Story perspectives

Seoul's Guryong Residents Fight Redevelopment and Low Compensation

3/29/2026

Summary

Story summary

Seoul has asked over 1,100 households in the Guryong settlement to leave since 2023, offering low compensation.
Some residents claim their homes are not recognized as legal dwellings, challenging the redevelopment plan.
The community has deteriorated, with cramped conditions, a lack of basic services, and recent fires displacing residents such as 85-year-old Madam Lee.
Mr. Baek Su-hyeon, 66, described the offers as robbery for people with nowhere else to go.

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Story summary

Seoul has asked over 1,100 households in the Guryong settlement to leave since 2023, offering low compensation.
Some residents claim their homes are not recognized as legal dwellings, challenging the redevelopment plan.
The community has deteriorated, with cramped conditions, a lack of basic services, and recent fires displacing residents such as 85-year-old Madam Lee.
Mr. Baek Su-hyeon, 66, described the offers as robbery for people with nowhere else to go.