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The World’s Smallest Apartments: 16 ft² Coffin Homes in Hong Kong — Transcript

by Ruhi Cenet Documentaries · 3,104 words · 470 segments · language en · Watch on YouTube

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0:00These are the world's smallest
0:01apartments. [music]
0:02They are only 16 square ft in size and
0:05they are known as coffin homes. Inside,
0:08it's impossible to stand up or even
0:10stretch your arms. Some aren't even
0:12wider than the resident's shoulders or
0:13longer than their body. Despite this,
0:15these coffins are utilized as a living
0:17room, a kitchen, and a bedroom at the
0:20same time. Hong Kong has had the world's
0:22most expensive housing market for 14
0:24years. Around 200,000 people have no
0:27choice but to live in these homes. This
0:29is one of the richest cities in the
0:30world and we are going to witness how
0:32these people survive here. Some people
0:34have to live together in a single coffin
0:36and some even barely fit inside their
0:38own homes. In this documentary, we'll
0:40also spend a full day with a coffin home
0:42resident who has lived in miserable
0:44conditions for 16 years. First, we're
0:46starting with the most comfortable one.
0:48Each floor in this building has 20 to 30
0:50compensized subdivided apartments.
0:53[music] I can't even stand up. This
0:55building was not originally designed
0:57like this, but through illegal
0:58renovations, they split this floor
1:00horizontally into two, squeezing in an
1:02extra level to fit more people inside.
1:04That's why the ceiling height is
1:06incredibly low. Look, one floor has been
1:08split in half to create two levels. This
1:11is Coco's home. She's been living here
1:13alone for 10 years. Thankfully, I have a
1:16window. Normally, coffin homes don't
1:18have one. A fridge, a TV, [music] that's
1:21it. Since this place is small, you can't
1:23have much.
1:25>> It seems a cockroach got trapped and
1:26died inside her rice cooker.
1:28>> I've seen three people pass away in
1:30these rooms. When the people upstairs
1:32close their doors, it's a [music] bit
1:34difficult to know when they pass away.
1:37When they start to smell, we call the
1:39police. The power load is too high, so
1:43it's easy to catch fire. The coffin home
1:45we're about to visit would feel worse
1:47than a prison. But first, let's peel
1:50back the walls. Now we're faced with
1:52dozens of people packed like sardines.
1:54An 800 ft apartment is divided into 30
1:57coffinsized units. These homes lack
2:00windows for fresh air or even sunlight.
2:02And inside each claustrophobic closet is
2:04a person silently battling depression
2:06and anxiety. 26 people live here and the
2:10smell is overwhelming. The corridor is
2:12so narrow that they use the ladder as a
2:14shoe rack. People are stacked like
2:17bricks here. Hello.
2:18>> Hello. Hello.
2:20>> How long have you been living here?
2:22>> About 6 years.
2:24>> Oh, there's one more guy here.
2:26>> So, you stay together?
2:28>> Yes.
2:29>> Is he your husband?
2:30>> My boyfriend.
2:30>> They live in a space where even one
2:32person can hardly fit. Along the walls,
2:35hooks hold clothes, bags, and personal
2:37items. One side of the headboard doubles
2:39as an all-purpose shelf, while the door
2:41is packed with electronics and cables.
2:44Cleaning supplies and bottles are stored
2:45at the bottom. their trash, the towel
2:48they use, fast food packaging, all
2:50within inches of the pillow they lay
2:52their head on. Because there is no
2:53window here, they use a fan to cool
2:55down. She has a short haircut to prevent
2:57herself from getting too hot in the
2:59coffin homes. You don't have ventilation
3:01and the air quality is bad here. How do
3:03you live like this?
3:04>> I don't mind. Whatever.
3:06>> How do you change your clothes in such a
3:08small place?
3:09>> I have to bend and twist. It takes 10
3:11minutes.
3:12>> What is it like to live here?
3:13>> It's difficult. Lots of things bite you.
3:16>> Look.
3:18>> What is this?
3:19>> Bed bugs.
3:20>> This is a huge problem.
3:21>> Yeah, biting me all over. They're
3:24everywhere. Look how many I caught. They
3:27suck blood.
3:28>> Bed bugs can cause people to get anemia
3:30by biting them. They are very common
3:32pests in subdivided apartments. A female
3:34bed bug can lay up to 500 eggs in her
3:37lifetime.
3:38>> The bed bugs are here. Can you see them?
3:42>> M. Lee went out to get some fast food
3:44and came back. She grabs a chair and
3:46their tiny bed turns into a dining table
3:48for a moment. In [music] these homes,
3:50the internet is almost as important as
3:52electricity and water. For most
3:54residents, their cell phones are all
3:56they have in terms of entertainment.
3:58What is your job?
3:59>> I'm a part-time cleaner.
4:00>> How much do you earn per month?
4:02>> $650.
4:03>> How much is the rent for your unit?
4:05>> $320 per month.
4:07>> So, half of your income goes to this 16
4:10square ft unit. I don't have anywhere
4:12else to live.
4:12>> People who live at the lower levels of
4:14the coffin homes are luck here because
4:17they can use this area for storage. They
4:20can put their shoes, hang their clothes.
4:22It's like extra space. But the ones on
4:24the upper level are unlike here. They
4:27really struggle with the space. You have
4:28to do everything inside that coffin.
4:31>> Now, we're visiting those upper units in
4:33a different subdivided apartment. These
4:35coffins don't even have a space [music]
4:37for a fan inside, so they are hanging
4:39out here in the corridor. To afford the
4:41rent prices, some residents have to
4:43suffer through awful jobs at horrific
4:45hours. Frankie Chow works from 9:00 p.m.
4:47and gets back home at 5:00 a.m. What is
4:50your job?
4:50>> Metal work.
4:52>> How much do you earn [music] per month?
4:53>> $1,250.
4:55>> What is it like to live here?
4:56>> Of course, not good. Narrow. Really
4:59narrow. My cell is very simple. A TV,
5:02bed, basic daily stuff, a blanket, and a
5:04pillow. Nothing else.
5:06>> Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
5:08>> I'll be dead by then. [laughter]
5:12>> Oh, hopefully no. This place is very
5:16tight and a lot of humidity here.
5:19>> There are even smaller units than these
5:21upper units. Now, we're on our way to
5:23visit someone who can't physically fit
5:25inside his coffin home. I can't even
5:27imagine how difficult [music] it is to
5:28live like that. But before moving there,
5:30we checked the rest of this apartment
5:32and realized there is no kitchen. Those
5:34who can't afford to eat outside are
5:36forced to prepare their food in the
5:37filthy bathroom. [music] He's handling
5:39the food near the toilet. They don't
5:41have a kitchen, so this is where they
5:43have to prepare their meals. This space
5:46is also their bathroom. They even hang
5:48their clothes above this toilet, which
5:51does not have a lid. Approximately 7.5
5:54million people live in this city. Get a
5:56bird's eyee view of Hong Kong and you'll
5:58be faced with a massive metropolitan
6:00city rising from the jungle like shoots
6:02of bamboo. There is only a limited
6:04amount of buildable land on the island.
6:06With space so scarce, desperate
6:08solutions have emerged, including a
6:1010-story building built on top of an
6:128-story parking garage. This city is at
6:15full capacity. We're now in the next
6:17apartment. This apartment opens directly
6:19into the bathroom. Crime is just
6:21dripping from the walls. Meet John. His
6:23door was open as he couldn't fit inside
6:25his home. home if he closed it. His left
6:27shoulder sticks out of the coffin.
6:29>> He's a big guy and it must be hard to
6:31live in such a tight place. How is life
6:34here?
6:34>> Look around.
6:36>> How would you feel?
6:38>> Do you have any family?
6:39>> I used to. My [music] wife left me
6:41because of my gambling. We're not in
6:43touch anymore. No, I only bet a little
6:46on horse racing. I ruined myself by
6:48gambling.
6:49>> How do you get by death?
6:50>> I get welfare. Living without having any
6:53space to move around slowly destroys the
6:55body. What do you do all day?
6:57>> I have nothing to do. I just watch
6:59television. I'm scared to go anywhere.
7:02I'm afraid of my legs giving out and
7:04collapsing on the ground.
7:06>> Where do you see yourself in 10 years in
7:08the future?
7:09>> 10 years? Probably in a grave.
7:11>> Hopefully, no. Why don't you have a
7:12mattress under yourself?
7:14>> Because I can't fit.
7:15>> People sometimes sleep without
7:17mattresses to avoid a bed bug
7:18infestation. How long have you been
7:20living here like this?
7:22>> 18 years.
7:23>> Many never get to leave. In this
7:25concrete jungle, a minimum wage worker
7:28would need to save for a thousand years
7:30to buy a three-bedroom apartment. Have
7:32you applied for government public
7:33housing?
7:34>> I just applied. I'll need to wait for a
7:36long time to get a home.
7:39>> Most people wait more than 10 years just
7:41to access government housing with lower
7:43rent. And even that isn't free. For many
7:45of them, the wait list feels like a life
7:48sentence. Now, let's say you didn't want
7:50to live in a coffin and wanted to have
7:51the comfort of standing up in your home.
7:53We went to a rental office to show you
7:55how much this luxury really cost. We are
7:57in one of the average neighborhoods in
7:59Hong Kong. Let's say that you save some
8:01money and you want to buy a home. This
8:03is one of the cheapest options that you
8:05have here. This has only one room and it
8:07will cost you more than $1 million. It's
8:10a very, very small area. Let's say that
8:12you decided to rent. This single-bedroom
8:15apartment will cost you around $4,000
8:18per month. And later, you'll see that
8:20even owning a grave here is harder than
8:22owning a home. In Hong Kong, wealth
8:24creates a massive gap between two
8:25worlds. Just 75 people own 10% of the
8:28country's fortune. So, while the ultra
8:30rich cruise around the world in their
8:32luxury cars and live in massive houses,
8:34the lowest income bracket doesn't even
8:35get space to breathe. Though life
8:37expectancy here is one of the highest in
8:39the world at 84, many people still have
8:41to do backbreaking work even after
8:43retirement just to afford sky-high
8:45housing costs or they can't survive.
8:47That's why elderly people can be seen
8:49collecting cardboard on the streets. The
8:52income inequality of life here is very
8:54sad. It's like day and night.
8:57>> If the land lady finds out, we'll be in
9:00trouble.
9:02>> I don't care what they're filming it
9:03for. She can kick us out. Oh,
9:05>> the land lady won't allow it.
9:07>> We only kept this part in the video to
9:08show you how these tenants live in
9:10constant fear, knowing their landlords
9:12could throw them out at any moment. For
9:14those who lose their homes, life on the
9:16streets is inevitable.
9:17>> Buy a bottle of water. I'm really
9:19thirsty. Help me open the cap.
9:22Put it there. Thank you. Thank you.
9:25>> She felt thirsty as July is one of the
9:28hottest months of the year. The apparent
9:29temperature in Hong Kong was around 110°
9:32F at the time. So hot here. So humid.
9:36>> As soon as I came to this new apartment,
9:38I got hit by warm and musty air. The
9:40ceiling has tons of mold on it. The air
9:42inside Coffin Homes is four times more
9:45polluted than what's safe to breathe.
9:46The entryway is a complete mess. A
9:49resident is desperately mopping up dirty
9:50water that is constantly dripping onto
9:52the floor. Then I got inside an empty
9:55coffin home myself. I immediately felt
9:57boxed in, like the walls were closing in
9:59on me. This is the most barebones coffin
10:02we've visited. The person who lives here
10:03[music] owns almost nothing. On one
10:05side, there are stickers on the wall
10:07with a blue sky, clouds, flowers, and
10:09butterflies. It's like an escape from
10:11the claustrophobia. On the other side is
10:13a metal grate. You feel like you're in a
10:15cage. You can't get fresh air or
10:17sunlight here.
10:18>> It's so hot here. Very humid. How do
10:21people sleep here? I can't even breathe
10:24properly. Imagine hanging your clothes
10:27here. Sleep. Watch YouTube on your
10:31mobile phone. Nowhere else to go. Just
10:33walk the neighborhood and come back
10:35here. Nothing else in your life. While
10:38sleeping, there might be a lot of noise
10:40from your neighbors. Sad. It's very sad.
10:45>> I want to go.
10:46>> In some homes, the front door is just a
10:48curtain, so people living inside have
10:50zero security.
10:51>> Hello.
10:52>> Hi.
10:52>> What are you cooking?
10:54>> I'm cooking rice.
10:55>> There's laundry here right in the
10:58kitchen, which is practically one with
11:00the toilet. This isn't hygienic at all.
11:03Here they have a washing machine.
11:04They're trying to make the best of this
11:06space, but it seems chaotic. My friend
11:09had to get on the toilet lid just to get
11:11this shot. She's washing vegetables in
11:13the same sink people use after using the
11:15toilet. This puts them at a serious risk
11:18of contamination as feal bacteria like
11:20E.coli and Salmonella could get on her
11:23food and make her sick. Mr. Lee is one
11:25of the many people staying in a coffin
11:27while still alive. His home is the most
11:29crammed one we've seen so far.
11:31>> I can't find a job because once I was
11:34arrested for theft. I found a phone in
11:36the street and didn't report it to the
11:38police. Later, they found it on me and
11:41arrested me.
11:42>> Are prison cells more comfortable than
11:44coffin homes?
11:45>> Yeah, that's correct.
11:47>> In Hong Kong, prisoners get 80 square ft
11:50of space with a personal toilet. Unlike
11:52the 16 square ft homes, they also have
11:54enough space to stand up in. In that
11:57same space, 10 coffin homes could be
11:59stacked on top of each other. Now, we're
12:01going to meet with Juan. How did you end
12:03up here?
12:04>> It was a long time ago.
12:05>> I'm a poor man now, not a rich man.
12:08>> Before here, I had a house, a wife, and
12:11a daughter.
12:12>> They left you.
12:13>> Sure.
12:14>> Do you ever talk to them?
12:16>> I have no money, so they won't talk to
12:17me.
12:18>> How old are you right now?
12:19>> 63. This is my table. It is for
12:22everything. Can you see it? I have my
12:25clothes inside that. And this is the pot
12:27I use for cooking noodles.
12:29>> Wong invited us to tag along on his
12:31short daily routine outside. First, he
12:33took us to his temple. Despite the
12:35temple being closed, Wong insisted on
12:37praying at the gates. Despite all the
12:39hardships he encounters, he's still
12:41thankful for what he has. Along the way,
12:43he stopped at the market stall and
12:45bought some fruit with the little money
12:46he had. Then, he went to the restaurant
12:48that he had coupons for. The restaurant
12:51serves a variety of dishes with a side
12:52of rice. They're usually very high in
12:55sodium and fats. He felt embarrassed
12:57about using meal vouchers, so he
12:59preferred to eat at home. The first
13:01thing he does is put his groceries into
13:03a fridge shared with [music] more than
13:0420 people. After that, Wong climbed into
13:07his home and started eating his food.
13:09His sedentary lifestyle and the
13:11unhealthy foods offered at the
13:12restaurants are ruining his health.
13:15>> Look, I have high blood pressure. Having
13:17such high blood pressure can increase
13:18the risk of heart complications.
13:20However, the cemetery you're about to
13:22see shows you that even death is not an
13:25escape here.
13:26>> Every day is the same here. Finish the
13:28lunch and watch videos. This is for
13:30lunch and dinner.
13:31>> And dinner.
13:32>> He carefully rationed his food so he
13:33could stretch it for two meals.
13:35>> Do you use illegal substances?
13:37>> No, I don't.
13:38>> So many people use things like that
13:40here.
13:40>> Once it's dark, the love homes open for
13:42business. Long took us to one nearby
13:44that he knew about. There's a girl in
13:46each room. There's someone inside that
13:49says, "Please wait."
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14:44>> Hi, may I ask the price?
14:47>> Just some people coming to have a look.
14:50>> He denies visiting these places, but
14:52seems to know his way around them just
14:54fine.
14:54>> It's a 1-hour massage for $65.
14:57>> These love homes are actually subdivided
14:59apartments, too. Because of the housing
15:01prices, even these women can't afford
15:04full-size units. If the living stay in
15:06coffins in Hong Kong, where does that
15:08leave the dead?
15:09>> Here, even a basic burial plot can cost
15:11up to tens of thousands of US dollars.
15:14And that is if you're lucky to find one.
15:16Recently, a burial plot here was sold
15:18for $128,000.
15:21Because they are more affordable, most
15:23people rent graves rather than own them.
15:25Space is so limited that even graves in
15:28public cemeteries are not permanent.
15:29[music]
15:30After 6 years, the body must be removed
15:32and cremated. As space runs out,
15:34cremation has become the only option.
15:36And the ashes rest in tiny drawers no
15:38bigger than a shoe box. Just like these
15:40ones, the government has promised to end
15:43the housing crisis by 2049. About
15:45220,000 people are stuffed into terrible
15:48homes in one of the richest places in
15:50the world. They are not there to be
15:51protected, but to be hidden from the
15:53eyes of the rich. Thank you for
15:54watching. Don't forget to subscribe.
15:56Ruhi Chennet was

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