{"id":2200508,"date":"2023-03-24T20:15:49","date_gmt":"2023-03-24T11:15:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/?p=2200508"},"modified":"2023-07-19T12:47:45","modified_gmt":"2023-07-19T03:47:45","slug":"modern-high-rise-apartments-come-at-a-price-for-seouls-most-vulnerable","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/2023\/03\/modern-high-rise-apartments-come-at-a-price-for-seouls-most-vulnerable\/","title":{"rendered":"Modern high-rise apartments come at a price for Seoul\u2019s most vulnerable"},"content":{"rendered":"
Even though it was home for over 70 years, truck driver Lee Jong-yeol was forcibly evicted from his central Seoul townhouse in Sept. 2018. After being beaten up by thugs who he says were working for redevelopers and having his possessions sold in what he claims was a mandatory auction.<\/span><\/p>\n Like many citizens living in older parts of the South Korean capital, Lee\u2019s Ahyeon-dong neighborhood was part of an area earmarked for major redevelopment <\/span>in the early 2000s<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n But the redevelopment project led to the forced eviction of many residents like Lee \u2014 <\/span>one of whom even killed himself<\/span><\/a> in protest of the same issue in 2018.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Now, adjacent to where an apartment complex called \u201cMapo The Classy\u201d is nearing completion, Lee lives most of his days in a small truck to protest against what happened to him and his neighbors.<\/span><\/p>\n Though his story isn\u2019t unique \u2014 South Korea has such a lousy record on forced evictions that a United Nations (U.N.) Special Rapporteur <\/span>expressed deep concern<\/span><\/a> about the issue while visiting Ahyeon-dong in 2018 \u2014 it offers a glimpse into the hidden costs of redevelopment in one of Asia\u2019s most powerful economies.<\/span><\/p>\n