Only 1 in 4 Elderly Live with Children 

By Cho Jin-seo, The Korea Times

October 3, 2010 

South Korea

Only one in four people aged over 64 lives with their children as Korea rapidly becomes an aging society, because of sprawling urbanization, a report said Sunday.

The Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs said that only 27.6 percent of senior citizens were living with their children in 2008 ― a dramatic drop, from 54.7 percent in 1994.

The demographic change reveals that the government must pay more attention to the welfare of the older generation, both materially and mentally, the report said.

“A strengthened social safety net is required in order to replace the diminishing role of children in taking care of their parents,” it said. “Research shows that many senior citizens feel more deprived (compared to the past). We need policies to support them emotionally.”

Koreans traditionally favored living within a big family, often with three or more generations living together in a complex of houses. Now, with apartments being the norm in urban and even rural life, people tend to live apart from their parents after marriage.

A similar report from Statistics Korea last week showed that more than 1 million senior citizens, aged over 64, currently live alone, which is about 2 percent of the population. The number of solo elders is expected to double over the next 20 years as the baby boom generation retires, and people part from their partners.

Of the older generation separated from their children, only 23 percent said that they were living off the government pension or social care funding. Some 33 percent said they make their own living, and 44 percent said they receive financial support from children or relatives. In general, the government believes only one in four senior citizens have the assets or income to pay bills without help from the government or their family.

The increasing separation between generations does not necessarily mean that modern people are less keen on completing their filial duty. In fact, most of the older generation wants to live with their children these days, at least on paper. Only 25 percent replied that they want to live with children when they get sick, while the rest preferred to be with partners or at welfare facilities.

Another interesting finding was that the perception of being old is being delayed to around 70 years old.

The legal definition of “old people” is someone who is 65 or older. In the 1994 survey, four in five agreed with the definition. But in 2008, only 14 percent said that a 65-year-old deserves to be treated as an old person. The consensus in 2008 was 70.

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