Sungin Space
Back ground. Sungin 1-dong is an old district situated next to a brand new, high-rise apartment complex. As a result, this creates enormous contrast between the residential environment and the landscape by the apartment wall forming a border line. Residents of the apartments live a comfortable life fenced off from the surrounding neighborhood. The apartments contain all the facilities and services, or social infrastructure, that they need to live their lives.
For the people who live on the other side of the fence, however, things are quite different. These people cannot afford the same social infrastructure. In fact, all the facilities and services that come bundled together in a private apartment, such as a senior citizen center, a library and a community space, are forms of social infrastructure that should be provided by the public sector. photography by © Jinbo Choi
But in Korea, where the private sector has led the supply of apartment-complex housing units, even social infrastructure has been commercialized. As a result, citizens have access to the level of social infrastructure that fits their income level. This is why the social infrastructure of Sungin 1-dong’s residents is poor. Sungin 1-dong has a relatively high percentage of native residents and the average age of residents is also high. In other words, there is little influx of young people in the area. This is why the atmosphere in the neighborhood seems to be somewhat stagnant. A small int...