Like a Ton of Bricks: Hwajeong I-Park Falls from Grace
By Isaiah Winters
Last month’s partial collapse of an unfinished apartment tower in Gwangju has rekindled public discourse on the city’s ceaseless, breakneck construction boom. The apartment’s developer, Hyundai Development Company (HDC), was already in the news last year in connection with a demolition project in Gwangju’s Hak-dong that went terribly awry, resulting in nine deaths and eight injuries when a partially demolished building fell on top of a city bus.
The latest collapse in Hwajeong-dong, occurring just seven months after the one in Hak-dong, has resulted in at least one death with five people still missing as of this article’s submission. While HDC Chairman Chung Mong-gyu has taken responsibility for the successive disasters and resigned from his position, many see his resignation as a mere formality so long as he remains a major shareholder in the company.1 Local civic groups affiliated with last year’s Hak-dong disaster are calling for much more: the detention and investigation of Chung, as well as the expulsion of HDC from the construction industry altogether.2
While the two disasters share core similarities – like subcontracting and appalling safety standards – the Hwajeong I-Park collapse is on another level. First, it took place after construction was over half finished, with floors falling from the 38th story down to around the 22nd. This greatly impugns the quality of the “luxury” I-Park brand, another complex of which is nearing completion in Gyerim-dong, where construction has been suspended. Meanwhile in Unam-dong, HDC’s position as a contractor in the redevelopment project there will likely be cancelled over safety concerns.3 This is a major blow to the company, which was set to begin construction in March.
Another major distinction between the two disasters is location, as Hwajeong I-Park is right in the middle of the city’s main transportation, manufacturing, and commercial hub. This means countless express buses connecting Gwangju to the rest of the country had been passing through the shadow of this looming disaster for months, so it truly is a miracle that nothing more severe happened. Now express buses to and from Gwangcheon Terminal have been rerouted to avoid the building’s likely demise – whether by painstaking demolition or further collapse. What’s for certain is that this eyesore will be a serious hazard and focal point for far longer than the collapse in Hak-dong was.
The area under construction in Hwajeong-dong had already long been an eyesore for its seedy clutch of bars, love motels, karaoke rooms, and nightclubs. That image was set to change with Hwajeong I-Park’s construction, which inspired the local housing market’s fiercest competition at an average 68 bidders per unit. The high-end complex’s proximity to Shinsegae Department Store, E-Mart, Geumho World, and the city’s largest bus terminal made its location second to none, with some of its apartments costing as much as seven hundred million won. In fact, homebuyers broke the local price record once bidding opened, with a single pyeong (3.3 square meters) costing over 16 million won – a whole two million won above the average price per apartment pyeong in Gwangju.4, 5 Given that Hwajeong I-Park has several other buildings under construction on the same site, one wonders what pricing readjustments are in store should they remain.
Looking up at the high-rise’s gaping chasm and suspended debris, you can’t help but empathize with those trying to find the best way forward. As of this article’s submission, the streets around Hwajeong I-Park have been tightly cordoned off and are teaming with police, reporters, and firefighters – 200 of whom are scouring the site daily with rescue dogs.6 In addition to rescue efforts, clean-up and investigative operations are also underway, but with so much more unstable concrete and rebar still teetering on the brink of collapse, coming up with safe, rapid solutions on all fronts is a daunting challenge.
Where do you even start with something as precarious as this? For ten days following the January 11 collapse, the accident site had a crane leaning into the building’s hollow exterior wall. At first glance, it seemed like the most unstable piece of the puzzle, as removing the crane might cause the attached wall to further collapse. On my last visit to the site before this issue went to print, the crane’s careful disassembly began. I looked on that day for half an hour, awestruck by the bravery of the workers. Working along the jib and tower apex of a secure crane is already a hazardous task – one requiring workers to constantly fasten and then refasten their safety harnesses to the crane as they move around. The thought that they were attaching themselves to a badly destabilized crane was nothing short of chilling.
With so many lives still at risk in Hwajeong-dong, it’s crucial that we name the culprit behind such disasters: rampant expedient subcontracting to save time and money. According to one source, it’s been confirmed that the eight employees pumping and pouring ready-mixed concrete at the time of collapse worked for an equipment rental company that was only permitted to lend its equipment, not pour concrete, which should have been done directly by the more experienced renter. Luckily, these eight employees were evacuated in time, but six others working below on windows and doors weren’t.7
Nobody in their right mind would risk so many lives to save a little time and money, but the insanity of the real estate market shows that far too many aren’t in their right minds. For the disaster victims in Hak-dong and Hwajeong-dong, let’s get our heads straight.
Photographs by Isaiah Winters.
Sources
1 매일경제. (2022, January 18). 사고 6일 만에 현산 회장서 물러난 정몽규… 사태수습엔 역부족 지적. https://www.mk.co.kr/news/economy/view/2022/01/50676/
2 An, G. (2022, January 17). 광주 시민단체, ‘면피용 사퇴’ 현산 정몽규 회장 구속수사 요구. 한겨레. https://www.hani.co.kr/arti/area/honam/1027623.html
3 Yu, S. (2022 January 17). ‘현대산업개발 보이콧’ 운암 3단지 ‘시선 집중’. 광주드림. https://www.gjdream.com/news/articleView.html?idxno=612498
4 Park, Y. (2022, January 13). ‘로또’라며 웃돈 4억 붙었던 광주 화정 아이파크 운명은…. 경향신문. https://m.khan.co.kr/national/national-general/article/202201130816001
5 Park, S. (2021, June 23). 광주아파트 평당 분양가 1천400만원 육박. 무등일보. http://www.mdilbo.com/detail/joFjOo/649475
6 Kim, T. (2022, January 18). 광주광역시 화정동 아이파크 붕괴현장 온정 이어져. 연합경베TV. http://m.yonhaptv.co.kr/news/articleView.html?idxno=230834
7 Cheon, J. (2022, January 16). ‘관행이라는 이름으로…’ 붕괴 사고 편법 재하도급 정황. 연합뉴스. https://www.yna.co.kr/view/AKR20220116026800054
The Author
Born and raised in Chino, California, Isaiah Winters is a pixel-stained wretch who loves writing about Gwangju and Honam, warts and all. He particularly likes doing unsolicited appraisals of abandoned Korean properties, a remnant of his time working as an appraiser back home. You can find much of his photography on Instagram @d.p.r.kwangju.