Seoul has been a city of refugee for decades. It's massive growth through the mid-twentieth century was fueled by rural migrations and immigration from abroad. People seeking new opportunity and promotion flocked to the city. Today, Seoul faces a new population of refugees hoping to find political, idealogical and economic freedoms. Ironically, this marginalized population of defecting North Koreans, is given relatively little assistance when faced with issues of housing equality and option.
This semester, graduate students at Konkuk University will be researching and designing 'transitional' refugee housing for North Korean defectors, to be sited in a quickly changing district within Seoul city boundaries. A silenced topic (one rarely discussed amongst local design professionals and government collaboration) will be placed at the forefront of discourse with an end of the semester exhibition of works to be held at Prugio Gallery in Seoul.
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