"Even After the Fire, They Can't Leave"... Guryong Village Residents Remain in Tents Amid the Ruins

Residents stay put, fearing they will lose their rights
Fire destroyed homes targeted by eviction lawsuits
"A housing safety net is needed for vulnerable groups"

"I have to stay here to claim my rightful rights to my home."

On the afternoon of the 9th, in Guryong Village, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, charred wood, dented tin roofs, and steel frames twisted like taffy lay tangled together after the massive fire on the 27th of last month. Reporter Park Jaehyun.

Guryong Village in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, was struck by a major fire last month. More than two weeks after the blaze swept through the area, the scene on Nov. 9 still bore the full scars of the disaster. A sharp, acrid smell of smoke hung in the air from the entrance to the village, and farther inside, dented tin roofs and steel frames twisted like strands of taffy lay tangled together, as if the area had been bombed.

Kim Ok-in, 69, said she barely escaped with her life during the fire, unable to take even a single household item with her. Rather than stay in temporary accommodations arranged by the local government, she chose to remain in the village. She says she will stay at the site until an agreement is reached with the Seoul Housing & Communities Corporation (SH) on compensation and residents' rights. "They provide all kinds of housing benefits to newlyweds and young people, but they only want to drive out residents who have made this place their home for more than 30 years," Kim said. "I can manage physically with an electric heating pad in my tent, but my heart feels cold."

According to SH on Nov. 11, a total of 61 households were affected by the fire on Oct. 27. However, as of Nov. 9, only two households had applied to move into emergency temporary-use housing arranged by the Gangnam District Office, while 22 had applied for temporary housing provided by SH. The remaining 37 households will have to move between relatives' homes or look for short-term rentals once their temporary lodging support ends. If those options do not work out, they may have no choice but to return to tents set up in the fire-ravaged village. Of Guryong Village's 1,107 households, 87 (7.9%) have yet to relocate.

Guryong Village is an unauthorized shantytown formed by people displaced during urban development in the 1970s and 1980s. Most homes are built with combustible materials such as plastic sheeting and insulating cotton layered over makeshift structures, and their densely packed electrical installations make them vulnerable to fires. The narrow, winding alleys make it difficult for fire engines to enter, allowing even a small spark to grow into a major fire. Eleven fires have occurred over the past five years, and some residents have even raised the possibility of arson. At 4:29 a.m. on Nov. 11, a fire broke out at a home in District 8 of Guryong Village, prompting the mobilization of 106 firefighters and 32 vehicles.

The Seoul Metropolitan Government designated the Guryong Village area as an urban development zone in 2016 and is pursuing a redevelopment project. SH, the project operator, filed a lawsuit in March seeking the removal of buildings and the handover of land from some residents. The case is currently at the first-trial stage. However, SH is considering withdrawing the eviction lawsuits against households whose homes were destroyed in last month's fire, reasoning that there is no longer a building to serve as the subject of a claim for possession.

Temporary shelters set up by residents in Guryong Village after a major fire last January. They are enduring the cold by pitching tents under tarpaulins and parasols and laying down thin floor mats. Photo by Park Jaehyun

Residents are reluctant to leave the village because they fear that their housing rights, maintained for decades, may effectively go unrecognized in the redevelopment process. Baek Su-hyeon, 65, whose home was damaged in a fire in January, said, "This is a home I've lived in for 27 years, but SH calls it a 'temporary structure' rather than a building and has offered compensation that is far too low. The pledge we have to sign to move into temporary housing also feels like pressure to give up the minimum housing rights we've been asserting for a long time." An SH official said, "The pledge is a procedure for checking whether residents have complied with requirements such as vacating their homes, disconnecting utilities, and moving their belongings. It does not mean they are giving up legal disputes over increased compensation or relocation measures."

Legal experts say that when an unauthorized building is destroyed in a disaster, there is virtually no legal basis under current law to recognize ownership or housing rights. In effect, an uncontrollable disaster further weakens the legal standing of vulnerable groups. Kim Yerim, a lawyer at Simok Law Firm, said, "Even an unauthorized building must exist as a residence by the cutoff date for the management and disposal plan for residents to be considered for rights to a new unit or occupancy." She added, "If the building is destroyed by fire, the subject matter that could merit legal protection disappears as well." She continued, "Under the current legal framework, there is no provision that would exceptionally protect the housing rights of existing residents when an unauthorized home is destroyed in a disaster."

Experts stress that when urban poor and housing-vulnerable groups lose the foundations of their lives in a disaster, they should not be viewed simply as illegal occupants. Kwon Daejoong, an endowed professor in the Department of Economics and Real Estate at Hansung University, said, "Even when a building is unauthorized, it is necessary to carefully determine whether its residents are urban poor who have actually lived there for a long time and ensure that they receive minimum remedies for their rights." He added, "While we must guard against setting a precedent that legitimizes illegal occupation, people whose livelihoods and housing are simultaneously threatened by an uncontrollable disaster such as a fire during redevelopment need supplementary measures to protect their human rights and provide a housing safety net."

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