Issued on: 12/08/2022 – 15:25Altered: 12/08/2022 – 15:26
The deadly floods that swept South Korea on August 8-9 have shed light on the dangers of living in “banjiha”, semi-underground basement dwellings common in Seoul. Four people died in their banjiha after being trapped by the rising water. Our observer, who lives in a banjiha like more than 200,000 families in Seoul, told us about the experience.
Street-level windows that barely let in any daylight, high humidity and mold, and virtually no cell service: these are the defining characteristics of banjiha — literally “half-buried” in Korean.
The dangers of these abodes were highlighted in Bong Joon-ho’s 2019 film “Parasite,” particularly in a scene of a flood that hit the main characters’ banjiha.
서울 기생충 영화보다 더 영화 같은 상황이라 출근길 어쩜 좋지 이재민들 많으실꺼 같고 …길냥이도 걱정 되고 침수 되기전 일끝나고 빠르게 집 도착해 그것도 비라고 힘들어 기절했다 깨서
에 걱정중 지하철 운행 할까요? 되긴 pic.twitter.com/IuzSDLNWi8
— (@25s_oad) August 8, 2022
This user drew a parallel between the recent floods in Seoul and a scene in Bong Joon-ho’s film ‘Parasite’.
Many banjihas have built toilets on platforms to prevent them from overflowing in the event of flooding. These houses were on the front line on August 8 and 9 when floods hit Seoul and the surrounding area.
Many underground places such as parking lots and metro stations were completely filled with water. A family of three died in a banjiha in Seoul’s Sillim-dong district, hemmed in by rising water.
The government of Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol, who visited the banjiha of the imprisoned family on Aug. 10, said it would take measures to improve the living conditions of the poorest residents of Seoul. The Seoul government said it would? stop issuing permits build banjiha.
Authorities already had stated that she is banjiha. would limit after major floods in 2010.
On social media, residents filmed the extensive damage to their banjiha: toilets overflowing with murky water, electrical wiring half submerged, and water completely covering the narrow windows overlooking the street.
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와있구요,, 앞으론 절대 반지하에 살지않을거에요,,,, pic.twitter.com/1D6IBNMzRw
— (@meuang_g) August 8, 2022
Il est écrit en coreen: “Je suis chez ma tante désormais, je n’habiterai plus jamais dans une banjiha”
Sung-Joon Kim (not his real name) is a student at Seoul University. He lives in a banjiha in Sadang district, southeast of the capital, in an area hit hard by flooding.
I get out of work around 8pm. On my way home from work I just thought it was raining heavily, but I didn’t know there was going to be a flood. When I got off the subway at Isu station, the cleaning ladies were strangely busy. I heard them say it was raining so hard that the water was heavy on the ceiling and the manhole outside was about to overflow. I quickly climbed up from the station and saw that the manhole was already flowing like a fountain.
? 뚜껑인데 들썩거리고 맞아? pic.twitter.com/TGWINnQ6ce
— (@Lookie_Clover02) August 8, 2022
Video filmed by Sung-Joon Kim on his way home on August 8.
I tried to go home quickly when I saw that. I was afraid my house would be flooded. However, the road to my house was already full of water. The water was up to my thighs. I was very afraid because I could be swept up by the rapids – I am light, 46 kg.
When I got home, all the houses on my floor were flooded. The sewer overflowed and was full of dirt.
The road outside Sung-Joon Kim’s house on August 9, at midnight, when the water level began to drop. © Twitter / @Lookie_Clover02
The road was flooded, so I had nowhere to go. So I was homeless that night. I just slept on the stairs of the building. The next morning I moved to my parents’ house.
Photos of Sung-Joon Kim’s room before and after the flood. ©Observers
Now all the water has been pumped out. However, many items such as beds, clothing, school materials and school supplies were contaminated with the mess. My computer was completely broken. I studied beauty so I had a lot of makeup and hair tools that were ruined. The road outside is full of useless furniture taken from the underground apartments.
Now, you can’t stay home with the first one and the smell. I have to wait 3 to 5 weeks.
‘We know that living in banjiha is dangerous’
Sung-Joon Kim was fired after explaining that he could not come to work for several weeks. He says that his landlord will compensate part of the damage, but that he will have to pay part of it himself.
He does not yet know whether he will take advantage of the aid authorities that would be distributed to help cover the costs of the damage.
I am from Suwon [Editor’s note: 50 km south of Seoul] and go to college in Seoul. I have to live alone in Seoul apart from my parents. And my family is not rich. Therefore, I had to work on my own and advance my tuition and living expenses and live in a semi-basement that is relatively cheaper, to reduce the burden of living costs.
My apartment has a little sunlight in the morning, but it is very humid. I have to use my phone close to the ceiling as there is not much network. I bought some equipment to have a better connection to wifi.
We know that life in banjiha is dangerous. But young people like us and the socially vulnerable have no choice but to live there because they have no money. If it weren’t for the banjiha, housing would be more expensive and we wouldn’t have a place to live.
The problem, however, is the reality of a society where this type of housing exists and there is no choice but to live there. And the politicians or rich people who ignore or denigrate the people who live there are the real problems.