In Gangnam, but far from Gangnam Style

Guryong village is a shantytown that lies in the shadows of high-rise apartment complexes in the Gangnam district, Seoul. Residents and authorities are divided over how to redevelop the village.
/ Korea Times photo by Nam Hyun-woo

Guryong village stuck in limbo

By Nam Hyun-woo

Residents are divided and city officials disagree with Gangnam district office over how to redevelop a shantytown that lies in the shadows of high-rise apartment complexes in up-market Gangnam, southern Seoul.

In the early 1980s, Seoul initiated a large-scale city remodeling plan ahead of the 1988 Seoul Olympics. Thousands of residents were evicted from their homes as 40 districts they lived in were refurbished. Many gathered on an empty lot in the then-remote area of Gangnam. This area became Guryong village, now home to some 2,400 displaced citizens.

In the slum village lie explosive LPG canisters scattered in alleys and there is no sewer system. The housing units there are mostly shanties built with wreckage salvaged from construction sites.

Under such conditions, life for the residents is harsh. The village floods during the monsoon season and they shiver with cold during Seoul's long, harsh winters.

In April 2011, then Mayor Oh Se-hoon announced that the city would build 2,800 new houses in Guryong and rent them to the residents. He also pledged to create jobs, in a bid to change the impoverished zone into a self-sufficient community.

Through the public development plan, the city planned to clean up the zone after buying the land from owners. If approved, all land owners would be paid a full government valuation in return for their land.

However, villagers strongly opposed the plan, calling it "unrealistic."

"We are the so-called poor, earning below 1 million won monthly," said a representative of the Guryong Village Residents Association, asking only to be identified by his surname of Kim. "We cannot afford to pay monthly rent which would amount to 500,000 to 600,000 won.

"Unless rents are significantly cheaper than those of other long-term lease units outside the town, the plan is a serious threat to our residential stability rather than an improvement to our living conditions."

The association and residents have promoted campaigns to revise the plan since 1999, Kim said.

After Park Won-soon was sworn in as Seoul mayor in October 2011, the municipal government reduced the amount of land to be developed under the plan, cutting total development costs by 40 billion won.

Under the revised "mixed" plan, landholders will be given back 18 percent of the land and the remainder will still be purchased for development. Landlords could then privately develop the returned 18 percent.

However, this time, Gangnam district office balked at the plan.

On March 20, Gangnam District Mayor Shin Yeon-hee held a press conference to oppose it, denouncing the plan as a "mean trick" and saying "it goes against the initial purpose of development for public interest."

An official at the district office said a total of 109 people own the land in Guryong village, but a group of five holds main areas which are over 3,300 square meters.

"Under the revised plan, there could be the possibility of allowing real estate speculation or offering business favors to landowners during the development procedure," the official said, declining to be named.

According to the district office, Seoul municipal government's city planning commission unilaterally changed the original plan in June of last year, and district chief Shin was not informed of the revision.

The city government counters that it notified the district office of the new plan.

Shin told the press that the district office requested prosecutors to investigate the commission, as the district officially asked for minutes of the June meeting but the city government did not respond to its request.

Shin also criticized supporters of the revised plan, claiming they have connections to real estate speculators.

Her harsh rhetoric and the district's resistance to the municipal government's plan drew a strong backlash from the residents' association.

Members of the association have held protest rallies almost every morning since March 26 in front of Shin's house, calling for Shin to accept the revised redevelopment plan.

"It is true that we made an agreement with landlords, but doing so does not mean we are speculators. The residents have saved penny after penny and bought small lots in the village," said a resident leading the protests. "The revised plan is different from private development or speculation."

It is believed some 400 villagers have acquired 33 square meters of land in the village from a landlord in return for agreeing with the revised plan. They will be able to own their houses instead of renting if the plan is approved.

Meanwhile, other residents claim that the association and those advocating the revision do not represent the public voice in the village.

According to them, there are also villagers who support the original plan of public development.

One resident said, "It is difficult to say that I represent every villager's opinion. Some may want the plan revised. But considering the fact that most of the villagers, including me, eke out a meager daily living, how can we buy a house? If the town were to privately develop, we will be evicted again."

"Anyway, I have more confidence in public development. There are pervasive anxieties that most of the residents will be kicked out of the town if the revised plan is approved," said another villager, also asking not to be named.

According to them, it is difficult to voice their opinion because supporters of the revised plan have greater leverage in the village.

Yet others say they don't pay any attention to how the village is developed. All they want is an immediate improvement to their living conditions.

"Frankly, I don't know about the public or private thing. What I care about is whether my family will be evicted or not," said another resident.

Despite the deadlock between the differing viewpoints ― Seoul city, Gangnam Office, and the residents who advocate the revised plan and those who do not ― people living in the shanty town agree on why they cannot leave: Gangnam provides ongoing temporary work.

"I spent 20 years of my life in this village. It has become my hometown. There is no place I can or want to move to," said a resident.

The protest leader said, "Gangnam has a high demand for workers such as housekeepers or errand servicemen. People like us, barely making ends meet, cannot leave here."