Shared housing or co-housing isn't something that's commonly found in Korea.
But, new forms of residency or urban communing is starting to take its roots here in this
country for various reasons ranging from rising housing prices and as more women continue
their career even after having children.
Some public, some private...
these new housing cooperatives are increasingly gaining popularity.
Sharing not only space and costs but also lives and interests - the story of Sohaengju.
Our News Feature tonight with Kim Hyesung. 41-year-old Lee Sun-woo takes four kids to
a kindergarten in the neighborhood.
They're not all his kids, but today it's his turn.... which comes around once a week.
"My neighbors and I take turns cooking breakfast and sending our kids to school.
We basically raise our children together."
This three storey house in Gwacheon city, just South of Seoul, is home to seven families.
Each one of them has one or two children aged between one and seven.
In the kid's common playroom, children share their toys and play games while parents take
a break or have a chat.
To encourage neighborly interaction, the grown-ups cook and share meals on a regular basis in
the common dining room.
"Living together is convenient in many ways.
We can take turns looking after our kids, divide the chores, and save time and money.
But above all, our kids can make friends and mature in character by watching the adults
and how they treat each other considerately.
I think that's an important thing to learn in this individualistic, winner-take-all society."
Now neighbors, these residents got together regularly over the past year to build this
co-housing called Sohaengju, meaning happy house with communication.
They did the architectural design, creating private space like their own rooms and common
space like the kitchen and rooftop.
The first Sohaengju was built in Mapo-gu district, northwest of Seoul, and the founder explains
how he came up with the co-housing concept.
"After my daughter was born, I wanted to find a house with a garden and a study room at
an affordable price.
I knew there would be others like me, so I founded Sohaengju company in 2011.
I gathered a group of nine families and we designed this house."
Before moving in, residents held numerous workshops and came up with rules like no smoking
near the house, no bothering others after nine p.m. and just took time to understand
each others' needs and life-styles... and build mutual trust.
Ever since their first meeting, the residents have called one another by nicknames, like
Momo and Peter, trying to remove age barriers, get closer to one another... and manage the
house in a non-hierarchical way.
"I think the best thing about coming home after work is seeing my wife hanging out with
the other wives in the building, and seeing my only daughter playing with her friends
and becoming more outgoing.
After five years, I feel like we've become a real family."
The number of Sohaengju houses has been on the rise since the first one opened five years
ago.
They're already working on the tenth house.
"We see more people looking for co-housing that suits their needs.
For instance, there's one Sohaengju in the Gayang-dong area of Seoul where all the kids
are under age three.
The Seoul city government is also working with us to expand Sohaengju communities through
financial benefits because it builds a sense of community and makes the area safer."
"More people are choosing to have just one child because of various reasons like the
difficulty of childrearing and expense.
Co-housing could be a good alternative for working parents."
And here, you can find a group of working parents,... and maybe future Sohaengju residents,...
checking out the eighth Sohaengju in Gwacheon city.
"We are looking for a house and heard about Sohaengju.
I like the concept of having both private and public space.
And I think it's a great way to raise kids with other parents in one community who share
my values."
A co-housing where residents can connect like family members and share the burden of housing
costs and raising children, sohangjue has become an option for working parents.
Kim hyesung, Arirang news.