“We used to worry because cold drafts came in no matter how much we ran the boiler, but this winter the children can finally stay warm.”

On the afternoon of the 3rd in Dongi-myeon, Okcheon County, North Chungcheong Province, Oh Han-hyeon (59) beamed as he looked at his home. He lives there with his wife Lee Yeon-hee (39), who is from the Philippines, and a total of seven family members ranging from a 23-year-old eldest son to a 4-year-old youngest child.

While he was a student at Okcheon Technical High School, Mr. Oh suffered coal-gas poisoning during a field practicum and was certified as having a level-3 physical disability. He lost three fingers on his right hand in the accident. Nerve damage in his ankle also left him with mobility difficulties.

In 1995, despite his disability, he built his own house. It is a two-story red-brick home. The first floor houses the motorcycle shop he runs, and the second floor is where his family lives.

As the years passed, the house gradually deteriorated. The wooden window frames provided no insulation, and in midwinter the place turned into an ‘icebox’. Even with the oil boiler running, which cost 600,000 KRW a month, you could see your breath. Condensation led to mold in the children’s room, the kitchen, the master bedroomthroughout the home. When it rained, droplets fell inside.

The children came down with colds every winter. Mr. Oh lamented, “If one child caught a cold, the whole family had to suffer through it,” adding, “Going to the hospital every winter because of colds was our ‘routine’.”

A new daily life came to the Oh family thanks to North Chungcheong Province’s ‘Multi-Child Household Residential Environment Improvement Project (Love House)’.

Working with the Chungbuk Housing Welfare Social Cooperative and others, the province spent 50 million KRW to remodel Mr. Oh’s home this July. They removed the partition wall between the kitchen and the living room that had made the space feel cramped. All the wooden flooring was taken up and replaced with deco tiles. The old wooden window frames were replaced with highly insulating double windows.

Neighbors pitched in as well. A local moving company and volunteer groups supported the family’s move free of charge. Various institutions and organizations in the Okcheon area donated items such as home appliances, a computer, wardrobes, and beds.

Mr. Oh said with a smile, “Even in subzero weather, the house is warm enough that we do not need to turn on the boiler,” adding, “The kitchen is wider now, and my wife really loves it.”

The children have also regained their energy. The second child, Oh Hyeon-bin (a 13-year-old sixth-grader at Dongi Elementary School), said, “Now we can even have running races with the dog in the enlarged living room,” expressing his delight.

Mr. Oh’s ‘new house’ has now become his greatest point of pride. The fourth child, Oh Hye-rim (a 9-year-old second-grader at Dongi Elementary School), said, “My school friends were envious and said they wanted to come see it,” adding, “Now, even without an invitation, friends just come over on their own.”

This year, North Chungcheong Province selected five vulnerable multi-child households across five cities and counties in the provinceincluding Okcheon, Goesan, Boeun, Chungju, and Danyangand completed support projects for them. The project was funded with a total budget of 250 million KRW, or 50 million KRW per household, drawn from donations for overcoming low birth rates and the population crisis and from the social contribution budgets of the Community Chest and the Development Corporation.

Kim I-seon, an officer on the Population Policy Team of North Chungcheong Province, said, “This project went beyond simple provision of goods, focusing on improving housing conditions that threaten children’s health, such as clutter or mold,” adding, “Next year, we plan to continue the project for households selected based on recommendations from the Social Security Council and the councils of village and neighborhood heads.”