A jjokbang is a 0.7-pyong (about 2.3 square meters) room that costs 7,000 won per day to live in. As its name indicates, one of these rooms is so small that one person can barely lie down in it to rest. However, in jjokbang village there are about 3,000 people living in 1,900 different jjokbangs. The environment of each room is poor, and even in cold winter, heating is not available in the rooms. However, residents pay their rents daily, and they are not willing to leave the village.
According to Nasaro House, a counseling office for jjokbang people, there are numerous jjokbang villages across the country. When jjokbang villages were first formed, the residents were mainly women who used to work as prostitutes. After they got older and lost the ability to earn money, the jjokbangs became the only places where they could build their nests. However, since IMF financial crisis in 1997, many other people have left their homes and either became homeless or moved into the jjokbang villages, in order to escape from street begging, and to get a life.
Ten percent of the residents do not have social security numbers because they have been living as nameless street beggars for a long time. Earning money for a room every day is not easy for them. Seven thousand won is directly related to their survival. Despite their poor living conditions, the number of people in jjokbang villages who get public assistance from the government is estimated at only 22 percent. Nasaro House offers rooms for baths, laundry, and haircutting to people in need. With the help of a local church and other volunteers, Nasaro House also papers jjokbangs while the residents are away earning their livelihood.
On March 27, SBS TV broadcasted volunteer project of God? Will Soongeui Church, SK Telecom, and Daewoo Securities Co., Ltd. in the jjokbang village. Two hundred volunteers participated in the event. Hwang Ho-il (23), one of the participants, shared his impressions on jjokbang volunteering work: ? was amazed at people? lives in this village. I think showing our continuous love and caring to them is more important than just visiting once and handing out some necessities of life. Another participant, Kang Tae-hwa (23) said, ?hen I first stepped into one of the small, cold rooms, I could not bear to stay there. While papering the room, it was the cold floor that bothered us the most. Staying there a few hours made our feet freeze, and I wondered how the residents could live on such a cold floor. Kang added, ?o be a real help to the jjokbang people, I think more practical solutions are needed.
In reality, moving from homelessness to a jjokbang, and from a jjokbang to a government-rented apartment are big steps. Getting government rent housing will make everyday fees for the residence unnecessary, and that means people can save money to start their own small businesses. However, few people succeed in saving enough money to get a government loan or rental apartment.
Nasaro House and the local church noticed this problematic reality, and are considering a way to offer more chances to people who try hard to make their dreams come true. Currently, the government helps them by lending an additional seven million won to people who saved three million. It is almost impossible, however, for a daily worker to save three million won.
The jjokbang village exists as a home for all the suffering and neglected, but it does not satisfy by inviting homeless people into the village. Nasaro House and many other volunteers hope that someday, the Seoul Station? jjokbang village will be a hometown for all people who are running after hope.
happydream83@ewha.ac.kr