The Background and Reality of the Emergence of English Villages in Apartment Complexes: A Case Study of an English Village Run by Apartment Residents

Abstract

Toward the end of the first decade of the twenty-first century, when the English-language craze was in full swing in South Korea, a peculiar space known as an English village emerged. Originally, this referred to a place created to teach students English in an environment made to look like a village one would find in the English-speaking world, without students having to go abroad. With this objective in mind, there was a nationwide explosion of English villages established by local governments and educational institutions. This movement arrived in the residential domain with the introduction of so-called apartment English villages, a social phenomenon emblematic of the union of two powerful signifiers of class in South Korea: English and apartments. Based on field research conducted at one branded apartment complex situated in the greater Seoul area, this article presents a case study examining the sociocultural contexts that encompass apartment English villages. The apartment complex examined in this study attempted to increase the value of the apartments by merging the cultural capital of English with housing. While it is difficult to declare the attempt successful, the case illuminates how an apartment English village—something often regarded as a lure for prospective apartment buyers— can belong to and be utilized by residents. The apartment English village brings Toward the end of the first decade of the twenty-first century, when the English-language craze was in full swing in South Korea, a peculiar space known as an English village emerged. Originally, this referred to a place created to teach students English in an environment made to look like a village one would find in the English-speaking world, without students having to go abroad. With this objective in mind, there was a nationwide explosion of English villages established by local governments and educational institutions. This movement arrived in the residential domain with the introduction of so-called apartment English villages, a social phenomenon emblematic of the union of two powerful signifiers of class in South Korea: English and apartments. Based on field research conducted at one branded apartment complex situated in the greater Seoul area, this article presents a case study examining the sociocultural contexts that encompass apartment English villages. The apartment complex examined in this study attempted to increase the value of the apartments by merging the cultural capital of English with housing. While it is difficult to declare the attempt successful, the case illuminates how an apartment English village—something often regarded as a lure for prospective apartment buyers— can belong to and be utilized by residents. The apartment English village brings