“Even if times change, it never changes
“Exploring the wealthy centers where money and people gather”

Location specialist Lee Sang-woo and history writer Yoo Seong-un
Exploring the Footsteps of Profitable Land Revealed Through Five Location Keywords

"The History of Real Estate Wealth in the Republic of Korea" analyzes in detail the factors that determine real estate value and how these factors operate in modern times, focusing on various historical events from the Three Kingdoms period to the Joseon Dynasty.
This book contains answers to questions such as, "Why was Seoul chosen as the capital of Baekje, Joseon, and Korea?", "Why did Hanyang's commercial district develop in Jongno?", "How were new towns developed in ancient times?", "How did the relocation of public institutions to the provinces actually affect housing prices in provincial cities?", "How did the value of reservoirs, landfills, and mountainous areas change?", and "How did the once-shunned industrial areas and areas around train stations become high-end neighborhoods close to work?"

Location specialist Lee Sang-woo and historical writer Yoo Seong-un have joined forces to analyze and reveal the timeless location conditions that attract money and people across time, transcending the past and present.
Readers of this book will develop the insight to discern the strongholds of wealth that will continue to grow and ultimately develop regardless of market trends.

My previous work focused on "high-income jobs," which clearly distinguished it from other real estate books. Adding history to this, I wondered which aspect I should focus on more.
After much deliberation, the conclusion I reached was 'education'.
So, I was obsessed with how to express this, and the result was the formation of a 'network'.
In fact, in modern society, it is undeniable that networks can be created to some extent with money, so the connection between popular residential areas and education based on "high-income jobs," as discussed in the previous work, is bound to increase.
I think this "Modern History of Real Estate Wealth in the Republic of Korea" will be easier to understand if read from this perspective.
---From "Preface - Real Estate is the Continuous Flow of Human Life"

It is not just yesterday that housing prices in Seoul were high, and even during the Joseon Dynasty, people were troubled by the soaring housing prices in Hanyang.
Some managed to secure housing through private loans and "Daddy Chance," but those without these lifelines were forced to flee to the outskirts of Hanyang.
One of the reasons I wanted to live in Hanyang so badly was the educational infrastructure.
Because living in Hanyang meant better education and more opportunities.
This phenomenon has been confirmed since the Goryeo Dynasty, which preceded it.
The phenomenon of the 8th school district in Gangnam has such a long history.
---From "Preface - Where do people live from ancient times to the present"

After the move, Joseon was faced with great difficulties.
This is because the noble families living in Gaegyeong did not follow the court to Hanyang.
It would have been better to live in Gaeseong, a 400-year-old capital with abundant infrastructure, rather than in the new capital, Hanyang, which lacked infrastructure.
Meanwhile, four schools were established in Hanyang.
Perhaps one of the ways to revitalize the new capital, Hanyang, was to focus on education. A similar scene unfolded during the development of Gangnam in the 1970s.
Since the residents living in Gangbuk were unwilling to move down, apartments were built and forcibly sold to government officials. When even this did not work, traditionally prestigious high schools such as Gyeonggi High School, Whimoon High School, and Gyeonggi Girls' High School were relocated to Gangnam, opening the Gangnam era.
---「Chapter 1.
Good school districts are, and always have been, the number one most preferred area.

For the rich, the first goal of education (better schools) is not very important.
They would rather focus on the second (networking with good people).
You don't necessarily have to go through the 'hard' process of getting into a better school.
Access to a network of good people is readily available through various channels, and with enough money, it's not that difficult. Therefore, seeking a good education and heading to places where the "too" wealthy live is a misguided decision.
Places where people who dream of social mobility live together are likely to be densely populated middle-class neighborhoods.
However, the middle class here does not mean people with a medium level of income, but rather the 'upper class who pretend to be middle class.'
That person is you, the one reading this book right now.
---「Chapter 2.
The goal of education is ultimately to create a network.

Why is Gangnam given such a high value?
There are likely many factors, but wouldn't education, infrastructure, convenient transportation, and commuting distance be the key factors? So, what would the educational and commuting environment have been like during the dynasty, when it was different from today?
Hundreds of years ago, the most important criterion for determining the value of a neighborhood in Hanyang was its distance from the palace.
In other words, the price of a house was determined by how close one was to the king.
It overpowered all other factors.
For example, the yolk of the Goryeo capital, Gaeseong, was a place called Jeongseung-dong inside Naedongdaemun.
It was located to the east and south of Manwoldae, and was considered the best place to commute to work because it was right in front of the palace.
Because many ministers lived there, the name of the neighborhood was Jeongseung-dong.
And right above Jeongseung-dong was Yudong, which was also right next to the palace, so it is said that many high-ranking officials, including Yi Saek, lived there.
---「Chapter 3.
It is natural that money flows to places with many jobs.

Where else should you go to find rapidly growing companies, aside from large corporations? Pangyo is the answer.
Companies that are growing rapidly and seeing their stock prices soar are concentrated here.
In addition to Seongnam, where Pangyo is located, Yongin and Hwaseong are also transforming into such regions.
Twenty years ago, emerging companies that were concentrated on Teheran-ro in Gangnam moved to Pangyo, and now another movement is emerging.
Looking at the graph, we can see that the increase in total salaries of the three major IT companies and the increase in apartment prices in Gyeonggi Province are surprisingly close together.
The reason for the movement of housing prices, which I consider most important, is ‘increasing wages’, which is being applied as is.
In other words, the reason why housing prices in Gyeonggi-do have risen is because the number of companies that have successfully settled in the province has increased.
It would be premature to interpret this as simply the result of 'speculation' or 'excessive interest'.
---「Chapter 4.
Let's pay attention to where high-income jobs are moving.

Chungju was important because it was located at a hub for both waterways and land transportation on the Han River. Taxes from Gimhae, Changwon, Miryang, Yangsan, Jinhae, and Uiryeong were transported to Sangju along the Nakdong River, then transported overland to Gyeongwonchang in Chungju, and then transported by ship from Chungju to Seoul via the Namhan River.
In other words, if there is a problem in Chungju, the tax payments from Gyeongsang-do, Chungcheongbuk-do, and Gangwon-do will all be blocked, putting them in a serious situation.
Looking at the 『Hogu Census』 written in 1789 (the 13th year of King Jeongjo's reign), we can see that many people lived in Chungju.
At that time, Hanyang had the largest population with 189,153 people, followed by Pyongyang (107,590 people), Uiju (89,970 people), Chungju (87,731 people), and Jeonju (72,505 people).
Chungju had a population about twice that of the nearby major cities of Cheongju and Andong.
---「Chapter 5.
From "Where there is a road, there is a first-class city"

To get a sense of how the expansion of highways in the northern metropolitan area has drastically transformed the region, look no further than Pocheon, Yangju, and Paju.
The opening of the Guri-Pocheon Expressway and the Seoul-Munsan Expressway has greatly improved accessibility to these areas.
The northern part of the old Gyeonggi Province was only considered a 'road to the front'.
Anyone who has ever visited a friend in the military will recall how difficult it was to return home on the same day, but this has been dramatically improved.
Since the opening of these roads, the results of apartment sales in the relevant areas have also clearly changed.
---「Chapter 6.
"Investing is not difficult if you just follow the road"

Ulsan is famous for having a cost of living and standard of living that is just as high as that of Seoul.
When outsiders think of Ulsan, the first thing that comes to mind is probably the steel industry, such as Hyundai Motor Company or Hyundai Steel.
Many people think of it as an industrial city that experienced rapid growth thanks to the influx of prominent companies and the rise of the iron industry.
However, Ulsan's history of making and eating iron goes back a very long time.
In 2008, mining sites and artifacts discovered in Dalcheon-dong, Buk-gu, Ulsan surprised the academic world.
This is because the investigation results confirmed that it was from between the 1st and 3rd centuries BC.
This is evidence that the Dalcheon Mine here has been developed since the Three Kingdoms Period.
----「Chapter 7.
From "Nature Changes the Landscape of Real Estate and Wealth"

Did you know that many popular areas in Seoul are actually landfills? Jamsil-dong and Seobuichon-dong are prime examples.
Let's take a look at the Jamsil District Development Plan from 1971.
In Jamsildo, ‘do’ literally means island.
All the places that were surrounded by water and separated were turned into land.
If you drive along Olympic-daero, you will come across Cheongdam Bridge, which was an island, and the area that was once filled with water was filled to create the current Jamsil.
The development of Seobuichon-dong was carried out even before Jamsil-dong.
This is the current site of the Seobinggo Shindonga Apartment.
It is a large apartment complex built by reclaiming land from the Han River, and is currently undergoing reconstruction, but there is no disparaging atmosphere at all about it being a reclaimed land.
Ultimately, it all comes down to whether or not an attractive product is in the right location, regardless of whether it's a landfill or not.
This is the ‘scarcity’ that is created by technological development.
Land that would have been unseen in the past has been transformed into gold by technology removing all its weaknesses.
----「Chapter 8.
In this era where even the natural environment is artificially created,

As the area within the four gates became saturated, it became difficult for the government to maintain control of Hanyang.
That's how Seongjeosipni (Castle Ten Li) was created.
Seongjeosipni, officially included in Hanyang on February 27, 1461, was the area within 4 kilometers outside the city walls, including the present-day Gangbuk-gu, Dongdaemun-gu, Mapo-gu, Seodaemun-gu, Seongdong-gu, Seongbuk-gu, Yongsan-gu, Eunpyeong-gu, Yeouido, and the areas of Gwangjin-gu and Jungnang-gu.
It can be said to be the first 'sub-city center' in our history.
It is no exaggeration to say that the original form of Seoul was established during the Park Chung-hee administration before Gangnam was developed.
The expanded area of ​​Hanyang included Cheongnyangni to the east, the Han River to the south, and Mapo-gu to the west.
So, when Jeong Yak-yong emphasized to his sons that he would make them live within 10 li of Hanyang, he meant that they had to live at least in the secondary city center of Hanyang, if not within the four great gates.
----「Chapter 9.
From "The Origin of the New Town Project, Yi Seong-gye's Move of the Capital to Hanyang"

Consumers' housing needs have evolved to include wanting to do most of their work near their homes.
They want to address not only housing-related factors such as education, transportation, and natural environment, but also proximity to work, shopping, and leisure all at once.
However, there are not many places that satisfy this need.
Because each piece of land has a specific purpose.
But in the 21st century, it is quite ridiculous to divide land into 'this land is for agricultural use, this land is for residential use, that land is for commercial use.'
Officetels are usually built in commercial areas, but people don't realize how awkward it is to talk about building an officetel for residential purposes in a commercial area.
Conversely, it is not awkward to consider housing in places with strong commercial functions, such as department stores or shopping malls.
The market demand is already known, but administrative functions are not keeping up.

----「Chapter 10.
From “The work of breathing life into the city”