Exploring U.S. Military Government's Refugee Housing Efforts in Korea

This study clarifies the specifics of refugee housing construction by the U.S. military government in Korea from 1945 to 1948. After liberation from Japan in 1945, South Korea faced a severe housing shortage due to the influx of returnees from overseas and North Korea. The U.S. military government introduced several housing policies, including refugee housing construction, which were generally considered unsuccessful. However, this study confirms that the U.S. military government strategically categorized housing policies based on the urgency of housing construction and the durability of planned houses, resulting in three types of refugee housing: permanent housing, prefabricated semi-permanent housing, and emergency housing. These projects involved various stakeholders, such as government departments, public organizations, and private associations, demonstrating that these efforts were collaborative rather than unilateral. Despite the limitations of the housing policies, these efforts helped mitigate Korea’s post-liberation housing crisis. This indicates that the early housing policies, while not entirely successful, had some success, prompting a reconsideration of the historical evaluation of the U.S. military government’s housing policies in Korea.