We’ve been talking recently about how Jeju’s coastal communities are changing, and, with the construction of massive apartment complexes, it’s certainly true for Hwabuk-dong in Jeju City. But as Joseph Kim now reports, the development is centered in just one part of town.

Almost 23,000 people live in Hwabuk-dong, Jeju City.

Alongside Samyang-dong, it has been undergoing rapid growth as the Samhwa housing district has been developed. LH and Booyoung have been supplying apartment complexes and construction there continues.

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Samhwa Housing District spawns real estate boom in Hwabuk-dong

An aerial view of Hwabuk-dong looks like an apartment complex in any major metropolitan city.

Various businesses and shops have been set up and the area is expected to become a new housing and commercial district in the northeast part of Jeju City. Hwabuk-dong is one of the most popular real estate markets these days.

In March of this year, the competition rate to purchase land to build a house in the Samhwa district was 2,360 applicants per available lot. Recently, the bidding price for a 32-square-meter shop in the apartment complex was set at a maximum 356,000,000 won.

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Land sales go from 500 in 2006 to 1,700 in 2014

From 2006, there were 500 land parcel transactions in Hwabuk-dong annually. But in 2013 it soared up to 1,100 parcels and in 2014 it went up again to 1,700 parcels. It is no longer a strange sight to residents who have been living here for a long time.


[INTERVIEW]
Kang Jeong-ja / Hwabuk-dong, Jeju City
A lot of out-of-towners have been moving here. Thanks to them, there are more houses and our town has grown. There used to be only 500 houses but now I’m guessing there are more than 10,000.
외지 사람들 많이 오니까...본 토박이들은 얼마 안되는데 외지에서 많이 들어와서 사니까 집도 늘고 마을이 커졌지...
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(옛날에는) 500호 정도였는데 이제는 1만가구 더 될걸?

[INTERVIEW]
Song Ho-soon / Hwabuk-dong, Jeju City
30 years ago, I bought 1,000 pyeong in orchards for 1 million won. When I tried to sell the land 10 years ago, they said I could get 7,000 won per pyeong. But I recently sold one of the plots at 300,000 won per pyeong and the other for 400,000 won per pyeong.
(30년 전에 과수원) 1천평을 샀어요. 100만 원 주고. 아이들 가르치면서 먹고 살면서 1천평을 하다가 10년 전에 팔려고 하니까
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(3.3㎡당) 7천 원씩 달라고 했어요. 그런데 이번에 팔 때는 한 곳은 30만 원, 한 곳은 40만 원씩 받고...

As the town gets bigger, it becomes necessary to open new roads, and after 7 years of construction, it brings change to people’s lives.

[INTERVIEW]
Kim Myeong-soon / Hwabuk-dong, Jeju City
It’s good for us because we can get places faster and it’s less difficult to park. Also, it’s good for mainlanders who come to hike the Olle trail.
5분이든 10분이든 빨리 갈 수 있어서 좋고, 그 전에는 차 세우는 게 복잡했는데 해안도로 뽑으니까 좋고, 올레길 걷는 사람,
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육지에서 온 사람들도 걸어다니기 좋고...

However, the coastal road beginning from the west end of Hwabuk-dong, which should reach the east end of Samyang, is stopped in the middle of the town. People from the coastal area said that it is because urbanization in the Hwabuk area is running at a snail’s pace. It is not difficult to find old style houses in this area.

[INTERVIEW]
Kim Tae-haeng / Hwabuk-dong, Jeju City
Only long-time villagers live here. Even though there are a lot of transactions in the Samhwa district, we have been living here for a long time and it’s hard to move or sell, so we stay.
여기는 원 토박이들만 어찌어찌 모여 사는 거지. 저 위(택지개발지구)에는 거래가 되지만 이 밑에는... 옛날부터 살던 집이니까
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팔 수도 없고 갈 데도 없어서 그냥 사는거라...

[camera]
Kim Yong-min

Jeju City’s Hwabuk-dong, where we can see a mix of new and old in the town’s architecture. Development is rapid and ongoing in the Samhwa housing district, while development in the coastal region has been all but forgotten.

[reporter] Joseph Kim

A lot of changes are rapidly transforming the once quiet Samyang and Hwabuk-dong area.

Joseph Kim KCTV