An apartment complex in Gimpo, South Korea, on Nov. 17, 2023.
Photographer: SeongJoon Cho/BloombergDesign
How Corporations Created the Prototypical Seoul Apartment
Conglomerates like Hyundai, LG and Samsung played major roles in building the “apatu” complexes in Seoul and across South Korea, and in shaping how South Koreans live today.
(This article is part of Bloomberg CityLab’s series exploring the iconic home designs that shaped global cities. Read more from the series. Get the next story sent to your inbox by subscribing to the CityLab Daily newsletter.)
For first-time visitors to South Korea, one of the most striking features of the country’s cities is the prevalence of giant, identical-looking apartment complexes.