The Geumcheon District is part of the G-Valley, an area in Seoul which includes the districts Geumcheon, Guro and Gasan.

This area was well known for it’s industrial activities in textile manufacturing, dressmaking and other labour-intensive industries during the 1970s and 1980s. Clauss’ project starts from an index of 99 words – compiled by researcher Haeyeon Yoo of the Soongsil School of Architecture – which dates back to the 1970s and 1980s and contains words or terms coined by the factory workers of that period. Some of these words had been newly invented and some had been given a new meaning.

Some of the words are purely Korean, some of them are Konglish, a form of Korean language style English. This index is so fascinating as it's not only of value linguistically, but also as a unique social historical document that sheds light into the life of the so called “factory boys” and “factory girls” of that period and the harsh conditions they worked under. The words also emphasise the importance of education for the factory workers, and the role fashion played as a form of escapism in the short periods of leisure time they enjoyed.