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| Lee Kyo-seong's flat in Seoul/Courtesy of Lee Kyo-seong |
By Kim Se-jeong
Lee Kyo-seong, 68, had his luckiest day in years last November.
"I won the right to move into a public housing unit in the middle of Seoul," Lee said, Wednesday. He said he felt he won the lottery. "I was so happy."
He moved into the 29.7-square-meter flat in January. It may not be a big space for some, but he said he couldn't be happier.
"It's perfectly enough for me ― two rooms, a bathroom, a tiny kitchen and a corridor. My son moved out and only comes to visit once or twice a month to spend some time with me."
His monthly rent on this new apartment in Haengdang-dong is 146,800 won.
That is a significant improvement for a taxi driver who earns 1.3 million won per month on average ― he can get a little more if he works really hard but not much.
His previous flat in Seongsu-dong cost him 550,000 won a month with a deposit of 10 million won. With the extra money, he is trying to save all he can as he has debts to pay and wants the spare money for his future spending.
His exuberance reflects the fierce competition for getting public housing.
Out of roughly 10 million people in Seoul, the proportion of those with their own homes is less than half. There are less than 300,000 public housing units across the city.
Spending on housing is notorious in Seoul.
Average rents and key money deposits, called jeonse, are also soaring so rapidly in the city that people have to spare a significant portion of their salary to pay for their housing. Those who have nothing to spare end up leaving Seoul or taking loans to cover their expenses.
The government acknowledges the importance of affordable public housing to improve quality of life. It came out with measures to help the people, the most recent of which came last month with the announcement it will build 240,000 more public housing flats by 2022. But the city's approach has its limits because the city has little land to spare for big housing projects, and there are also financial constraints.
Lee expressed his gratitude to the city government.
"I am forever grateful for having this flat. I've always wanted my own home but I never thought it would be possible. I knew about the public housing policy but I didn't think I would be eligible because I am heavily in debt to the government," Lee said.
Before driving a taxi, he ran an interior design business for 10 years.
When he declared bankruptcy in 2007, he had nothing but overdue taxes and credit card debts worth more than 100 million won.
"It wasn't only about me owing so much money that I couldn't do any financial activity. The whole situation made me feel like I was a loser. I totally lost self-esteem. When I visited the Seoul Housing & Communities Corporation (which implements the city government's public housing policies), they encouraged me to apply and decided to give me a flat despite my failing duty as a citizen. That gave me new hope for life," Lee said.
He finishes work around 6 p.m. and spends more evening time at home now.
That was unthinkable in his previous rented flats. In many homes where he lived, he explained, he had neighbors, even landlords, in the next room.
"I had no privacy. I didn't feel comfortable at all. Now I am all alone in this entire flat. I don't have to worry about other people."
He cooks more often at home now too. "Tonight, I am cooking soybean soup. I bought tofu on my way home."
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