On 12 June, one of the vinyl house communities, Jaegeon Village in Seoul‟s Gangnam District was burned to the ground, leaving 75 out of 96 households there homeless. Currently, the residents are staying at the community centre and temporary tents in the village. The Jeageon Village is considered an illegal settlement by government. However, the village was formed in 1981, when the state government gathered war orphans and homeless people, and forcibly accommodated them on government land. The land is where the current Jaegeon Village is located. About half the current households in the village were forced onto this site, and therefore could in a way be considered not illegal.

In 1988, after the Seoul Olympics, the government policy changed. Since then, their registered addresses were changed a couple of times in order to readjust the division of land, and they became illegal settlers. To prove legal residency, people have been collecting receipts which is the most reliable evidence for legal residency. The Jaegeon community has fought for their rights over 20 years.

However, the government still categorized them as illegal settlers and has imposed a penalty fine, which now amounts to around 2.5 million USD, with the average household fine between 55,000 to 73,000USD.

Jaegeon Village is a very strong community: the residents have a meeting every week to communicate and solve the problems they face. They have expelled speculators from the village. The participation rate of the community meeting shows is 90 percent, with a high rate of women‟s participation.

Two days after the fire, the municipality announced that it will provide public rental houses for victims, with a 10 year contract, and house sizes depending on family size. According to community members, the provision of public rental houses is not acceptable because: it will break up the community and scatter resident. The residents wish to be accepted as legal residents to continue living together.  the rental houses will be scattered around Seoul; if they are scattered, residents will no longer be able to care for each other, especially the elderly and disable.  rental and house maintaining fees are simply unaffordable for them; it means the community will be evicted from the site; the penalty fee imposed on the residents in terms of „illegal sett lements‟ will follow the residents. Because the community‟s stance is that they are legal residents, if they move out, they may not be able to fight for their rights and to clear the penalty fee.  most residents would lose their job. Many residents work in the recycling business, which has its work field and storages next to the village.

A community member says: „The most urgent need at this moment is the fund for restoration of our village. We are going to rebuild our community here even though the municipality will not allow it. If we could receive donations for building materials, it would be best for us. However, if there is a way to get the material in production cost, and if we could get a long-term loan with low interest, it would be good enough for us.‟

For further information, please contact Asian Bridge at asianbridge21@gmail.com

Yongyeok (the people hired by governments especially for destroying illegal houses or shops of poor tenants by force) invaded an urban poor community in Seoul on 12 Aug 2011: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lf4Ws25GnDQ

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