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Video Description

Type: KIHASA Special

Title: 50s and 60s: We Live Alone Too

Guest Speakers: Kim Se-jin, Head, Center for Research on Old-age Policy, KIHASA; Yoo Jae-Un, Professor of Social Welfare, Gachon University; Song In-joo, Senior Research Fellow, Seoul Welfare Foundation

Transcript

Voiceover:

A: Most older people say they carry their phones even to the bathroom. That’s because they’re afraid that they could fall anytime, anywhere. They are deeply concerned about who would sign a consent form for surgery if they ended up in the hospital without a guardian.

B: One-person households of middle-aged and older individuals are far worse off than multi-person households of the same age groups in terms of employment status, economic status, and general living conditions.

C: South Korea today has 10 million one-person households. However, current laws do not fully accommodate their needs. As the number of one-person households among middle-aged and older people continues to grow, the need for policies targeting these groups has become increasingly urgent. Over the past decade, the number of one-person households has risen sharply across all age groups. However, the media portrayal of one-person households remains over-focused on a specific generation. Surprisingly, the age groups that have seen the biggest increase in one-person households over the past 10 years are those in their 50s and 60s―the middle-aged and older generations. This trend is expected to continue, with an even greater increase expected in these age groups.

Yoo:

In our country, the trends of late marriage and non-marriage are deepening, extending beyond the younger generation in their 20s and 30s to those in their 40s and 50s. While some people in their 40s and 50s become single again after divorce or the loss of a spouse, there is a growing number of people who age into their 30s, 40s, and 50s without ever getting married.

As the current generation of people in their 50s and 60s moves into old age, the number of one-person households among them is expected to grow continuously. This suggests that we need to start preparing for this growing trend. 

Voiceover:

What would one-person households of middle-aged and older people look like?

Song:

Middle-aged and older one-person households fare far worse than multi-person households in terms of employment and economic status, and overall living conditions. Compared to multi-person households, one-person households report lower satisfaction with their consumption and work experiences. 

Yoo:

 Middle-aged people living alone tend to live in much smaller homes than households with two or more people. Not surprisingly, the quality of these living spaces is often far lower. 

Kim:

The most common concern among the middle-aged and older individuals we interviewed was how to deal with emergencies. For instance, many said they take their mobile phones into the bathroom with them because they fear falling unexpectedly. They would never know when or where they might fall.

Voiceover:

Middle-aged and older one-person households face difficulties in various aspects of daily life, including housing, healthcare, and caregiving, but there is a lack of institutional support and benefits available for them.

Kim:

In Korea, where policies are primarily family-oriented, one-person households may face disadvantages. A prime example is housing policy, which provides benefits proportional to the number of dependents in a household. There are also disadvantages related to income criteria and other factors that favor larger families. There is therefore a strong demand for improvements in this area from one-person households. One prominent concern among the various needs they expressed for their health and care is the issue of who would sign consent forms for medical procedures when no guardian is available.

Voiceover:

 What improvements can be made for one-person households of middle-aged and older people who urgently need legal and institutional support but are often overlooked by current policies?

Song:

There are one-person households support centers and various other support organizations, but I believe it would be most effective if welfare centers or local community centers in the neighborhood took on this support role. I think we can experiment with various and flexible approaches to operating these centers as accessible channels for these one-person households to discuss their needs and seek counseling on matters that concern them.

Kim:

Although one-person households are becoming a common household type, most current policies targeting them still focus on vulnerable groups. The first step should be to recognize the universality of one-person households and incorporate this perspective into broader social policies.

Secondly, there seems to be a need to improve existing policies that are based on traditional household structures. In my view, the areas where middle-aged and older individuals are overlooked in policies stem from a lack of preventive approaches to preparing for old age. I believe that it is essential to implement preventive measures to ensure that middle-aged and older people are no longer excluded from relevant policies and can receive appropriate services.

Finally, one aspect I would like to see considered is their right to self-determination. Despite being one of the fundamental rights guaranteed by the Constitution, self-determination has not been guaranteed to one-person households due to the legal guardianship systems that are primarily based on marital or blood ties. In such cases, government support or mechanisms such as public guardianship systems may be necessary to some extent.

For example, individuals could designate a representative in advance for matters such as advance directives for medical care or consent for medical procedures. If this is not feasible, an official guardianship center could be established to handle these responsibilities.

Voiceover:

Anyone can find themselves living in a one-person household for a variety of reasons. It is important to ensure that people are not marginalized simply because they live alone. This requires thoughtful and comprehensive research to develop tailored policies, including housing support, domestic care services, emotional support, and assistance with end-of-life decision-making.

People with People in Mind

The Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs