By David Nicoll
Christmas and the New Year will be a particularly tough time for thousands of homeless people across the nation.
Those who are lucky will be able to sleep or receive food and care from one of 118 government-funded facilities.
Those who do not will be left to their own devices in subzero temperatures.
In 2012, the Homeless Welfare Act came into force obligating the government and local authorities to establish a five-year plan to tackle the issue of homelessness.
Since the act was passed, the reported numbers of homeless people have reduced. The most recent report released by the Ministry of Health and Welfare said 12,656 people were living on the streets in 2013. However, there is no breakdown of this total according to gender and age. This fact alone shows that the government can do more by obtaining accurate information on demographics.
In Seoul, the current reported number of homeless people is 3,958, according to the Low Income and Homeless Assistance Division of Seoul Metropolitan Government. A total of 40 billion won is allocated each year by the city government, to be spent on 50 homeless facilities across the capital.
Unemployment, the root cause of most destitution, remains the unpredictable variable that can surge at any time.
“At the end of the 1990s, the IMF crisis led to a massive surge in the unemployment rate and there continues to be indifference, lack of support, and insufficient systems in place to tackle homelessness which is an issue that is ultimately neglected,” said Kim Dong-hyun, an official at the Public Welfare Stability Division of the Health and Welfare Ministry.
The founder of an independently-funded shelter located near Seoul Station, Pastor Woo Yeon-shik said that, contrary to a projected cultural norm in society that relatives look out for one another, family breakdowns that follow unemployment force people onto the streets.
“When someone loses their job and has a period of unemployment, it is highly likely that this will lead to family breakdowns. Economic hardship causes people to file for bankruptcy, and then they become homeless.”
Is there a way out of the cycle of unemployment and homelessness?
Part of the Homeless Welfare Act requires the government to provide “vocational education and counseling.” But those going back into the workplace face social prejudice.
“Some say that the homeless do not try to work even when they are given jobs. This is sometimes true. But society should offer more consideration to homeless people adjusting back into the workplace. For example, if other employees are working 10 hours a day in a company, homeless people coming in should not be required to do this from the start. Instead, they should work 6 hours a day and receive half the salary of ordinary workers,” said Woo Yeon-shik.
As in all nations, Korea’s homeless issue remains a collective challenge for society that requires people’s attitudes to change. Pastor Woo believes that learning to see homeless people as individuals can help to break commonly held social prejudices.
“Koreans often think most of the homeless are violent alcoholics. But in my experience, the homeless suffering from alcoholism only account for 10 to 15 percent” he said.
According to the United Nations Human Settlements Programme, there are an estimated 1.1.billion people living in inadequate housing around the world, while an additional 100 million have no place to call home.
David Nicoll is a contributing writer for The Korea Times. Lee Ji-hye and Lee Min-hyung contributed to this article.