construction in Gwanak-gu during "the IMF" and after

Number of building permits in Gwanak-gu by year: units m2 1997 533 341 349 1998 127 99 695 1999 142 108 665 2000 405 361 593 2001 1357 810 482 2002 1626 960 019 2003 914 740 150 Source: Gwanak-gu Statistical Yearbook (hwp file). This is perhaps the most dramatic piece of statistic I've seen about the economic crisis of the late 1990s. This should pretty much tell what it's been like to be a day laborer in construction or an owner of a construction company in '98 and '99. This also gives some perspective to what the neighborhood people referred to with terms like "wôllum bum" (studio apartment boom) after year 2000; restaurant keepers catering construction sites were busy. People at House of Friendship (Sillim 2-dong, Gwanak-gu) prepare for a construction site delivery. (c)AL, June 11, 2002 Categories at del.icio.us/hunjang: Sillim/Gwanak ∙ housing ∙ urbanspace ∙ modernization