The physical meaning of a house is “a place where walls and roofs protect us from the outside environment.” But not limited to this, it is a place of life deeply connected to our memories and emotions. However, at some point, the house became a symbol of wealth. Unlike stable housing prices in the 1990s, the real estate boom began in the 2000s, and eventually, the sale price of apartments in Seoul exceeded 1 billion won on average in 2020. Why did house prices rise so sharply in a short period of 20 years? We need to go back in history to know this.
Let’s look at the history of Daechi-Dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul. Daechi-dong, a mecca of private education, has the title Gangnam 8 School District, where prestigious schools are located. Thanks to this reputation, more than 1,000 academies are in Daechi-dong. Until the 1970s, however, Daechi-dong was a rural area composed of swamps and rice fields having low housing prices. However, in the 1980s, the Gangnam Real Estate Development Boom enabled private educational institutes. As many large academies entered, more apartments were built, and the price of houses rose rapidly. In particular, the apartment called Tower Palace, which was built in 2004, became a landmark as a symbol of wealth and luxury.
Now, let’s find out about the prospect of Gangnam real estate. There are also various opinions among experts, but the most likely thing is the maintenance of the current situation. So far, there have been 22 government policies to adjust property prices, but they have not solved the problem. In particular, real estate speculation has intensified since the current administration took office, and various solutions have been proposed, but they have repeatedly failed. As a result, apartment prices have doubled on average from five years ago, and the gap between rich and poor has widened. The surge in house prices also created the term “Yolo.” YOLO is a newly coined term that takes the first letter of “You Only Live Once.” The YOLOs do not sacrifice themselves for the future or for others but only live in the present, valuing their happiness and pursuing a life of consumption. This neologism most clearly shows the problems of our society. We should realize for ourselves that the big obstacle of housing prices is blocking the young generation’s way and increasingly preventing the development of our society.
By: Doyoung Kim