Blackwell Reference Online

Extract

Exceptionally rapid urbanization in the 1960s and 1970s produced chaotic shanty towns in Korean cities, especially Seoul and the surrounding metropolitan areas. Poor living conditions and lack of adequate sanitary systems, basic utilities, and mass transportation were the norm for every shantytown. Thus, the popular anger of shanty-town dwellers was a matter of course. In 1970, an urban poor riot broke out at Kwangju, a suburban area of Seoul, as enraged residents fought with riot police and occupied the city hall, demanding their rights for decent housing and reasonable living conditions.This spontaneous riot ignited the struggle of the urban poor, and in the 1970s and early 1980s, many shantytown residents organized themselves, with the help of local churches and student activists. Thus, as the military regime initiated its cleansing plan for shantytowns, residents organized a coalition for their right to residence. This was an important trend of urban poor struggles. However, as most shantytowns were eliminated one by one, the poor were scattered or driven out to remote places, and the movement of urban shantytown dwellers lost its momentum in the late 1990s. A growing number of homeless appeared, signifying the phenomen of “new poverty.”At the same time, street vendors led another important movement of the urban poor. These informal sector workers, mostly self-employed, constantly ... log in or subscribe to read full text