the fact that kitchens and bathrooms within 6.6㎡ are not properly equipped and the housing falls below minimum housing standards, about 360 residents pay rent approaching 100,000 to 200,000 KRW per 3.3㎡, which is higher than luxury housing in the Gangnam area. Although remodeling projects to solve the jjokbang problem were promoted, the severe aging of the buildings made the effects minimal, and improvements led to rent increases, causing a vicious cycle of resident turnover.

This redevelopment plan will significantly increase the number of permanent rental housing units for jjokbang residents to 370 units, enough to accommodate all 360 residents currently living in the jjokbangchon as counted by the Ministry. These houses will be about 16㎡ in size, with a deposit of 1.61 million KRW and a monthly rent of about 32,000 KRW. A Ministry official stated, "Residents will be able to live in spaces 2 to 3 times larger and more comfortable than existing jjokbangs, at about 20% of the current rent." The deposit will be supported through tenant relocation measures in the public housing project to reduce the burden on tenants.

Within the permanent rental housing complex, a comprehensive welfare center will be introduced to support the self-sufficiency and employment of jjokbang residents, and care facilities that have provided free meals and medical services to residents will be supported to resettle. Currently, private organizations such as Gwangya Church, Joseph Clinic, and Thomas House provide free meals and medical care to jjokbang residents in this area. Additionally, within the Happy Housing complex, convenience facilities such as a national and public kindergarten, library, and community caf? accessible to both residents and local citizens will be installed.

▲ Conceptual diagram of early relocation and virtuous cycle for public housing projects to improve residential environment and urban maintenance in Yeongdeungpo jjokbangchon (Provided by Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport)

The Ministry plans to proceed with the project using a "first relocation, virtuous cycle" approach, sequentially providing housing supply for stable resettlement of residents. A temporary relocation complex for jjokbang residents will be created on the right side of the district through remodeling of existing buildings, and once the public housing construction is completed, residents will move into the permanent rental housing. The temporary relocation complex will then be demolished and sold as private development land.

The Ministry has formed a "Yeongdeungpo Jjokbangchon Public Housing Promotion Public-Private TF" involving Seoul City, Yeongdeungpo District, LH, SH, Gwangya Church, Thomas House, and other private care facilities to support project progress. Through this, project progress will be shared, and detailed plans for temporary relocation, resettlement, and welfare system establishment for jjokbang residents will be prepared after collecting residents’ opinions. Plans to provide jobs to residents during the construction period to support their self-sufficiency and employment are also under consideration.

The Ministry is steadily advancing the project according to the previously presented plan. Following the completion of district designation in the second half of this year as planned, a design competition will be held. Based on this, district planning, compensation, and construction commencement are scheduled for next year. Compensation procedures will be conducted through a compensation council composed of local governments, project implementers, and landowners. Fair compensation will be provided to landowners, and existing business operators will be supported to continue their operations through commercial spaces within the public housing complex.

A Ministry official said, "Through this project, jjokbang residents will be able to live in wider and more comfortable spaces, and the long-neglected urban environment will be transformed into a clean and pleasant area." He added, "With the creation of the Daeseon Flour Mill complex cultural space this year, the demolition of the Yeongdeungpo Rotary overpass next year, and the opening of the Sinansan Line in 2024, Yeongdeungpo District is expected to become a vibrant hub in the southwest region."

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