**The World’s Smallest Apartments: 16 ft² Coffin Homes in Hong Kong — Transcript & Summary | SozAI** Source: https://sozai.app/transcript/smallest-apartments-16ft-coffin-homes-hong-kong/ Explore Hong Kong's 16 ft² coffin homes, the world’s smallest apartments, revealing harsh living conditions amid the city’s housing crisis. ## Key Takeaways - Coffin homes represent a severe housing crisis in one of the world’s richest cities. - Living conditions in coffin homes are hazardous, cramped, and detrimental to physical and mental health. - Economic inequality forces many residents into these tiny, unsafe apartments. - Government housing solutions are insufficient and have long wait times, exacerbating the problem. - The documentary humanizes the residents, showing their resilience despite harsh circumstances. ## What the video covers - Hong Kong’s coffin homes are tiny 16 square feet apartments where residents cannot stand or stretch their arms. - These homes serve as living rooms, kitchens, and bedrooms simultaneously, often lacking windows and ventilation. - Around 200,000 people live in these cramped conditions due to Hong Kong’s expensive housing market. - Illegal renovations split floors to create more coffin homes, resulting in extremely low ceilings and overcrowding. - Residents face severe issues like bed bug infestations, poor air quality, and lack of privacy. - Many residents work low-paying jobs and spend half their income on rent for these tiny spaces. - Some residents prepare food in bathrooms due to lack of kitchens, and many suffer from depression and anxiety. - Government public housing waitlists are long, often over 10 years, leaving many trapped in coffin homes. - The documentary highlights individual stories, including long-term residents and their struggles with health and isolation. - The video contrasts the extreme poverty of coffin homes with the wealth disparity in Hong Kong. ## Chapters 1. 00:00 Introduction to Coffin Homes 2. 01:00 Illegal Renovations and Coco's Home 3. 02:05 Living Conditions and Overcrowding 4. 03:05 Daily Life and Bed Bug Problem 5. 04:22 Upper Level Struggles and Resident Stories 6. 05:06 City Space Constraints and Building Solutions 7. 06:51 John’s Story and Long-Term Impact 8. 07:34 Government Housing and Economic Inequality 9. 09:16 Conclusion and Wealth Disparity Answers ## Questions about this video What are coffin homes in Hong Kong? Coffin homes are extremely small apartments, about 16 square feet, where residents cannot stand or stretch their arms, often used as combined living, sleeping, and cooking spaces. Why do people live in coffin homes despite the poor conditions? Due to Hong Kong’s extremely expensive housing market and long wait times for public housing, many low-income residents have no choice but to live in coffin homes. What health and safety issues do coffin home residents face? Residents suffer from poor air quality, bed bug infestations, fire hazards due to high power loads, and mental health challenges like depression and anxiety. ## Full Transcript — Download SRT & Markdown 00:00 Speaker A These are the world's smallest apartments. They are only 16 square feet in size, and they are known as coffin homes. Inside, it's impossible to stand up or even stretch your arms. Some aren't even wider than the resident's shoulders or longer than their body. 00:15 Speaker A Despite this, these coffins are utilized as a living room, a kitchen, and a bedroom at the same time. Hong Kong has had the world's most expensive housing market for 14 years. Around 200,000 people have no choice but to live in 00:28 Speaker A these homes. This is one of the richest cities in the world, and we are going to witness how these people survive here. 00:34 Speaker A Some people have to live together in a single coffin, and some even barely fit inside their own homes. In this documentary, we'll also spend a full day with a coffin home resident who has lived in miserable conditions for 16 00:46 Speaker A years. First, we're starting with the most comfortable one. Each floor in this building has 20 to 30 compensated subdivided apartments. I can't even stand up. This building was not originally designed like this, but through illegal renovations, they split 01:00 Speaker A this floor horizontally into two, squeezing in an extra level to fit more people inside. That's why the ceiling height is incredibly low. Look, one floor has been split in half to create two levels. This is Coco's home. She's 01:13 Speaker A been living here alone for 10 years. Thankfully, I have a window. Normally, coffin homes don't have one. A fridge, a TV, that's it. Since this place is small, you can't have much. 01:25 Speaker A It seems a cockroach got trapped and died inside her rice cooker. I've seen three people pass away in these rooms. When the people upstairs close their doors, it's a bit difficult to know when they pass away. When they 01:38 Speaker A start to smell, we call the police. The power load is too high, so it's easy to catch fire. The coffin home we're about to visit would feel worse than a prison. 01:49 Speaker A But first, let's peel back the walls. Now we're faced with dozens of people packed like sardines. An 800 ft apartment is divided into 30 coffin-sized units. These homes lack windows for fresh air or even sunlight. And inside each claustrophobic closet is a person 02:05 Speaker A silently battling depression and anxiety. 26 people live here, and the smell is overwhelming. The corridor is so narrow that they use the ladder as a shoe rack. People are stacked like bricks here. Hello. 02:19 Speaker A Hello. Hello. How long have you been living here? About 6 years. Oh, there's one more guy here. 02:27 Speaker A So, you stay together? Yes. Is he your husband? My boyfriend. They live in a space where even one person can hardly fit. Along the walls, hooks hold clothes, bags, and personal items. One side of the headboard doubles as an all-purpose shelf, while the door 02:42 Speaker A is packed with electronics and cables. Cleaning supplies and bottles are stored at the bottom. Their trash, the towel they use, fast food packaging, all within inches of the pillow they lay their head on. Because there is no window here, they use a fan to cool 02:56 Speaker A down. She has a short haircut to prevent herself from getting too hot in the coffin homes. You don't have ventilation, and the air quality is bad here. How do you live like this? 03:05 Speaker A I don't mind. Whatever. How do you change your clothes in such a small place? 03:09 Speaker A I have to bend and twist. It takes 10 minutes. What is it like to live here? 03:14 Speaker A It's difficult. Lots of things bite you. Look. What is this? Bed bugs. This is a huge problem. 03:22 Speaker A Yeah, biting me all over. They're everywhere. Look how many I caught. They suck blood. 03:28 Speaker A Bed bugs can cause people to get anemia by biting them. They are very common pests in subdivided apartments. A female bed bug can lay up to 500 eggs in her lifetime. 03:38 Speaker A The bed bugs are here. Can you see them? M. Lee went out to get some fast food and came back. She grabs a chair, and their tiny bed turns into a dining table for a moment. In these homes, the 03:51 Speaker A internet is almost as important as electricity and water. For most residents, their cell phones are all they have in terms of entertainment. 03:59 Speaker A What is your job? I'm a part-time cleaner. How much do you earn per month? 04:02 Speaker A $650. How much is the rent for your unit? $320 per month. So, half of your income goes to this 16 square ft unit. I don't have anywhere else to live. 04:13 Speaker A People who live at the lower levels of the coffin homes are lucky here because they can use this area for storage. They can put their shoes, hang their clothes. 04:22 Speaker A It's like extra space. But the ones on the upper level are unlike here. They really struggle with the space. You have to do everything inside that coffin. 04:32 Speaker A Now, we're visiting those upper units in a different subdivided apartment. These coffins don't even have a space for a fan inside, so they are hanging out here in the corridor. To afford the rent prices, some residents have to suffer 04:44 Speaker A through awful jobs at horrific hours. Frankie Chow works from 9:00 p.m. and gets back home at 5:00 a.m. What is your job? 04:51 Speaker A Metal work. How much do you earn per month? $1,250. What is it like to live here? 04:57 Speaker A Of course, not good. Narrow. Really narrow. My cell is very simple. A TV, bed, basic daily stuff, a blanket, and a pillow. Nothing else. 05:06 Speaker A Where do you see yourself in 10 years? I'll be dead by then. Oh, hopefully no. This place is very tight and a lot of humidity here. 05:19 Speaker A There are even smaller units than these upper units. Now, we're on our way to visit someone who can't physically fit inside his coffin home. I can't even imagine how difficult it is to live like that. But before moving there, we 05:31 Speaker A checked the rest of this apartment and realized there is no kitchen. Those who can't afford to eat outside are forced to prepare their food in the filthy bathroom. He's handling the food near the toilet. They don't have a kitchen, 05:42 Speaker A so this is where they have to prepare their meals. This space is also their bathroom. They even hang their clothes above this toilet, which does not have a lid. Approximately 7.5 million people live in this city. Get a bird's eye 05:57 Speaker A view of Hong Kong, and you'll be faced with a massive metropolitan city rising from the jungle like shoots of bamboo. 06:03 Speaker A There is only a limited amount of buildable land on the island. With space so scarce, desperate solutions have emerged, including a 10-story building built on top of an 8-story parking garage. This city is at full capacity. 06:17 Speaker A We're now in the next apartment. This apartment opens directly into the bathroom. Crime is just dripping from the walls. Meet John. His door was open as he couldn't fit inside his home. Home if he closed it. His left shoulder 06:27 Speaker A sticks out of the coffin. He's a big guy, and it must be hard to live in such a tight place. How is life here? 06:35 Speaker A Look around. How would you feel? Do you have any family? I used to. My wife left me because of my gambling. We're not in touch anymore. 06:44 Speaker A No, I only bet a little on horse racing. I ruined myself by gambling. How do you get by death? 06:51 Speaker A I get welfare. Living without having any space to move around slowly destroys the body. What do you do all day? 06:58 Speaker A I have nothing to do. I just watch television. I'm scared to go anywhere. I'm afraid of my legs giving out and collapsing on the ground. 07:06 Speaker A Where do you see yourself in 10 years in the future? 10 years? Probably in a grave. 07:11 Speaker A Hopefully, no. Why don't you have a mattress under yourself? Because I can't fit. People sometimes sleep without mattresses to avoid a bed bug infestation. How long have you been living here like this? 07:22 Speaker A 18 years. Many never get to leave. In this concrete jungle, a minimum wage worker would need to save for a thousand years to buy a three-bedroom apartment. Have you applied for government public housing? 07:34 Speaker A I just applied. I'll need to wait for a long time to get a home. 07:39 Speaker A Most people wait more than 10 years just to access government housing with lower rent. And even that isn't free. For many of them, the waitlist feels like a life sentence. Now, let's say you didn't want to live in a coffin and wanted to have 07:52 Speaker A the comfort of standing up in your home. We went to a rental office to show you how much this luxury really costs. We are in one of the average. 08:01 Speaker A money and you want to buy a home. This is one of the cheapest options that you have here. This has only one room and it will cost you more than $1 million. It's a very, very small area. Let's say that 08:13 Speaker A you decided to rent. This single-bedroom apartment will cost you around $4,000 per month. And later, you'll see that even owning a grave here is harder than owning a home. In Hong Kong, wealth creates a massive gap between two 08:26 Speaker A worlds. Just 75 people own 10% of the country's fortune. So, while the ultra rich cruise around the world in their luxury cars and live in massive houses, the lowest income bracket doesn't even get space to breathe. Though life 08:38 Speaker A expectancy here is one of the highest in the world at 84, many people still have to do backbreaking work even after retirement just to afford sky-high housing costs or they can't survive. 08:48 Speaker A That's why elderly people can be seen collecting cardboard on the streets. The income inequality of life here is very sad. It's like day and night. 08:57 Speaker A If the land lady finds out, we'll be in trouble. I don't care what they're filming it for. She can kick us out. Oh, the land lady won't allow it. 09:07 Speaker A We only kept this part in the video to show you how these tenants live in constant fear, knowing their landlords could throw them out at any moment. For those who lose their homes, life on the streets is inevitable. 09:18 Speaker A Buy a bottle of water. I'm really thirsty. Help me open the cap. Put it there. Thank you. Thank you. 09:26 Speaker A She felt thirsty as July is one of the hottest months of the year. The apparent temperature in Hong Kong was around 110° F at the time. So hot here. So humid. 09:36 Speaker A As soon as I came to this new apartment, I got hit by warm and musty air. The ceiling has tons of mold on it. The air inside Coffin Homes is four times more polluted than what's safe to breathe. 09:47 Speaker A The entryway is a complete mess. A resident is desperately mopping up dirty water that is constantly dripping onto the floor. Then I got inside an empty coffin home myself. I immediately felt boxed in, like the walls were closing in 10:00 Speaker A on me. This is the most barebones coffin we've visited. The person who lives here owns almost nothing. On one side, there are stickers on the wall with a blue sky, clouds, flowers, and butterflies. 10:10 Speaker A It's like an escape from the claustrophobia. On the other side is a metal grate. You feel like you're in a cage. You can't get fresh air or sunlight here. 10:18 Speaker A It's so hot here. Very humid. How do people sleep here? I can't even breathe properly. Imagine hanging your clothes here. Sleep. Watch YouTube on your mobile phone. Nowhere else to go. Just walk the neighborhood and come back here. Nothing else in your life. While 10:38 Speaker A sleeping, there might be a lot of noise from your neighbors. Sad. It's very sad. 10:45 Speaker A I want to go. In some homes, the front door is just a curtain, so people living inside have zero security. 10:51 Speaker A Hello. Hi. What are you cooking? I'm cooking rice. There's laundry here right in the kitchen, which is practically one with the toilet. This isn't hygienic at all. 11:03 Speaker A Here they have a washing machine. They're trying to make the best of this space, but it seems chaotic. My friend had to get on the toilet lid just to get this shot. She's washing vegetables in the same sink people use after using the 11:16 Speaker A toilet. This puts them at a serious risk of contamination as feal bacteria like E.coli and Salmonella could get on her food and make her sick. Mr. Lee is one of the many people staying in a coffin while still alive. His home is the most 11:30 Speaker A crammed one we've seen so far. I can't find a job because once I was arrested for theft. I found a phone in the street and didn't report it to the police. Later, they found it on me and arrested me. 11:43 Speaker A Are prison cells more comfortable than coffin homes? Yeah, that's correct. In Hong Kong, prisoners get 80 square ft of space with a personal toilet. Unlike the 16 square ft homes, they also have enough space to stand up in. In that 11:57 Speaker A same space, 10 coffin homes could be stacked on top of each other. Now, we're going to meet with Juan. How did you end up here? 12:04 Speaker A It was a long time ago. I'm a poor man now, not a rich man. 12:08 Speaker A Before here, I had a house, a wife, and a daughter. They left you. Sure. 12:15 Speaker A Do you ever talk to them? I have no money, so they won't talk to me. 12:18 Speaker A How old are you right now? 63. This is my table. It is for everything. Can you see it? I have my clothes inside that. And this is the pot I use for cooking noodles. 12:29 Speaker A Wong invited us to tag along on his short daily routine outside. First, he took us to his temple. Despite the temple being closed, Wong insisted on praying at the gates. Despite all the hardships he encounters, he's still thankful for what he has. Along the way, 12:44 Speaker A he stopped at the market stall and bought some fruit with the little money he had. Then, he went to the restaurant that he had coupons for. The restaurant serves a variety of dishes with a side of rice. They're usually very high in 12:55 Speaker A sodium and fats. He felt embarrassed about using meal vouchers, so he preferred to eat at home. The first thing he does is put his groceries into a fridge shared with more than 20 people. After that, Wong climbed into 13:07 Speaker A his home and started eating his food. His sedentary lifestyle and the unhealthy foods offered at the restaurants are ruining his health. 13:15 Speaker A Look, I have high blood pressure. Having such high blood pressure can increase the risk of heart complications. 13:21 Speaker A However, the cemetery you're about to see shows you that even death is not an escape here. 13:26 Speaker A Every day is the same here. Finish the lunch and watch videos. This is for lunch and dinner. 13:31 Speaker A And dinner. He carefully rationed his food so he could stretch it for two meals. 13:35 Speaker A Do you use illegal substances? No, I don't. So many people use things like that here. 13:41 Speaker A Once it's dark, the love homes open for business. Long took us to one nearby that he knew about. There's a girl in each room. There's someone inside that says, "Please wait." Before moving on, I'd like to thank Eim 13:57 Speaker A IO, the sponsor of this video. As you know, I travel a lot and staying connected used to be a challenge. 14:02 Speaker A Whether it was buying local SIMs or paying extremely high rooming costs. That changed when I started using eim.io. It's a digital SIM card that works in over 190 countries. Just open the app, select your destination, and choose a plan. Your internet is ready 14:17 Speaker A even before you land. What really makes a difference for me is the one SIM feature. You set up it once and use it like a second permanent line. No need to switch or reinstall eims like with most other providers. Use my code RUI 100 to 14:30 Speaker A get 100% cash back. Top up $20 and get $20 instantly. If you travel frequently like I do, you can check out Eim.io through the links in the description box or scan the QR code and take advantage of the Route 100 code. 14:44 Speaker A Hi, may I ask the price? Just some people coming to have a look. He denies visiting these places, but seems to know his way around them just fine. 14:55 Speaker A It's a 1-hour massage for $65. These love homes are actually subdivided apartments, too. Because of the housing prices, even these women can't afford full-size units. If the living stay in coffins in Hong Kong, where does that leave the dead? 15:09 Speaker A Here, even a basic burial plot can cost up to tens of thousands of US dollars. 15:14 Speaker A And that is if you're lucky to find one. Recently, a burial plot here was sold for $128,000. 15:21 Speaker A Because they are more affordable, most people rent graves rather than own them. Space is so limited that even graves in public cemeteries are not permanent. 15:30 Speaker A After 6 years, the body must be removed and cremated. As space runs out, cremation has become the only option. 15:37 Speaker A And the ashes rest in tiny drawers no bigger than a shoe box. Just like these ones, the government has promised to end the housing crisis by 2049. About 220,000 people are stuffed into terrible homes in one of the richest places in 15:50 Speaker A the world. They are not there to be protected, but to be hidden from the eyes of the rich. Thank you for watching. Don't forget to subscribe. 15:57 Speaker A Ruhi Chennet was Topics: Hong Kong coffin homes smallest apartments housing crisis subdivided apartments urban poverty overcrowding bed bugs illegal renovations documentary Study this video - [Flashcards from this video](https://sozai.app/tools/ai-flashcard-generator/?from=transcript&id=80444) - [Quiz on this video](https://sozai.app/tools/quiz-generator/?from=transcript&id=80444) Free, made by AI from this transcript. No signup. --- This is the markdown twin of https://sozai.app/transcript/smallest-apartments-16ft-coffin-homes-hong-kong/ — the same content, without the markup. Published by SozAI (https://sozai.app). Reuse and quotation are allowed with attribution and a link back. Machine-readable index: https://sozai.app/llms.txt · data API: https://sozai.app/api/