[scohesc]

I don't know anything about renting/buying/homeownership in South Korea but to me it seems like you could still have people living in these basements if you could ensure they don't flood above head-level with sump pumps or building a dike around the building or something? Not sure. Seems like it would be a good stopgap solution while still making sure tenants don't get their lives upended by flooding or laws that force them out of their homes.

It's funny because we've been starting to see homeowners of larger houses where I live renovating their basement into a condo/shared living space of sorts then renting it out to younger generations of people who can't afford regular apartments or housing.

I'm fairly certain we're going to see an economic collapse on a larger global scale in the next decade and some governments' complacency on housing availability/affordability/etc. are going to be part of the blame.

[design-of-homes]

Even if the basements were flood-proof, these basements have minimal natural light, and little to no view from the windows. Horrible places to live. The mother at the end of the video says it all:

"I want to move above ground where my children can see the skies, to a place that doesn't have the musty smell of a semi-basement, so we can live together in fresh air."

[spywaregorilla]

Seoul is hilly enough to put san franciso to shame, and a lot of these poor basement residences are at the bottom. It'd likely be really hard to do this reliably.

[sbaiddn]

Its impossible - imagine the basement is the hold of a ship with holes below the water line the size of doors. You'd need a jet to pump the required water.

The only technical "solution" would be to build a barrier higher than the flood waters around the apartments, but thats not going to happen.