Construction equipment smashes down old brick buildings and scrapes into the exposed earth underneath, making way for Hannam New Town, a massive redevelopment project located between central Seoul’s multicultural Itaewon area and the Han River. As demolition is nearly complete in Zone 3, the first of five adjacent redevelopment zones in the area, residents of Zone 2 are being pushed out in the latest wave of evictions. Amid the destruction, Julie Choi, the operator of YongsanCats, an animal welfare community active in the area, warns that large-scale redevelopment of the neighborhood affects more than just its human residents. Choi, who lives in another part of Yongsan District, estimates she has rescued more than 200 cats from the path of demolition in the area since 2024. “I started because I could not ignore what I knew these cats were facing,” she told The Korea Times. “I also wanted to help create an environment in which ordinary people feel they can take responsibility for even one life.” Now the animal shelter, where her rescues live while awaiting a foster or forever home, faces
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