Guryong Village

Guryong or Guryong Village (Korean: 구룡마을) is an illegal encampment (commonly called a shantytown, or "moon village" in Korean[1][2][3]) on private land in Seoul, South Korea, on the edge of the affluent southside district of Dogok-dong, Gangnam District from which it is separated by a six-lane motorway.[4][5][6]

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

History

The area which the village sits on has been inhabited since October 1925,[7] though its beginnings as a shantytown started in 1988 when squatters evicted from houses in other low-income areas demolished during the city's rapid development prior to the 1988 Olympic Games, and who came to this area as their last refuge.[4][6][8][9][10] Since at least 2011, there have been plans for re-purposing the area and relocating the residents, though little progress has been made due to disagreements between officials on the best plan of action.[4][8][11][12] 2015 government plans propose to demolish Guryong and arrange subsidized housing for residents.[13] It has an estimated 2,500[4][10] to 4,000[6] inhabitants (all numbers are estimates as no demographic survey of that area has ever been conducted[6]), primarily impoverished elderly,[6][9] living in between 1,200[14] and 2,000 shacks and trailers[8] in a village area of about 286,929 square meters (about 70 acres).[8] Individual houses have the size of about 16 to 99 m2 (170 to 1,070 sq ft).[6] The residents, who have established a postal service in their area, have received temporary residence cards in 2011.[15] The village has buildings like kindergarten and church, utilities like water, gas and electricity, for which payments are communal; and its own security, all organized through two village associations.[6][15]

Due to unsafe construction, the village has been affected by a number of fire accidents,[16] most recently in January 2023, when a fire destroyed more than 60 homes in the town, forcing the displacement of 62 residents.[17][18]

It has been called "the last slum in Seoul's glitzy Gangnam district"[13] and "the last shanty town in Gangnam"[4] and, broader, "the last remaining urban slum in Seoul"[16] although this claim is questioned due to the continued existence of at least two other notable areas.[19]

The Gangnam government is planning to redevelop the area with new apartment for 7,671 people by 2025.[20] As of 2019, 406 out of 1,107 households (36.7%) had been relocated.[21] Many of the remaining residents are seniors, some earning less than $10 a day.[22]

See also

References
  1. "Moon Village". Asian Tradition in Architecture. Hannam University. Retrieved 18 June 2022.
  2. Dunbar, Jon (June 2017). "Seoul's Last Moon Village(s)". Transactions. 91: 121–141. Retrieved 18 June 2022.
  3. Dunbar, Jon (1 June 2017). "Destruction of a 'moon village'". The Korea Times. Retrieved 18 June 2022.
  4. Blason, Jo (14 July 2014). "Gangnam, shanty-style: life in Seoul's Guryong Village slum – in pictures". The Guardian.
  5. Karen Bell (2014). Achieving Environmental Justice: A Cross-National Analysis. Policy Press. pp. 87–89. ISBN 978-1-4473-0594-1.
  6. 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.
  7. https://www.scribd.com/document/433505153/HHS-Guryong-Village-docx
  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. Da-ye, Kim (18 June 2014). "Clash looms over developing shanty town in Seoul". The Korea Times.
  12. "Guryong Village turns into battle zone". 6 February 2015.
  13. Park, Ju-Min (4 May 2015). "Go inside the last surviving slum of Seoul's glitzy Gangnam district before South Korea demolishes it". Reuters.
  14. Hyo-Sung, Ahn (13 November 2013). "Fire exacerbates split in Guryong". Korea JoongAng Daily.
  15. Williamson, Lucy (22 March 2012). "South Korean shanty town on sought-after real estate". BBC News.
  16. Kyung-min, Lee (5 December 2014). "Seoul to develop shanty town in Gangnam". The Korea Times.
  17. 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.
  18. 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.
  19. Bandun, Ron (9 March 2021). "Counting down Seoul's last moon villages". The Korea Times. Retrieved 18 June 2022.
  20. "서울시, 개포동 구룡마을 실시계획 인가… 사업추진 속도". biz.chosun.com (in Korean). 2020-06-07. Retrieved 2021-02-14.
  21. 강남구청, MEMEWE GANGNAM. "개포 구룡마을 도시개발사업 | MEMEWE GANGNAM 강남구청". MEMEWE GANGNAM 강남구청 | GANGNAM-GU OFFICE (in Korean). Retrieved 2021-02-14.
  22. "The Slum Next Door to Gangnam Exposes South Korea's Wealth Gap". Bloomberg.com. 2020-12-17. Retrieved 2021-02-14.
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