Seoul’s housing shortage and the proposed use of the Yongsan Park site for housing have reignited debate over what makes good housing. The Lee Jae Myung administration plans to supply about 230,000 units, including about 100,000 in designated public housing districts in the greater Seoul area. The column argues that greener, better-shaded housing matters as extreme heat and rising air-conditioning use make glass-heavy apartment designs less sustainable.
A view of the glass wall-like windows at Tower Palace in Dogok-dong, southern Seoul in this 2022 file photo. The residential/commercial admixture apartment was groundbreaking when it first appeared in 2002, using the "curtain wall" method, according to Wikipedia. Korea Times file
There is renewed and intense focus on increasing the housing supply in Seoul. Officials in the Lee Jae Myung administration describe its housing policy as "dakgong," which in Korean both literal and figuratively means "shut up and supply."
In early August, the government announced that it has plan to supply some 230,000 units, about 100,000 of which will come from designated public housing districts in the greater Seoul area. Just how the administration will do that has prompted questions about what makes for good housing.
