On July 29, as a intense heat wave gripped the country, the dibber village in Mansok-dong, Jemulpo-gu, Incheon.

An elderly couple in their 80s, surnamed Cho, were enduring the heat in a cramped space of roughly 5 pyeong (about 16.5 square meters) with only an old electric fan as the daytime high reached 32°C (90°F).

Although the small front door was wide open, no breeze could pass through as there were no separate windows inside the room.

Because Mr. Cho has poor teeth and must subsist on porridge, and also suffers from limited mobility, he had no choice but to stay confined at home.

A wall-mounted air conditioner was installed in one corner of the room, but he said they had not turned it on even once this summer due to worries over the electricity bill.

Mr. Cho said, "Usually our electricity bill comes out to around 60,000 to 70,000 won, but even running the air conditioner a little bit pushes it over 100,000 won," adding, "It is a 20-year-old air conditioner, so I am afraid to turn it on."

Mr. Lee (57, male), who had drifted through the streets before settling in the dibber village in April of last year, was cooling off inside his home with his shirt off.

Mr. Lee said, "Even when you turn on the fan, hot air blows out," and added, "With the iron sheeting covering the exterior walls, it feels like the inside of the room has become a teppanyaki grill."

Ms. Kim (86) also did not turn on her air conditioner even though the indoor thermometer indicated 29°C (84°F).

As social interest in dibber housing has grown, the distribution rate of cooling appliances has risen and electricity bill subsidies have expanded, but there are still many cases where residents cannot turn on air conditioners with peace of mind.

To make matters worse, since many households lack indoor toilets, inconveniences are amplified during the summer when movement is heavily restricted.

Some residents could not hide their distress over swarms of mosquitoes attacking at all hours and the sudden appearance of rats.

At a nearby senior center, seven or eight elderly residents were resting early to escape the heat.

They said, "It is our daily routine to gather at the senior center in the morning and return around sunset," and added, "Even when we go home, we keep air conditioner use to a minimum."

Because summers in the dibber village feature many vulnerable aspects in terms of residential conditions, it naturally becomes a busy period for the staff at the Incheon Dibber Counseling Center.

As the intense sunlight filled the streets of the Gnaengiburimul dibber village with heat, the staff members checking on the well-being of each household were quickly drenched in sweat.

Despite their difficult circumstances, the dibber village residents generously handed vitamin drinks to the hardworking staff, and the workers' pockets quickly bulged.

The staff routinely handle tasks such as delivering heat wave relief supplies and checking on the well-being of seniors, as well as replacing wallpaper and flooring to improve living environments.

The working conditions for the staff caring for the dibber residents on the front lines remain harsh.

Although they manage dibber households across all of Jemulpo-gu and Gyeyang-gu, their only means of transporting relief supplies is a battered van with over 150,000 kilometers on the odometer.

Around 200 people currently reside in the Mansok-gu dibber village area, which served as the background for author Kim Jung-mi's novel "Children of Gnaengiburimul".

Expanding the scope to all of Incheon, a total of 265 households (321 people) are classified as dibber residents, including 198 households (254 people) in Jemulpo-gu and 67 households (67 people) in Gyeyang-gu.

An official from the Incheon Dibber Counseling Center said, "There are many elderly people in the dibber village, and most of them are in poor health," adding, "We will thoroughly prepare for the heat wave by maintaining an emergency management system."