CINA

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"Redevelopment" Without Resistance: Mass Eviction!

The plan to "modernize" Seoul, especially its central parts, is not new. And the resistance by the residents/tenants who are (potentially) affected isn't new either.

But at least since the preparation phase of the 2002 Soccer World Cup the situation for thousands of residents/tenants in many areas of Seoul got worse.

And after (the current S.K. president) Lee Myung-bak (aka LMB, 2MB..) took the office as Seoul's mayor (2002 - 2006) the situation, especially for the poorer citizens of Seoul escalated. As a result of his "refurbishment" plan for Seoul residents/tenants in Yongsan-gu, Samgak/Suha-dong, Songbuk-dong, Cheongjin-dong (Jongno-gu) etc. had/have to struggle for their basis of existence!

But that's just the beginning! "Under the city's New Town plan, up to 98,742 homes are expected to be torn down in the year 2010 alone", Korea Herald wrote Feb. 5. This means that tens of thousands of families will be evicted until the end of next year!

But in the past the resisting residents/tenants, threatened by (forcibly) eviction, mainly were left alone by the S.K. "progressive" movement in their struggle (a rare exception: Ilsan/Pung-dong Struggle in 2004)!

Ultimately it needed five killed resistance fighters (during the Yongsan Massacre) to get a kind of public attention!

So, in the coming days/weeks I'll focus on some of Seoul's "re-development" projects and the existing (resp. potential) resistance against it.