Housing in apartment-dominated Korea 아파트가 대부분인 한국에서 한국인들의 주거 불확실

[김우정]

아파트는 우리나라 주택의 64%를 차지하는 주거형태입니다.

지난 8월 반포동에 있는 32평형(84m2) 이피트가 60억원에 거래되었습니다.

한국은행은 금리인하시 아파트가격상승을 우려하고 있습니다.

이창용 한국은행 총재는 강남권 학생들의 서울대 입학생수를 제한하자고 말합니다.

시골마을 까지 넘쳐나는 아파트를 줄일 수 있는 방안은 없을까요?

Koreans remain uncertain over housing in apartment-dominated Korea
아파트가 대부분인 한국에서 한국인들의 주거 불확실

By Kim Ji-soo 김지수 기자
Posted : 2024-09-26 15:04 Updated : 2024-09-26 16:20
Korea Times

Myriad of apartments stand like folding screens in Unjeong new city in Paju, Gyeonggi Province, in this November 2020 file photo. Yonhap 2020년 11월 파일사진에 경기도 파주 운정 신도시의 수많은 아파트가 병풍처럼 서 있다. 연합

During the Chuseok holidays this September, a popular Korean film titled "Concrete Utopia" aired on television. The story revolves around an apartment complex called "Hwanggung," which stands intact in Seoul after a devastating earthquake levels the city. In the dark and gloomy city, residents of Hwanggung as well as those who gather around the apartment for food and shelter, all struggle to survive. The film's title is an ironic question, in fact, asking us if apartments can truly provide a utopian living environment.
작년 9월 추석 연휴 기간 동안 텔레비전에서 인기 한국 영화 '콘크리트 유토피아'가 방영되었다. 이 이야기는 파괴적인 지진이 발생한 후 서울에 그대로 서 있는 '황궁'이라는 아파트 단지를 중심으로 전개된다. 어둡고 우울한 도시에서 황궁 주민들은 물론이고 아파트 주변에 모여 음식과 쉼터를 찾는 사람들은 모두 살아남기 위해 고군분투한다. 영화제목은 아이러니하게도 아파트가 진정으로 유토피아적인 삶의 환경을 제공할 수 있는지를 묻는 질문이다.

The message of the 2023 film resonates with the people of Seoul, where rows of apartment buildings stretch from east to west along the Han River, resembling the jagged slopes of the mountains for which Korea is famous. In Korea, apartments make up roughly 64 percent of the housing stock in a country with a population of 51.77 million, according to 2023 data from the Statistics Research Institute.
이 2023년 영화의 메시지는 한국이 유명한 산의 들쭉날쭉한 경사면을 닮은 한강을 따라 동서로 아파트 건물이 줄지어 있는 서울시민들의 공감을 불러일으킨다. 통계연구소의 2023년 데이터에 따르면 인구 5,177만 명의 한국에서 아파트는 주택재고의 약 64%를 차지한다.

This percentage highlights the overwhelming popularity of apartments in Korea, as reflected in the recent record-breaking prices recorded in Seoul. Additionally, there is growing concern that the widening social divide will further alienate people who are looking to buy a property. Statistics show that many apartment buyers in the first half of the year were in their 30s and 40s.
이 비율은 최근 서울에서 기록된 기록적인 가격에서 알 수 있듯이 한국에서 아파트의 압도적인 인기를 강조한다. 또한 사회적 격차가 확대되면서 부동산을 구매하려는 사람들이 더욱 소외될 것이라는 우려가 커지고 있다. 통계에 따르면 상반기에 많은 아파트 구매자가 30대와 40대였다.

One such buyer, a 36-year-old surnamed Lee, who works in Seoul, understands this too well. He purchased an apartment four years ago just as he was preparing to marry his fiance.
그런 구매자 중 한 명인 서울에 사는 36세 이모 씨는 이 사실을 너무 잘 알고 있다. 그는 약혼자와의 결혼을 준비하던 중 4년 전 아파트를 구입했다.

"As a non-homeowner back in 2020, when the house prices rose exorbitantly, I felt nervous, and I decided to purchase one," Lee said. He identified that those in their 30s and 40s were at a stage in their lives where they were settling down, and the need for a home intensified. However, Lee pointed out that the fear of missing out can also play a significant role.
이 씨는 "집값이 엄청나게 올랐던 2020년에 비주택소유자로서 불안감을 느껴 주택을 구입하기로 결심했다,"고 말했다. 그는 30~40대가 인생에서 정착하는 단계에 있었고, 주택에 대한 필요성이 심화되었다고 파악했다. 그러나 이씨는 놓치는 것에 대한 두려움도 상당한 역할을 할 수 있다고 지적했다.

"The sense of competition is strong in Korea, and regular people have seen how their peers started out with an apartment and amplified it over decades ... so there is a strong tendency to think that purchasing an apartment is the key to having a secure living environment as well as an investment asset," Lee said.
이씨는 "한국에서는 경쟁의식이 강하고, 일반인들은 수십 년에 걸쳐 또래들이 아파트를 어떻게 시작하고 증폭시켰는지를 봐왔기 때문에 아파트 구입이 투자자산이자 안전한 생활환경을 갖추는 열쇠라고 생각하는 경향이 강하다,"고 말했다.

The Korea Real Estate Board found that Seoul apartment prices in August rose 1.27 percent over the previous month. The 1.27 percent increase marks the highest rise in 71 months. The last time Seoul apartment prices experienced a similar increase was in September 2018, when they rose by 1.84 percent.
한국부동산원에 따르면 8월 서울 아파트 가격은 전월 대비 1.27% 상승했다. 1.27% 상승은 71개월 만에 가장 높은 상승률이다. 서울 아파트 가격이 비슷한 상승세를 보인 것은 2018년 9월로, 1.84% 상승했다.

The price per apartment unit was exorbitant in some cases. The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport announced in its public data on real-price transactions that, as of September this year, 14 apartments sold for over 10 billion won or more (approximately $751 million) each. The figure is a three-fold increase over the five units that were sold in the market at over 10 billion won last year.
아파트 한 채당 가격이 터무니없이 비싼 경우도 있었다. 국토교통부는 실거래가 공개자료를 통해 올해 9월 기준 14개 아파트가 각각 100억 원 이상(약 751만 달러)에 낙찰됐다고 발표했다. 이는 지난해 100억 원이 넘는 가격에 시장에 팔린 5채보다 3배나 증가한 수치이다.

A redeveloped, newly built apartment of about 84 square meters in Banpo-dong recently made headlines when it sold for 6 billion won in August. The 84-square-meter apartment features one of the most popular layouts favored by Korean families, typically offering three bedrooms and two bathrooms. The average price for an 84-square-meter apartment in Seoul is 1.04 billion won. 
최근 반포동에 위치한 약 84㎡ 규모의 재개발 신축 아파트가 8월에 60억 원에 낙찰되어 화제가 되었다. 84㎡ 규모의 이 아파트는 한국 가족들이 선호하는 가장 인기 있는 레이아웃 중 하나로, 일반적으로 침실 3개와 욕실 2개를 제공합니다. 서울의 84㎡ 아파트 평균 가격은 10억 4천만 원이다.

Forecasts for future prices remain mixed.

향후가격에 대한 전망은 여전히 엇갈린다.

"It's always been an uncertain market, as supply does not meet demand," said Park Won-gap, senior real estate analyst at KB Kookmin Bank. He cautiously forecast that prices, especially for high-end or apartment units in affluent areas along the Han River, will continue to rise.
박원갑 KB국민은행 수석 부동산 애널리스트는 "공급이 수요를 충족하지 못하기 때문에 항상 불확실한 시장이었다,"고 말했다. 그는 특히 한강변 부유층 지역의 고급 주택이나 아파트 가격이 계속 상승할 것이라고 조심스럽게 전망했다.

Professor Kwon Dae-jung, an expert in real estate studies at Sogang University, anticipates that prices will remain stagnant for the time being, as the government implemented stricter mortgage loan guidelines on Sept. 1, leading banks to be more hesitant in issuing new loans. The government enforced the second phase of debt service ratio rules, implementing higher stress rates when determining loan limits in the capital region. These rules dictate that a borrower's annual debt payments must not exceed 40 percent of their income.
서강대학교 부동산학 전문가인 권대중 교수는 정부가 9월 1일 더 엄격한 주택대출 가이드라인을 시행하면서 은행들이 신규 대출을 더 주저하게 되면서 당분간 가격이 정체될 것으로 예상하고 있다. 정부는 2단계 부채 상환 비율 규정을 시행하여 수도권 대출한도를 결정할 때 더 높은 스트레스 금리를 시행했다. 이 규정에 따르면 대출자의 연간 부채 상환액은 소득의 40%를 초과해서는 안된다.

Nevertheless, challenges to maintaining a stable housing market persist, including low supply, strong demand for apartments, and the potential for a rate cut in Korea following the U.S. Fed's "big cut."
그럼에도 불구하고 공급부족, 아파트에 대한 강력한 수요, 미국 연준의 "큰 폭의 금리 인하"에 따른 한국의 금리 인하 가능성 등 안정적인 주택 시장을 유지하기 위한 과제가 지속되고 있다.

"Firstly, there isn't a sufficient supply of available apartments. And once you own an apartment, it can be redeveloped into high rises, meaning it will rise in value as an asset," Kwon said.
"첫째, 가용 아파트 공급이 충분하지 않다. 그리고 아파트를 소유하면 높은 상승률로 재개발할 수 있으므로 자산 가치가 상승할 것이다."라고 권교수는 말한다.

Park saw the demand stemming also from so-called "apartment kids."
박위원은 이러한 수요가 소위 '아파트 아이들'에서도 비롯된 것으로 보았다.

"Children who grew up in these apartments will likely be future buyers with a different sense of housing space. These so-called 'apartment kids' in their 30s and 40s prefer to purchase apartments over land or commercial buildings," Park said.
"이 아파트에서 자란 아이들은 다른 주거 공간감을 가진 미래의 구매자가 될 가능성이 높습니다. 소위 30~40대의 '아파트 아이들'은 토지나 상업용 건물보다 아파트를 선호한다."라고 박위원은 말했다.

Since the construction of multi-unit buildings began in 1958, Korean apartments, unlike those in Europe and the United States, were keenly occupied by middle-class families in the 1980s. Before that, Korean families lived mostly in houses or modernized hanok-style houses. Over the past few decades, apartments in Seoul have developed significantly alongside the growth of the Korean economy. The recently built high-end apartments in Hannam-dong and southern Seoul feature "gated" facilities, with some having actual gates and others offering community amenities like gyms and cafeteria
1958년 다가구 건물이 착공된 이래 1980년대에는 유럽이나 미국과 달리 한국 아파트가 중산층 가정에서 차지하는 비중이 높았다. 그 전에는 한국인 가정이 주로 주택이나 현대화된 한옥 스타일의 주택에서 살았다. 지난 수십 년 동안 서울의 아파트는 한국경제의 성장과 함께 크게 발전했다. 최근 서울 한남동과 강남에 지어진 고급 아파트는 '게이트' 시설이 특징이며, 일부는 실제 게이트가 있고 일부는 체육관과 카페테리아와 같은 커뮤니티 편의시설이 있다.

Park sees the ubiquitous popularity of apartments in Korea as a combination of various factors.
박위원은 한국에서 아파트의 유비쿼터스 인기는 다양한 요인이 복합적으로 작용한 것으로 보고 있다.

"Apartments streamlined the movement of women who did most of the housework," Park said.
박위원은 "아파트는 집안일을 대부분 하는 여성들의 움직임을 간소화했다,"고 말했다.

A scene from the film "Concrete Utopia" depicts the cruel battle between the owners and non-owners of an apartment in the aftermath of an earthquake. Courtesy of Lotte Entertainment 영화 '콘크리트 유토피아'의 한 장면은 지진 이후 아파트 소유주와 비소유주 간의 잔인한 싸움을 묘사하고 있다. 롯데 엔터테인먼트 제공

Kwon predominantly cited convenience and safety as its allure. Interestingly, an old black-and-white video resembling a public promotional clip from the film "Concrete Utopia" features a housewife stating that she heard that the apartments were very convenient to live in.
권교수는 주로 편리함과 안전성을 매력으로 꼽았다. 흥미롭게도 영화 '콘크리트 유토피아'의 홍보 영상과 유사한 오래된 흑백 영상에는 한 주부가 아파트가 살기 매우 편리하다는 말을 들었다고 말한다.

Moreover, the media's sensationalized use of terms like "lotto" or "lottery" when new apartments hit the market may be contributing to the instability of the housing market.
또한, 신규 아파트가 시장에 출시될 때 언론이 '로또' 또는 '로또'와 같은 용어를 선정적으로 사용한 것도 주택시장의 불안정성에 기여하고 있을 수 있다.

"I think there tend to be more news articles on real estate focusing on certain areas like Seocho-gu or Gangnam-gu because those will bring in more readers," said Choi Yoon-jung, professor of communications at Ewha Womans University.
최윤정 이화여대 커뮤니케이션학과 교수는 "서초구나 강남구 같은 특정 지역에 초점을 맞춘 부동산 관련 뉴스 기사가 많아지는 경향이 있는 것 같다며 더 많은 독자를 끌어들일 수 있을 것,"이라고 말했다.

"But when we think about the real needs of would-be house or apartment owners, it would help the readers more if these articles could offer an average price throughout Seoul including Mapo-gu, Nowon-gu and Gangbuk-gu as well," she said.
"하지만 주택이나 아파트 소유자의 진정한 수요를 생각할 때, 이 기사들이 마포구, 노원구, 강북구 등 서울 전역에서 평균가격을 제시할 수 있다면 독자들에게 더 도움이 될 것이다,"라고 그녀는 말했다.

High housing prices present a persistent challenge for policymakers as well.
높은 주택가격은 정책입안자들에게도 지속적인 도전 과제이다.

The Bank of Korea (BOK) is facing a dilemma over the correlation between a lower interest rate and higher apartment prices, as it considers cutting its 3.5 percent benchmark interest rate. The severity of the dilemma was well illustrated in BOK Gov. Rhee Chang-yong's recent remarks in an interview with The Financial Times. He said that Korea may well need extreme measures such as putting in place a quota or cap on admitting the number of students from the Gangnam area to prestigious universities in order to curb apartment prices in Seoul.
한국은행이 기준금리 3.5% 인하를 고려하면서 금리인하와 아파트가격 상승의 상관관계를 놓고 딜레마에 직면해 있다. 이 딜레마의 심각성은 최근 이창용 한국은행 총재가 파이낸셜 타임즈와의 인터뷰에서 한 발언에서 잘 드러났다. 그는 한국이 서울 아파트 가격을 억제하기 위해 강남권 학생 수를 명문대에 입학시키는 정원이나 상한선을 두는 등 극단적인 조치가 필요할 수 있다고 말했다.

"In northern parts of western Europe, there is a consensus that housing has a social value, a perception that housing is a social infrastructure. To that end, the government supplies public housing and policies that make it easier to rent and own a home. Korea, instead of regarding apartment as a commodity, needs to go toward that route as well," said Park Mi-seon, a research fellow at the Korea Research Institute for Human Settlements.
"서유럽 북부 지역에서는 주택이 사회적 가치가 있다는 데 공감대가 형성되어 있고, 주택은 사회적 인프라라는 인식이 형성되어 있다. 이를 위해 정부는 공공주택과 주택을 더 쉽게 임대하고 소유할 수 있는 정책을 시행한다. 한국도 아파트를 상품으로 생각하는 대신 그 길을 가야 한다."고 박미선 국토연구원 연구위원은 말했다.

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