Housing poverty and the role of urban governance in Korea
Abstract
This paper describes how South Korea’s rapid economic growth failed to produce solutions to housing problems in urban areas. In 2000, nearly onequarter of all households lived in accommodation that did not meet minimum standards in terms of floor space and basic facilities. Many households live in single rooms in illegal or sub-standard lodgings, or in houses built of vinyl and thin wooden boards; most such accommodation lacks basic facilities. Very few housing options are available to low-income households in Seoul. This, combined with democratization and the increasing gap in housing conditions between the rich and the poor, has contributed to an increasingly vocal civil society, making the governance of settlements a major political issue over the last decade. The ineffectiveness of past and current government policies suggests the need for a conceptual change in government’s approach to improving housing conditions for lower-income groups. In the Korean context, since the late 1990s, the enabling approach has begun to be seen as more important than other approaches, in part because it conforms with, but also requires, democratic participation.
1. UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (1993), State of Urbanization in Asia and the Pacific 1993, United Nations, New York.
2. UNCHS (1996), An Urbanizing World: Global Report on Human Settlements, Oxford University Press, Oxford, pages 108–113.
3. Ha, Seong-Kyu and Seong-Woo Lee (2001), “IMF and the crisis of the marginalized urban sector in Korea”, Journal of Contemporary Asia Vol 31, No 2, pages 196–213.
4. Existing social housing stock (permanent public rental dwellings) was estimated at about 269,000 units, accounting for only 2.3 per cent of total housing stock. The quantity of social housing has always been far below the number of poor households requiring it.
5. The term “governance” means more than government or management, for it refers to the relationship between government, communities and social groups.
6. Assets include tangible (savings, stores, resources) and intangible assets (for instance, claims that can be made for help or resources when in need).
7. Whitener, L A (2002), “Housing poverty in rural areas greater for racial and ethnic minorities”, Rural America Vol 15, No 2, pages 2-8.
8. Needleman, L (1965), The Economics of Housing, Staples Press, London, page 18.
9. “Comparative” housing poverty is defined through comparison with others, that is, with people who are deemed to be “in need” or are “poverty stricken”. Although the idea of comparative poverty is widely used in the distribution of some kinds of resources, it is not an obvious principle. “Felt” housing poverty is felt by people in need or those affected by poverty themselves. “Normative” and “comparative” poverty are defined by some external arbiter, someone who is not in poverty, and the contrast with felt or expressed poverty draws attention to the question of who defines poverty as constituting a claim for service. If poverty depends on the degree of suffering someone experiences, it may be difficult to assess from the outside. Moreover, there is an argument that felt poverty should be taken into account in attributing priority between competing claims.
10. Yoon, J H (editor) (2002), Housing in Korea, Seoul, National Statistical Office (in Korean).
11. The proportion of the population living in slums and squatter settlements was about 20–30 per cent in the 1960s and 1970s. Since the 1980s, the number of illegal dwellings seems to have decreased. There are no accurate data on the population in slums or squatter settlements in 2000.
12. Daldongne literally means “moon village”, and sandongnes are those villages on hillsides or in low mountain areas around Seoul. Here, squatters constructed their own houses without the consent of the city government.
13. According to the Korean dictionary, the literal meaning of jjogbang is “divided room”, or a room where the emphasis is on its smallness. Jjog means part of a divided thing, or a unit to calculate a split article; bang means a room or sleeping space.
14. The author was the project manager for this survey.
15. Ha, Seong-Kyu (2002), “The urban poor, rental accommodation and housing policy in Korea”, Cities Vol 19, No 3, pages 195–203.
16. A renter makes a lump sum deposit of “key money” at the beginning of occupancy, which is fully refunded at the end of the contract period. The landlord usually invests this fund and interest earnings represent imputed rent. Chonse is most frequent in cities, and the proportion of chonse households has been growing since the 1960s. There are many kinds of chonse, detached house or room, for various income groups.
17. Seoul Metropolitan Government Housing Department (2001), unpublished document on illegal housing (in Korean). I would think that 6,000 is an underestimation.
18. By the early 1980s, the overall cityscape and function of the city shifted towards the newly developing districts of the city, mainly south of the Han River. These concentrated development efforts were a momentous beginning to an era during which the area south of the Han River dominated the city’s growth and became an integral part of Seoul’s overall development strategies.
19. National Statistical Office (2002), Report of 2000 Population and Housing Census, NSO, Seoul.
20. US$ 1 was equivalent to approximately 1,250 won in 2000.
21. National Statistical Office (2001), Annual Report on the Family Income and Expenditure Survey, NSO, Seoul.
22. See reference 16.
23. Ha, Seong-Kyu (2002), “The role of NGOs for low-income groups in Korean society”, Environment and Urbanization Vol 14, No 1, pages 219-231.
24. Between 1991 and 1996, the percentage of dwellings newly completed as part of urban renewal projects in Seoul was 28.5 per cent.
25. Hillside residential areas located 40–100 metres above sea level will be designated, in principle, as Type I residential areas (30 per cent or less building-to-land ratio, 90 per cent or less capacity ratio).
26. Seoul Metropolitan Government (1997), 1934–2011 Urban Planning of Seoul, SMG, Seoul.
27. Murphy, D (1990), A Decent Place to Live, ACHR, Bangkok; also, see reference 2.
28. The national constitutions of 53 countries have some provision for housing rights. Housing rights have long been included within international covenants or conventions, such as the Universal Declaration on Human Rights of 1948 and in the resolution of the UN Commission on Human Rights adopted on 10 March, 1993.
29. FEPS has played an important role in NGO and CBO housing rights movements in Korea.
30. The project is executed by local government or by the Korea National Housing Corporation; US$ 18,000–27,000 per house, at an interest rate of 6 per cent, is given to owners to construct or improve their house.
31. Turner, J F C (1976), Housing by People: Towards Autonomy in Building Environments, Marion Boyars, London.
32. See reference 2.
33. Drucker, P (1994), “The age of social transformation”, The Atlantic Monthly, Vol 274, No 5, pages 53-80.
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Article first published: April 2004
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