General Public Understanding on Residential Area and Housing of Seoul, the Capital City of Korea in 1970s through Park, Wan-suh's Novels

박완서 소설을 통해 본 1970년대 대한민국 수도-서울 주거공간의 인식과 체험

The aim of this paper is to find out how the general public understood and acted on housing and residential area of Seoul, Capital City, in 1970s. Many refer 1970s of Seoul as a representative period for the development of dense Korean cities. The researcher reviews novels of Park Wan-suh described city Seoul of 1970s with realism through memories and experiences in order to understand life and housing of the general public. Literature review and empirical approach were the methods for the following findings. 1970s was the time for the development of density with lateral and vertical expansion of housing in Seoul of which boundaries were expanded in 1963, and expansion of housing in suburb also followed. As a result, people could seek housing in much expanded areas and the housing market got overheated with rising price. There was a boom for owning apartment housing with considerable urbanization of Korean cities. Large supply of apartment housing especially with development of Gangnam resulted in dominance of apartment housing with convenient and independent life style over existing housing type such as single house. 1970s was also the time of transition for the housing types, preference for apartment homes became strong trend in the housing market and urban traditional Korean houses started to diminish as a choice for housing type, which had been popular. Apartment housing was considered as a sign of departure from premodern lifestyle and achievement of higher level of economic class. It was very 1970s when distinction between luxury and mid-or low-income apartment housing evident based on size and housing features. Understanding on housing in 1970s represented by criticism on luxurious single house of mid-income class, which was a dominant housing type and extravagant life style with wealth made easy from the overheated housing market. Especially, main criticism is on luxurious single house and weekend farm that was possible with opening of Gyungbu Express Way accompanied by new consumer culture.