A Book Village to Open in Myeonmok-dong, Seoul

[Asia Economy Reporter Onyu Lim] A village themed around ‘books’ is being created near Gyeomjaegyo Bridge on Jungnangcheon Stream in Myeonmok-dong, Jungnang-gu, Seoul. Along the street, community housing with various themes such as humanities, design, and cooking will be established, and independent bookstores, restaurants, and cafes will be located on the first floor of each building.

Seoul City announced on the 16th that the Myeonmok-dong community housing village ‘Doseodang’ will be completed by the end of this month. It is Seoul’s first village-type community housing model developed on a ‘village’ scale, equipped with housing and infrastructure, rather than on a building-by-building basis.

Doseodang was created on leftover city-owned land after the completion of Gyeomjaegyo Bridge construction in 2016. Seoul City leased the city-owned land to private developers, who supply and operate the housing under a ‘land leasehold’ system. The private developer selected through a public contest in 2018 acts as the ‘integrated operator,’ overseeing everything from design and construction to future management.

The seven themed community housings (Doseodang) consist of a total of 38 housing units and communal spaces such as a shared childcare area, co-working space, and communal laundry room. Tenant recruitment is currently ongoing (open recruitment), and tenants will be selected mainly from cultural artists and experts in various fields, with move-in scheduled to begin in mid-January next year.

Specialized street projects have also been carried out to improve the environment of Gyeomjaero, where the Myeonmok-dong community housing village is located, and to create an atmosphere of a ‘book-reading street.’ To minimize noise and dust caused by the wide road, short trees were planted on the sidewalk side of the road, and flowers and trees were planted in the open space in front of the community housing.

Additionally, Seoul City will establish the ‘Community Housing Support Hub Jipjip Madang’ within the Myeonmok-dong community housing village to provide comprehensive support from consultation to education for citizens interested in community housing, with official operations starting in February next year.

If a community housing project receives preliminary certification from Seoul City, up to 90% of the project cost can be supported through loans to enable new construction as community housing. Furthermore, this area is expected to be designated as a housing performance improvement support zone, allowing support through the ‘Gakkum Housing Project’ for costs such as gate and fence replacement and window replacement.

Operated under consignment by Seoul Housing & Communities Corporation, anyone interested in building community housing as a private developer or general citizens interested in living in community housing can receive various support and information through consultations. The service operates Monday to Friday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

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