Cats gather in Baeksa Village in Nowon District, often referred to as “Seoul’s last hillside shantytown.”
SEOUL, Jan. 21 (Korea Bizwire) — A long-delayed redevelopment project in northern Seoul, once known as the city’s last remaining daldongne — or hillside shantytown — will proceed as planned after a court rejected a request to halt construction over concerns about stray animals.
The Seoul Northern District Court recently dismissed an injunction filed by a local resident seeking to suspend demolition work at Baeksa Village, also known as the 104 Village, in Nowon District. The ruling removes the final legal obstacle to a project aimed at transforming the aging settlement into a large-scale residential complex.
The lawsuit, filed against GS Engineering & Construction, drew public attention after the plaintiff argued that redevelopment work endangered hundreds of stray cats living in the area. Citing provisions of South Korea’s Animal Protection Act, the resident claimed that demolition had already resulted in animal deaths and demanded a halt to construction until rescue and safety measures were completed.
The developer and city housing officials rejected the allegations, saying extensive protection measures had already been put in place. The Seoul Housing and Communities Corporation said it had formed an emergency task force with district officials and residents, established temporary shelters, provided animal feed and created safe movement corridors for the cats.
An aerial rendering of Baeksa Village. (Image courtesy of Nowon district)
In its decision, the court said there was insufficient objective evidence to conclude that the construction posed a serious threat to the animals’ survival. It also noted that protective measures were already underway at the site.
Even some animal welfare advocates expressed reservations about the injunction, arguing that redevelopment could ultimately improve living conditions for both residents and animals if managed properly.
With the legal dispute resolved, Nowon District officials said the project would move forward without interruption. Most residents have already relocated, and demolition work is largely complete. Full-scale construction is expected to begin in the first half of this year.
The redevelopment will replace the deteriorated hillside settlement with a new residential complex of 3,178 housing units designed to integrate with the surrounding natural landscape at the foothills of Mount Bulam.
Baeksa Village was formed in the 1960s, when families displaced by downtown redevelopment in areas such as Cheonggyecheon and Yongsan resettled on the outskirts of the city. Named after its former address — Mountain Lot No. 104 — the village came to symbolize Seoul’s rapid urbanization and the inequalities that accompanied it.
With construction now set to begin, the project marks the end of one of the city’s last vestiges of postwar informal housing, closing a chapter in Seoul’s urban history while opening another in its transformation.
Lina Jang (linajang@koreabizwire.com)
