Country statistics

23 out of 189 in Human Development Index rating (UNDP, 2019)

$32,860 Average annual salary per person (World Bank, 2021) 

14.4% of the population under the poverty line (Habitat for Humanity, 2021)

South Korea has a population of 51.7 million. Located along the Korea Strait, it also includes 3,000 small islands. 70% of the country is mountainous, and most of the population is densely populated in the lowland areas (CIA Factbook, 2019). 

In the capital of Seoul, there are 38 informal “vinyl house” communities, which equate to over 10,000 households. Built on leftover bits of public and private land, on low-lying and flood prone areas, only 40% of the houses in these settlements have toilets, many are vulnerable to flooding and are poorly protected in the harsh winters.

In the early 2010s, groups met to work with community members to come up with alternative housing solutions, including finding land, developing cooperative housing, and settlement planning options for social housing. Over time they have also been working on other ways to support these communities and improving access to housing in South Korea (Habitat Worldmap).

Although the housing gap is closing, for many households housing prices are still too high, making homeownership unaffordable and rental options inadequate and expensive (Habitat for Humanity, 2021). 

Financial difficulties is a leading cause of homelessness in South Korea. According to a study by the Seoul Metropolitan Government, 24 percent of the homeless lost their homes due to snowballing debts. The study found that the average age of homeless people in South Korea is in their mid-50s.

Housing shelters often have a zero tolerance to alcohol. This can make people who are homeless and struggling with alcoholism unable to find shelter (Borgen Project, 2020).