Sangroksa, SNU dormitory in Suwon current vacant, will be changed into an open dormitory for low income students
On March 10th, the offices of Gyeonggi province announced plans to renovate Seoul National University’s past Suwon dormitory, “Sangroksa”. The housing facility will be renamed to “Ddabok” dormitory and it is planned to open doors in March of next year. Located in Suwon, Sangroksa housed students from the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences before the College’s relocation to the current Gwanak campus in 2003. Since then, the dormitory has been left vacant.
According to the offices of Gyeonggi-do, the renovated dormitory will house a total of 280 students and it plans to keep housing fees at a comparatively inexpensive price of 300,000~500,000 won per month. The dormitory is located within 10 km of 12 universities including Gyeonggi University and housing will be offered to students from low-income families. Furthermore, the dormitory will not only offer basic housing but also other services such as a support center for start-up companies.
After signing a Memorandum of Understanding with Seoul National University last May, Gyeonggi-do has sped up efforts to make the best use of the now unused facilities. The recent announcement signals a positive step towards providing affordable housing for university students in the province. Gyeonggi-do Governor NAM Gyeong Pil had expressed hopes to renovate the aging dormitory for students in the Gyeonggi area last May, and it has finally come to fruition after recently arriving at an agreement with Seoul National University.
Ddabok dormitory is part of Gyeonggi province’s Ddabok (따뜻하고 복된) campaign. The campaign title is an acronym for the Korean words warm and blessed, which it aims to create at a community level. The provincial initiative attempts to provide social services and support programs for communities in need. Other Ddabok programs include town pharmacies and retirement homes. Meanwhile, Ddabok dormitory will attempt to relieve the burdens of expensive housing to university students. The province’s efforts to provide housing will be expedited by the renovation of Sangroksa. One Gyeonggi province official stated, “By remodeling Sangroksa, Gyeonggi province will be able to reduce the time and costs it would take to provide affordable housing to university students in the province.”
Written by Yun Hwan Chae, SNU English Editor, yunhwanchae@snu.ac.kr
Reviewed by Professor Travis Smith, Department of Asian Languages and Civilizations