Korea Habitat - Cheonan City Support Housing for 16 Homeless Newlywed Couples

Volunteers from 'Korea Bolt Architecture (KBB)', held last August, are lending a helping hand for the new start of the resident families. Provided by Korea Habitat

The international housing welfare nonprofit organization Korea Habitat announced on the 12th that it held the '2024 Hope House Building' dedication ceremony in Seokgyo-ri, Seonggeo-eup, Cheonan-si, Chungnam. The dedication ceremony was attended by various figures including Park Sang-don, Mayor of Cheonan, Kim Haeng-geum, Chairman of Cheonan City Council, Lee Jae-gwan, Member of the National Assembly, Yoon Hyung-joo, Chairman of Korea Habitat, Yoon Hak-hee, Chairman of Korea Habitat Chungnam Sejong Branch, as well as sponsors, partners, and volunteers, celebrating the hopeful new start of the resident families.

The '2024 Hope House Building' project supports the independence of homeless newlywed couples and aims to foster change in local communities and build healthy communities. This project provided housing to 16 newlywed couples. The 16 detached houses, each with a duplex structure and an exclusive area of 91.00㎡ (26 pyeong), are energy-saving eco-friendly homes. Additionally, balconies and system air conditioners were installed to enhance the convenience of the resident families.

The resident families were selected as households with economic self-sufficiency capable of ▲applying for a stepping stone loan for home ownership ▲participating in 300 hours of construction volunteering ▲repaying construction costs interest-free over 30 years. These families are young adults and newlywed couples without homes who are about to get married. The repayment funds will be reused as construction costs for other homeless low-income families.

The dedication ceremony of the '2024 Hope House Building' held in Seokgyo-ri, Seonggeo-eup, Cheonan City. Provided by Korea Habitat

Earlier, Korea Habitat's ultra-short-term construction project, 'Korea Blitz Build (KBB),' was held in Cheonan last August, where 300 large-scale volunteers participated over three days in key processes such as wooden framing and wall construction, supporting the new start of the resident families.

The '2024 Hope House Building' project received warm support from various sectors including Chungcheongnam-do, Cheonan City, Korean Reinsurance, Kyle Agri Purina, Korean Air, KLA Korea, DuPont Korea, Eaton Korea, Asia Cement & Halla Cement, Stanley Black & Decker, Knauf Gypsum Board, Seum, Jaehyun Haneulchang, Maltani, Korea Land and Geospatial Informatix Corporation Cheonan Branch, Jungbu City Gas, Hanbit Architectural Office, Yeongheung Industrial Environment, Jeongil Fire Door, and the Korea Wooden Architecture Association.

Yoon Hyung-joo, Chairman of Korea Habitat, said, "Korea Habitat has supported 176 homeless youth and newlywed families in the Cheonan area by providing homes, alleviating housing cost issues, and contributing to the creation of stable housing environments. We are very pleased to share the value of giving with local governments, communities, companies, and volunteers and to work together to solve youth housing problems. I sincerely thank everyone who cooperated."

The newlywed resident families expressed their gratitude, saying, "After experiencing a jeonse fraud and enduring difficult times with my wife, I am overwhelmed with emotion thinking about making good memories in a stable home where our children can freely play."