How Did an Apartment Become a Village? Inside WESTAY Byeolnae, Korea's Community Housing Experiment
Housing in South Korea comes in many forms, but among them, apartments are by far the most recognizable. I also grew up living in apartments, so when I think of "home," an apartment is still the first image that comes to mind.
Korean society once had a strong sense of community. However, as individualism has become more prevalent in recent decades, it has become increasingly common for people not to know who lives next door, even after years of living in the same building. I remember walking to school with neighborhood friends and watching my parents build close relationships with our neighbors. At some point, though, people stopped paying attention to who lived nearby or what was happening around them.
At the same time, rising housing prices have made homeownership increasingly difficult in South Korea. Housing is often viewed not only as a place to live but also as an investment asset, creating various social tensions.
WESTAY Byeolnae is a community apartment operated as a social cooperative. Centered on people and community, it seeks to rebuild weakened social connections and social safety nets through the power of collective living. Residents of all ages live together, treating housing not as an investment but as a foundation for everyday life.
Although familiar in appearance, this model of community housing offers a different way of living. Residents of WESTAY Byeolnae became authors themselves and published a book titled How Did an Apartment Become a Village? to document their achievements and share the values of their community. (The name "Byeolnae" comes from the neighborhood in Namyangju where the apartment complex is located.)
On June 8, a book talk celebrating the publication was held at Community House Masil in Myeong-dong, Seoul. This article is the first of a two-part series sharing stories and insights from the event.
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| Participants greeted one another, shared congratulations, and discussed the book during the event.(Photo by Milly) |
🌞The Beginning of WESTAY Byeolnae🌞
WESTAY Byeolnae is South Korea's first cooperative-style publicly supported private rental housing project, led by the Social Developer Group DEOHAM.
The project was initially conceived to address one of the largest expenses in people's lives—housing costs—while also improving housing stability.
At the book talk, Yang Dong-soo, CEO of DEOHAM, reflected on the early days of the project. Originally, discussions with local government focused on creating cooperative housing for young people, but those efforts did not move forward as planned. Later, the team connected with a government ministry pursuing a similar policy vision, which eventually enabled the project to take shape.
One of its most distinctive features was its governance structure. Rather than following the conventional developer-led model, the project was designed so that the community itself—through the WESTAY Byeolnae Social Cooperative—would play a leading role.
Today, residents have built a thriving community. However, Yang recalled that when he first visited the site, it was little more than an empty field.
Standing there, he thought, "Something meaningful could be created here." From that moment, he began developing the systems and structures that would eventually become WESTAY Byeolnae.
The process was far from easy.
Son Byung-gi, the first chairperson of the WESTAY Byeolnae Social Cooperative and a resident of the community, recalled those challenging years.
«"Every morning seemed to bring a new problem. We would solve one issue only to discover another the next day."»
Nevertheless, residents continued meeting, discussing, reviewing challenges, and working together to overcome obstacles one by one.
🌝Building a Village🌝
A community does not appear simply because someone says, "Let's build a community."
Communities require time, effort, and continuous participation before they can emerge, grow, and function. In other words, creating a village within an apartment complex required deliberate and sustained work.
One important effort involved bringing future residents together even before they moved in. Cooperative members living across the country—from Seoul to Busan and Jeju—participated in educational programs, learned about cooperative governance, and shared their ideas and expectations for the future community.
The physical design of WESTAY Byeolnae also reflected this vision. Community spaces were expanded to approximately 2.5 to 3 times the size typically found in conventional apartment complexes, creating more opportunities for residents to gather and interact naturally.
Yang explained that his goal was not to create a community composed only of exceptionally generous or self-sacrificing individuals.
Instead, he wanted to explore whether a system could be built in which ordinary people, pursuing their own interests and seeking to avoid unnecessary losses, could still discover that cooperation benefits everyone.
Achieving this required strong leadership, active participation, and continuous dialogue. Residents shared responsibilities, exchanged ideas, and gradually built their community together.
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| The entrance of Community House Masil, where the book talk was held.(Photo by Milly) |
🌟More Than an Apartment🌟
The result is WESTAY Byeolnae—a community apartment that continues to grow and evolve with its residents.
What was once an empty field has become a place where people build their lives. It is not a housing project designed primarily for those who want to buy property, but for those who want to live well.
Community apartments may seem both familiar and unfamiliar at the same time. Yet WESTAY Byeolnae demonstrates that apartment living can be more than simply sharing a building; it can also mean sharing relationships, responsibilities, and a sense of belonging.
In the next article, I will explore the present and future of WESTAY Byeolnae, including how residents raise children together, share knowledge and skills, and continue strengthening their community.
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