Winter is definitely upon us. And while the cold may be uncomfortable and annoying to many, it’s much more of a serious problem to those living at the edge of society. Joseph Kim reports.

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Ora-dong, Jeju City

In a shabby container with layers of plastic around to fend off the cold air,

Mr. (강갑동) Gang Gap-dong who has a leg disability, has lived for 7 years alone.

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Elderly man living alone vulnerable to extreme weather

Following last summer’s painful scorching heats, he now has to be worried about the coming cold spell.

He covered the windows with plastic insulation and placed five layers of blankets on the floor. But the cold air doesn’t go away.

INTERVIEW
Gang Gap-dong / Ora-dong, Jeju City
I covered the door with plastic insulation. It’s too cold. I place a bowl to collect the condensed water drops.
<인터뷰 : 강갑동 / 제주시 오라동>
“저 문도 다 (단열재로) 덮어놨는데 추워. 습기가 차서 물이 뚝뚝 떨어지면 양푼이 갖다놓고 그래 매일."

Ms. (강화자) Gang Hwa-ja in her sixties is also scared of the coming winter weather.

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Elderly woman has lived in a container for 10 years

An electric blanket is the only thing she can rely on in the cold weather living in a steel container.

Over the last 10 years, she is heavily clothed in winter instead of turning on the heating pad for concerns of high electricity bills.

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Lack of basic fire extinguishing equipment

The place is vulnerable to cold and fire, but there are no basic fire extinguishing facilities.

A prefabricated toilet standing next to the container collapsed in a storm last summer, which makes her life tougher.

INTERVIEW
Gang Hwa-ja / Ora-dong, Jeju City
I cannot even stick my head out because it’s too cold. I can’t afford to heat the place.
<인터뷰 : 강화자 / 제주시 오라동>
“겨울에는 얼굴을 내놓지 못해 추우니까. 다 갖춰놓고 무슨 복으로 살겠어….”

The underprivileged neighbors struggle living on the basic allowance from the government and relief supplies.

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42 containers, greenhouses registered as homes in Jeju

There are 42 households in containers or greenhouses on the island.

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No data on people living in flophouses, basements

However, the island doesn’t have data on dwellers in flophouses and basements.
Research is urgently needed to understand the poor and disadvantaged, and improve their living conditions.

INTERVIEW
Yang Eun-suk / Welfare Resource Management Team, Jeju City
The government cannot provide housing to the underprivileged, but we do regular checks of the residential environment. We make special visits during severe heat and cold.
<인터뷰 : 양은숙 / 제주시 복지자원관리팀장>
"열악한 환경에서 생활하시는 분들에게 대안으로 주택을 마련해줄 수는 없지만, 정기적인 관리가 필요합니다. 혹한기나 혹서기에 제대로 생활을 잘 하고 계신지 방문하고 있습니다."

[Reporter] Joseph Kim
[Camera] Kim Seung-cheol

To our needy neighbors, this winter, too, is tough.

Joseph Kim, KCTV