BUSAN — The Busan Metropolitan Government has unveiled a housing welfare model that goes beyond repairing homes for vulnerable households, bringing together resources from the public sector, businesses and universities to help families rebuild their daily lives. The project combined a university's space design capabilities, corporate donations and goods, and case management by welfare agencies to transform an entire household's living space. It draws attention as a collaborative model that connects local community resources to create real changes in daily life, rather than a one-off home repair.
The city said on the 15th that it has completed the "Love Busan" housing improvement project, which involved universities, companies and welfare agencies, and will release related content. This year's project ran for three months from June and targeted one single-parent household in need of housing improvements.
The recipient, a mother raising young children alone in Saha District, had struggled with insufficient storage space and accumulated belongings. The city and participating organizations provided one-stop support covering on-site measurements, disinfection, space design, furniture placement and organization and storage training, turning the home into an emotional space where the whole family can study and communicate together.
After seeing the renovated space, the mother said, "As the house changed as if by a miracle, I found new determination in life." She added, "I am happy that we now have a space to study and talk with my children."
Participants included Pusan National University, World Vision, Community Chest of Korea, the Saha-gu Community Welfare Center, Joongang Engineering, Ajungdang and IKEA Korea. The welfare agencies identified the recipient household and handled follow-up management, while students from Pusan National University's Department of Interior Environmental Design designed a space tailored to the family members. Joongang Engineering donated 10 million won through Community Chest of Korea, and Ajungdang and IKEA Korea supported organization and storage work and household items.
The project also focused on changing the family members' way of living, using the housing improvements as a starting point. It created a space where the family can study and talk together, and included expert training so that organizing and storing belongings could become part of daily habits.
"Love Busan" began last year with two households of young adults leaving state care. Content documenting how their housing environments changed drew more than 3 million cumulative views, attracting public interest. Building on that response, the city this year expanded participation to universities, companies and welfare agencies, combining their respective expertise and resources.
The project placed particular emphasis on documenting the process rather than the result. The entire process — from identifying the recipient household to diagnosing and designing the space, carrying out improvements and tracking the family's changes — was recorded in video and photographs. The aim is not simply to show the finished home but to share with residents how one family's daily life changed as multiple organizations and individuals each contributed their own resources. The content will be released in stages starting the same day through the city's official social media accounts and YouTube.
The project's significance lies in demonstrating the potential of community collaboration beyond the roles of individual participants. Rather than having the public sector bear all costs and provide all services directly, the university offered expertise, companies provided resources and technology, and welfare agencies contributed field presence and ongoing management capacity, together creating a model for welfare that supports daily life.
The city plans to continue identifying collaborative projects closely tied to daily life whose benefits residents can feel directly, working with a range of organizations. Oh Mi-kyung, the city's spokesperson, said, "This is a meaningful project in which multiple organizations pooled their expertise to give hope to one family's life and shared that journey with residents." She added, "We will continue city government communication that residents can relate to and experience through diverse channels and fresh collaboration."
