Broadcast date: Friday, August 4, 2023, 10 PM Have you heard the saying that there is no bungeo in bungeoppang and no test takers in gosiwon? As the national exam was abolished and the popularity of civil servants declined, test takers left gosiwons. Now, people who gathered in gosiwons for their own reasons are filling their vacancies. The population living in gosiwons is approximately 150,000. They are stepping stones for their first steps in life, springboards for a leap forward, and places to take their last breaths; small rooms of about 10 pyeong (approximately 3 square meters). A place where people with warm hearts gather, even if there is no place to light a fire. The only place where you can rest your bodies tired from city life. 《Tracking 60 Minutes》 knocked on the door of such an urban room. ■ 27 years ago, a test taker in his 40s... Still living in a gosiwon “It’s been 27 years since I came here in 1996. It’s already been that long. “It seems like only yesterday.” 30 years ago, Sillim-dong (administrative name: Daehak-dong) was a test-taking village where test-takers dreamed of passing the exam gathered. People who are still in Sillim-dong even in their middle age. 60 Minutes of Tracking met a test-taker in his 40s who had been interviewed 20 years ago. Now, 27 years later, he has not been able to leave Sillim-dong. After failing the exam, he worked as a security guard and as a day laborer. He says that life was hard and he was still lying in a small test-taking room. People who lived difficult lives like him have been pushed to Sillim-dong. Father Lee Young-woo, the priest in charge of Sillim-dong Test-taking Village, says that it is very difficult for them to leave Sillim-dong. According to him, it is difficult for the test-taker residents in Sillim-dong to get jobs because they do not have the health to work. It is a place where people who are like invisible people gather and whose voices are not even heard saying that they are having a hard time. 60 Minutes of Tracking listened to their voices. ■ The first room in life... It all came alive. A Brazilian girl named Henata, who loves K-pop, lives in a gosiwon in Sinchon. A gosiwon in Sinchon is reminiscent of a foreign university dormitory. Foreign exchange students and college students are using the Sinchon gosiwon as their first room in life. Meanwhile, young people who have come to Seoul to seize opportunities are staying in Gangnam. Kim Jong-baek, a gosiwon resident we met. His hometown is Jeonju, Jeollabuk-do, and he commutes to Gangnam. He says that a gosiwon is like a stepping stone. It was the only place where he could seize opportunities in Seoul. For them, isn't a gosiwon another name for hope? "At first, I thought it was really hard to live in a gosiwon, but when I actually started living there, it was just hard." - Kim Jong-baek, five months into his gosiwon life ■ If there's an uphill road, there's also a downhill road Family breakdown and business failure. People who ended up in a gosiwon due to unpredictable life trajectories. They too were once the heads of households, business owners, and celebrities worthy of being on TV. They still had hope even while living in a gosiwon. Choi Kwon-pyo, who lives in a gosiwon in Yongsan-gu. Although he is now a basic welfare recipient, he still expresses his gratitude to those who help him and says that he wants to help those who are less fortunate than him. Jeong Sam-seon, who was an expert in the art of polishing cars, also says that he is able to endure because he has a goal and a dream, although he currently lives alone, separated from his family. ■ The last room in life... Please say hello 11% of lonely deaths occur in gosiwons. Gosiwon owner Park Young-sook calls herself the mother of gosiwon residents. She started her life in Seoul by cleaning motels. She is now a gosiwon owner, but she has not forgotten those difficult times. Young-sook has witnessed the deaths of three people while running a gosiwon. She pays respect to the deceased by pouring them makgeolli and praying for their souls. She also accompanies a gosiwon resident with cancer to the hospital and treats the residents to a meal on Boknal (the day of the hottest days). 《Tracking 60 Minutes》 visited Young-sook's gosiwon, where she asks about the well-being of the residents every day. “I want to think of the elderly people who are having a hard time here as my parents and help them” Park Young-sook, running a gosiwon in Cheongnyangni 《2023 Gosiwon Report, 7 Square Meters of Life》 will be broadcast on KBS1TV at 10 PM on August 4, 2023. Since 1983, Korea's first investigative program Tracking the truth with the eyes of common sense Every Friday at 10 PM KBS1 《Tracking 60 Minutes》 ✔ Tips: 010-4828-0203 / Tracking 60 Minutes homepage / [email protected] ▶Homepage: https://program.kbs.co.kr/2tv/culture... ▶KakaoTalk Channel: http://pf.kakao.com/_fxgiyxj ▶Facebook: /kbs60min ▶Instagram: /kbs60min ▶Twitter: /kbs1548553