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| A worker at Seocho-gu Office in southern Seoul explains various services available at the support center for single-person households in the district. / Courtesy of Seocho-gu Office |
By Lee Suh-yoon
Seocho-gu in southern Seoul is opening a support center for single-person households, the first of its kind in the country, the district office announced last week.
The center will provide visitation services like nursing for ill residents and a 100,000 won ($88) subsidy to fix small leaks and cracks around homes.
"I remember how difficult it was when I got the flu," a man surnamed Kim in his 50s, who lives alone, said in a recent interview with Seocho-gu officials. "I could not tell my family for fear of worrying them and needed a place I could ask for help."
The center will flesh out further details of its one-on-one support schemes for people living alone based on the results of an ongoing survey of 57,000 such households in Seocho-gu. Other types of support being discussed include installing home security equipment, buddy services for hospital visits and psychological counseling.
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| People participate in a wooden furniture-making class for single-person households at Seocho-gu Office. / Courtesy of Seocho-gu Office |
The plans will be coordinated at an offline center that was set up on the fourth floor of Banpo-1-dong community center on March 5. Women who live alone will be able to receive subsidies for setting up home security systems. The center will also provide various culture and leisure activity classes and gatherings for one-person households.
"With a third of our district locals being one-person households, we need policies that are in line with such trends," Cho Eun-hee, the head of the district office, said in a press statement. "I hope the support policies centered on singe-person households can create a Seocho where all residents are happy."
Around 28 percent of the households in Korea are single-person households, according to the most recent data from the Korean Statistical Information Service. In Seoul, over half of all households consist of just one or two persons.
