Climate Justice in the Margins: Examining Extreme Heat Vulnerability and the Role of Cooling Center in Seoul's Jjokbang-Chon

Background and Purpose: In South Korea, small pockets of neighborhoods called jjokbang-chon exist in major cities as one of the last remaining “slums” of South Korea. Jjokbang, translated as divided or sliced rooms, are micro-units, often illegally partitioned, typically ranging from 1.7 to 6.6 m2 (18 to 71 ft2) is one of the cheapest forms of housing in South Korea. With substandard living conditions and those who live in jjokbang-chon primarily being older adults experiencing poverty, jjokbang-chon is extremely susceptible to extreme temperatures.

This study uses the Pressure and Release (PAR) framework, a theoretical framework for assessing disaster risk within a community by analyzing the progression of vulnerability, to assess the vulnerability of jjokbang-chon to extreme weather. Using the PAR framework, this study aims to understand the social conditions that render urban slum housing neighborhoods susceptible to the impacts of extreme weather. In addition, the study takes a closer look at one of the most common interventions: cooling centers. Using the case of jjokbang-chon, it explores how cooling centers function, their perceived effectiveness, and how residents experience and understand them as a key strategy for mitigating heat-related risks.

Methods: This study takes an interpretive approach and is part of a larger ethnographic project on climate justice and the social work response to addressing extreme weather in jjokbang-chon, based on the author’s ethnographic fieldwork of living in a jjokbang-chon and conducting participant observations over the course of one year. Drawing on extensive field notes, in-depth interviews with over 50 residents, and 18 social workers, the study employs thematic analysis to identify key patterns and emerging themes related to vulnerability, adaptation, and the role of cooling centers in the face of extreme heat.

Results: The study found that these systemic inequities manifest in daily life, forming the foundation of vulnerability. The poor built environment of jjokbang, jjokbang-chon residents’ already frail health, fraught social relationships, economic struggles, and inadequate political resources all converge and reinforce one another–forming “a vicious cycle” of vulnerability. This study highlights how historical, social, economic, and environmental factors intersect to shape jjokbang-chon residents’ vulnerability to extreme heat. Using the PAR model, it links structural forces with immediate conditions that heighten climate risk. The study also highlights how people perceive cooling centers and their ineffectiveness as it only serves as a temporary relief and does not reflect the lived realities of people in jjokbang-chon in addressing their vulnerabilities.

Conclusion and implications: The findings reveal how inadequate housing, economic hardship, weak health systems, and social isolation intersect to heighten residents’ exposure to extreme heat. They also point to the shortcomings of short-term interventions such as cooling centers, emphasizing the need for structural change to tackle the root causes of vulnerability. This study provides critical insights for other low-income urban communities confronting climate-related risks and advocates for community-based assessment of vulnerability as well as holistic adaptation strategies centered on community-driven solutions and sustainable resilience.