At Gangbyeonyeok Central I'Park in Guui-dong, Gwangjin-gu, Seoul, visited on the 28th, a neighborhood of aging low-rise multi-unit housing — including semi-basement homes — just a few years ago has been transformed into four new 15-story apartment buildings. The former Hanyang low-rise complex site is the first project under Seoul's Mo-a Housing program. Construction began in 2024, was completed last month after two years and six months, and move-ins started this month.
Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon, who visited the complex on his first public schedule after the Chuseok holiday, said 137 Mo-a Town districts — areas grouping together multiple Mo-a Housing projects — are under way across Seoul. "Starting with this first one, the second and third will emerge soon," he said. "An increase in complexes like this could be the most effective measure to resolve Seoul's unstable housing market."
Mo-a Housing, introduced by the city four years ago, is a small-scale redevelopment program that combines adjacent lots to build multi-unit housing in aging low-rise residential areas where large-scale redevelopment is difficult. About 70% of the homes at the Hanyang complex were semi-basement units, but the project site measured 9,878 square meters, short of the 10,000-square-meter threshold for redevelopment. Applying Mo-a Housing review standards, the city raised the maximum height from the originally planned 10 stories to 15 and the floor area ratio from 234% to 248%. As a result, the original 99 units grew to 215, a net gain of 116.
In Gwangjin-gu, home to the first Mo-a Housing complex to welcome residents, the program is spreading to Jayang-dong, Guui-dong and Gwangjang-dong. A 591-unit Mo-a Housing project is under way in the area around 587-58 Guui-dong, and Mo-a Town projects are proceeding at 10 sites including Jayang 1-dong, Jayang 2-dong and Gwangjang-dong. That is the third-highest number among Seoul's districts, after Jungnang-gu with 18 sites and Seongbuk-gu with 11. Under the city's plans, housing in these areas is expected to increase from the current 8,362 units to 12,526, a gain of 4,164 units.
Elsewhere, 10 areas including Gunja-dong and Jayang 3-dong are collecting resident consent forms to be selected as Mo-a Town candidate sites. With multiple projects proceeding at once, some voice concern about higher density and call for development that blends with surrounding areas. Oh said newly launched adjacent projects will be larger in scale and taller than the existing complex. "When they are finished, I hope the result will harmonize well with the new apartments," he said. He added, "We will break ground on 40,000 Mo-a Housing units by 2031 to strengthen housing stability for residents."
