Editor's Pick: After 15 Years of Support, Seoul Station Homeless Shelter to Close Its Doors

In front of Exit 13 of Seoul Station.

Unlike the sweltering weather outside, which is nearing 31°C (88°F), a cool breeze flows through this space during the summer.

Equipped with air conditioners and fans running constantly, as well as cold and hot water and 16 computers, this is Dream City, a private shelter for the homeless located right in front of Seoul Station.

Since opening in 2011, it has served as a sanctuary for the past 15 years, providing a place to escape scorching heat and heavy rain in the summer, and bitter cold and heavy snow in the winter.

With 300 to 400 people visiting every day and the Seoul City free soup kitchen, Ttasuhan Chaeumteo, located just a one-minute walk away, it is often difficult to find an empty seat around meal times.

[Shelter User (4 years) : (Right next door) is the soup kitchen. People wait here until it is time to eat, and after having a meal, they can stay here until 7 p.m. on weekdays.]

The shelter, which has provided services such as luggage storage, mobile phone charging, free haircuts, and even medical support, will close its doors this coming October.

This is because the landlord, who had not raised the rent for the past several years despite the rising market rates in the area, stated that they could no longer lease the space at the same price.

For the homeless, this means losing not only a space to escape heatwaves and heavy rain, but also a community where they could share conversations, even if only for a short while.

[Kim Ki-yong/Shelter User (8 months) : It will be a huge shock, especially for the elderly men and women. They provide meals here (at the Seoul City free soup kitchen), and bread in the morning. I don't know what will happen once this place moves.]

Pastor Woo Yeon-sik, who operated the private shelter, plans to move to Bucheon, Gyeonggi Province, to create a new space for elderly people living alone.

The Seoul Metropolitan Government announced that it plans to open the soup kitchen one hour earlier than the current schedule to prepare for potential complaints as homeless individuals are expected to congregate around the facility after the Seoul Station shelter disappears.

15 Years by the Side of the Homeless... Disappearing from Seoul Station Exit 13 (July 14, 2026, 8 O'Clock News)

Reported by Yoo Soo-hwan | Written by Bae Jun-hwi | Video by Lee Sang-hak | Video Editing by Yoon Tae-ho | Produced by SBS Digital News
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.