The Plight of the Elderly Living Alone

A 65-year-old woman who lives alone in western Seoul starts her day at 6 a.m. picking up scrap paper on the streets for one to two hours. Then she rests for a few hours in her tiny flat before venturing out again to collect more paper. She repeats this routine four or more times a day.

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At the end of the day, she may have collected enough paper to sell for a paltry W4,000 (US$1=W1,090), and the only way she can subsidize the meager W200,000 she gets per month in government welfare.

A growing number of elderly people live alone and must fend for themselves. According to Statistics Korea, 1.06 million lived alone in 2010 and 1.32 million in 2014. The number is expected to rise to 2.25 million in 2025 and 3.43 million in 2035.

Another woman in Daejeon is 94 years old and lacks the strength to collect scrap paper. Her hearing is deteriorating and she is finding it increasingly difficult to walk. She also has no teeth left and has problems eating. The only person taking care of her is a neighbor who buys her cold medicine, diapers and food from time to time.

Such dire conditions are producing some shocking statistics. Even though the suicide rate among people over 65 has been declining for the last three years, it remains the highest in the world at 64.2 for every 100,000 people as of 2013. It is especially high for men at 102.3 per 100,000.

Last year, 200,000 elderly people were registered for visits from social workers once a week to check up on them. The Ministry of Health and Welfare plans to boost the number to 220,000 this year.

Sun Woo-duk at the Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs said, "At present, social workers visit only senior citizens in the low-income bracket, but we'll see a growing number of middle-class elderly people who live alone wanting to receive this service. A long-term plan is needed that allows senior citizens living alone to meet other people in the same situation".