A Pocket of Poverty in a Land of Riches: South Korea’s Elderly Poverty Rate
One of Asia’s richest countries, South Korea, is famous for its growing economy, luxurious skincare and makeup products, and high tech advances; however, underneath the surface, large parts of the elderly population are being forgotten. The reality is that nearly half the elderly in South Korea live in poverty today. This report is the highest rate among all developed nations, and more than double the rate of the United States, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.
A majority of the children are not able to take care of their aged parents, and many are not in contact with them anymore. The old social structure and cultural norm where children look after their aging parents, which is called the Confucian tradition in Asia, have broken down over the years. Familial bonds are diminishing in South Korea, as nearly 6 in 10 elderly are supporting themselves, and the young generation is increasingly unable to provide help for them, due to economic challenges.
“Before the 1990s, usually younger people supported their parents during their retirement age so it was not a serious problem. And at the time usually, older people did not live long, but during the last 20 years, elderly people live longer, and younger people also experience economic difficulty.” — Ku In-hoe, a professor at SNU who researches poverty issues
This is the generation that helped rebuild the economy from the ruins of the Korean war in 1953. 67 years later, 1 in 2 elderly lives in relative poverty, struggling to make a living.
As a result, South Korea has the highest rate of elderly suicide of the 34 developed nation OECD countries. South Korea has the 10th highest rate of suicide in the world, the majority of them being senior citizens. Loneliness and financial burdens cause many of the elderly in South Korea to contemplate suicide.
“A lot of elderly people who leave here end up committing suicide because they are alone with no friends or neighbors” — Kim Hotae, 74, a volunteer aiding legal and medical assistance in South Korea.
In 2017, the suicide rate per 100,000 people stood at 48.8 for people in their 70 and 70.0 for those in their 80s or older, according to the Korea Suicide Prevention Center, an arm of the Health and Welfare Ministry.
Coronavirus Impacts on Elderly Population
Now, with the COVID-19 pandemic, the elderly are more susceptible to the virus than ever, as businesses are shutting and forcing people to spend more time indoors and alone, worsening the situation for South Korea’s seniors.
Before the pandemic, seniors were able to receive support from government-run welfare centers that host daily soup kitchens. But with the pandemic, these centers were inevitably shut down as part of the nationwide social distancing policy.
Not only do they gather in parks and other public areas that may have limited access right now, but they are also already disproportionately affected by mental health issues. In 2018, the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service reported that about 40 percent of the 684,000 Koreans diagnosed with severe depression were over the age of 60. Major factors of depression among these seniors are loneliness and alienation from society.
During this difficult time, many of the elderly are homeless, with no food to eat at home, and have no other option but to be outside. These seniors face harsh challenges: not particularly the disease, but hunger.
Multiple organizations and individuals have stepped in to support the elderly, by providing free meals, or setting up soup kitchens on the streets.
The Korean Legacy Committee, a charity organization handed out free lunchboxes to 300+ homeless elderly at Tapgol Park, a popular gathering place for the elderly who have no other place to go.
Pastor Choi Seong-Won has been running a mobile soup kitchen for South Korea’s homeless elderly for the past 18 years.
His altruistic volunteerism and efforts to save the homeless elderly population provided hope to many elderly people who are starving to death.
Many elderly have nothing they can do but to depend on the kindness of these organizations or mobile soup kitchens to survive.
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