Differentiation among the urban poor and the reproduction of poverty: the case of Nanjido

This paper describes the internal differentiation within a low income community living on a garbage dump in Seoul. This includes the differences in work within the garbage dump in terms of work undertaken and income. Differences in level of education, expenditure and use of family labour are also explored, as are the different survival strategies adopted by households. The paper also considers why it is so difficult for the inhabitants to escape from poverty and the mechanisms which ensure that poverty is reproduced.