Abstract
The $1^{st}$ National Plan for Aging Society with Low Fertility, which the Korean government announced in 2006, caused the gradual increase of R&D investment in order to prepare for an aging society in Korea. This study explores if the directions and strategies of R&D projects related to aging are suitable to improve the quality of life for elderly people and establish a sustainable aging society by analyzing the features of R&D investment from 2004 to 2010. The results show that most R&D projects conducted by departments focus on the development of assistive devices for the elderly to support everyday lives. The Korean government's R&D policy to prepare for an aging society is based on the narrow interpretation of Quality of Life (QoL) in an aging society that tries to resolve the socioeconomic problems of the elderly; however, the policies have ignored the independence of active elderly individuals and the social integration of the young and elderly generations. The research shows that a paradigm shift is required from a 'Senior' to 'Aging Society' because almost 1/3 of the Korean population is over 65 years old and the expansion of the research embraces from assistive technologies for the elderly to the design of social infrastructure such as transportation, education and work.