• The Korean Journal of Community Living Science
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.103-121
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• 2009

Increased consensus among gerontologists exist on the need to pay greater attention to the reciprocal relationship between the social and spatial in order to understand the construction of aged identity and everyday lives of old people. With urbanization, spaces are increasingly age-graded and as a consequence, urban elders are socially isolated from the community. In this study, we examine the social interaction patterns in various places specifically designated for the elderly, such as the Senior Center, Senior Welfare Center, and Hall for the Aged in Seoul. Main purpose of this study is to understand everyday life experiences of space the elderly people residing in the city go through. Data were gathered through qualitative, case study method. Results show that such spaces were important sites for social interaction for urban elderly who lacked social spaces after retirement and active parenting role. Also, it was shown that each place presents different contexts for social interactions and certain components of social class differences existed. Heterogeneity within the participants of each place was also observed. Quite strong stereotypes about certain places were also observed among the urban elders. Based on these results, importance of developing a 'community perspective' in the study of old age is discussed.

• Journal of agricultural medicine and community health
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• v.49 no.3
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• pp.235-256
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• 2024

Background: The adequate provision of medical care relies on the availability of a suitable number of healthcare professionals. To ensure stability in healthcare delivery, it is crucial for a country to accurately estimate and address the supply of doctors. This study aims to contribute to the formulation of effective policies for securing and distributing doctor manpower, with a focus on medically underserved areas at both the national and local government levels. Methods: Employing the system dynamics methodology, this research utilizes stock and flow diagrams, including level and rate diagrams, to quantitatively analyze the cumulative structure of the doctor supply and demand system. Results: The analysis reveals a substantial shortage of clinical doctors in Gyeongsangnam-do, amounting to 15,477 as of 2021. Projections indicate a need for an additional 7,570 doctors by the year 2050 to maintain the current healthcare service level. Examination of medical treatment rights and distribution across cities and counties indicates an insufficiency in doctor supply relative to demand in the majority of regions. Alternative scenarios, such as increasing medical school enrollments and adjusting retirement ages, were explored, yet none provided a sufficient resolution to the shortage. Conclusion: The findings underscore an impending exacerbation of the doctor shortage in Gyeongsangnam-do if the existing system is perpetuated. Addressing this issue necessitates not only augmenting the number of medical school students and adapting retirement age policies but also implementing diverse strategies employed successfully in other countries. This study serves as a foundational step in informing evidence-based policies aimed at securing an ample and appropriately distributed doctor workforce for sustainable healthcare delivery.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.43 no.4
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• pp.362-365
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• 2010

2010 is the year when the Korean baby boomer generation faces retirement. With the need for affective strategies to keep this population healthy, the government has placed much effort to increase the regular physical activity (PA) level of older adults. Yet the prevalence of active seniors is still relatively low. This paper reviews the recent government strategies and efforts to enhance the physical activity levels of older adults and the PA programs provided in the community settings by major organizations and institutions. In addition, the problems of the current approaches are shown, and based on a review, the author provides five suggestions for promoting the PA level of older adults as follows. First, specific physical activity goals and objectives for older adults should be included in the National Health Plan 2020. Second, the recommendations for PA for seniors, which include a proper intensity, duration and frequency of exercise, should be provided. Third, the role of organizations and institutions should be rearranged for the proper dissemination of government provided community-based exercise programs. Fourth, a standard quality-control system should be provided, and finally, an evidence-based exercise program, which should be specifically created for the older Korean population, should be developed. Physical activity offers opportunities for people to extend the years of their active independent life and reduce functional limitations. To maximize the effects of government efforts to promote PA for seniors, we feel the comments provided in this paper should be closely examined.

• Journal of Agricultural Extension & Community Development
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• v.29 no.2
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• pp.111-129
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• 2022

This study aims to classify agricultural entrepreneurship preparation patterns for middle-aged adults and to explore their demographic characteristics, occupational characteristics, and agricultural entrepreneurship related variables. The result of the study follows: first, agricultural entrepreneurship preparation patterns were divided into three types of urban-born farming, rural-born farming, retirement farming. Second, these patterns showed significant differences according to the level of demographic and occupational characteristics. Third, these patterns also showed considerable differences depending on the level of agricultural entrepreneurship expectancies, agricultural entrepreneurship volition, and agricultural entrepreneurship barriers. Based on the results, diversified agricultural entrepreneurship education programs and support measures were suggested.

• Journal of Family Resource Management and Policy Review
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.89-108
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• 2020

The purpose of this study was to analyze the factors influencing life satisfaction in widowhood among older females. Using the sixth Korean Retirement and Income Study (KReIS) supplementary survey data, a total sample of 1,471 women aged 65 or older whose spouse had died were selected, divided into 508 young-old (65-74), 745 middle-old (75-84), and 218 oldest-old (85+). Then, factors influencing the life satisfaction of these three groups were analyzed, based on a combination of perceived health and interpersonal satisfaction levels. It was found that among the young-old group, a higher level of subjective health perception indicated by monthly income and material support and interpersonal satisfaction linked to more frequent participation in community gathering combined for an overall higher level of life satisfaction. For the middle-old group, higher life satisfaction was provided by monthly income, informational support, and material support for subjective health perception and no diseases for interpersonal satisfaction. The oldest-old group with higher life satisfaction referred to monthly income for subjective health perception and no experience in donation activities for interpersonal satisfaction. Based on these findings, this study provides implications for policy and practice to improve the life satisfaction of elderly women who have experienced their spouse's death.

• Journal of the Korea Society of Computer and Information
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• v.26 no.6
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• pp.155-166
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• 2021

The purpose of this study is to investigate whether depression and social support have a multiple mediating effect in affecting the life satisfaction of the elderly with public and private transfer income. To this end, the 7th panel data (2017) among the data of the Korean Retirement & Income Study (KReLS) was used for analysis, and the analysis was conducted using structural equation modeling (SEM). As a result of the analysis, first, it was analyzed that the higher the public transfer income of the elderly, the lower the level of depression, the higher the social support, and the higher the satisfaction of life. Second, the partial mediating effect of depression was verified in the influence of the elderly's public transfer income and private transfer income on life satisfaction. Third, the partial mediating effect of social support was verified in the influence of the elderly's public transfer income and private transfer income on life satisfaction. Fourth, it was verified that the multiple mediating effects of depression and social support were significant in the effect of the elderly's public and private transfer income on life satisfaction. Based on the results of this analysis, policy proposals were made, such as revitalizing the Community Care program to strengthen the social support network of the elderly.

• Journal of Industrial Convergence
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.7-16
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• 2019

Korea, which became an aging society in 2000, has made transition to an aged society more quickly than expected since late 2017 after 17 years. Despite this trend, the awareness towards elderly housing facilities has not yet been raised across in society. The primary reason is that use of elderly housing facilities has not been promoted due to lack of understanding about the construction and management of the facilities. The housing of the elderly should be considered in terms of not only residential space but also the issues of medical care and continuous care. Therefore, the trend of elderly housing is pursuing the Continuing Care Retirement Community. Thus, this study analyzed the policies of existing elderly housing facilities and existing elderly housing through comparison with policies and housing of foreign countries. Based on the results, the the government intends to present characteristics and direction of suitable housing design of senior citizens' housing facilities through maintenance of UNIT, securing convergence through changes in the use of facilities, and realising the cost of operation, and studying social welfare measures to cope with the increasing number of elderly residents.

• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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• v.17 no.6
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• pp.470-478
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• 2017

This research investigates the objectives, concepts, and technical aspects of existing Smart Cities in theoretical terms in order to resolve any ambiguities the definition of Smart City currently has. Through this, theoretical recommendations for Smart City that targets elderly citizen are made. The elderly citizens in question are people currently in their mid-50s to early 60s, in order to adequately employ futuristic technologies into four major sectors: healthcare, post-retirement employment, community-based governance, and environment-friendly infrastructure. The research concludes that while the technical application of welfare to the elderlies through constructing a purposeful Smart City is desirable, environmental consideration should come in prior concern as a sustainable foundation of livelihood is needed for citizen accommodation.