[Seoul's Future] Approaching Super-Aged Society... "Urgent Need for Walking Welfare"

17.7% of Seoul Citizens Are 65 or Older
Living in Walkable Neighborhoods
Greatly Helps Buffer Depression in the Elderly

Seoul is one of the fastest aging cities in the world. As of January this year, out of 9,424,873 Seoul residents, 1,665,804 are aged 65 or older. This accounts for 17.7% of Seoul’s population, soaring more than 10 percentage points from 7% in 2005 over 18 years. Soon, the proportion of those aged 65 and older will reach 20%, entering a super-aged society.

Most of the daily lives of the elderly are related to walking around their neighborhoods. They walk to the market to buy goods, take strolls in the park, and meet friends at senior centers. The Seoul Metropolitan Government is striving to create a city where the elderly, who make up a significant portion of the population, can live comfortably, which is why ‘walking welfare’ must be addressed as an important issue.

Professor Park Sohyun of Seoul National University’s Department of Architecture emphasized, "Support for walking must be incorporated into policy." She said, "Elderly people can walk around their neighborhoods independently up to a certain point, but beyond that point, even if they receive help from someone, they want to continue living in their neighborhood." It is not simply because the elderly want to live there that walking welfare should be supported. Various studies show that neighborhood living for the elderly plays a significant role in buffering depression, which is a serious social problem in aging societies. She added, "In a super-aged society, policies are needed to help the elderly go out to buy meals and select fresh vegetables."

As a reference for overseas walking welfare cases, she pointed to Japan. Professor Park explained, "Japan not only helps elderly people who have difficulty moving around to go outside and walk in their neighborhoods but also supports stores where they can shop directly. This is different from our one-dimensional welfare system that simply delivers lunch boxes."

Professor Park Sohyun from the Department of Architecture at Seoul National University is talking about walking and Seoul in her office at Seoul National University, Gwanak-gu, Seoul. Photo by Heo Younghan younghan@

In recent years, Professor Park and her students have been closely observing the walking habits of elderly residents in Mangwon-dong, Mapo-gu. Using a smartphone application (app), they are collecting quantitative data such as walking volume, activity radius, and walking speed to understand elderly walking behavior. She shared, "By tracking behaviors on the street, we found several clues that suggest neighborhood design needs to be changed." For example, elderly people who have plenty of time but face economic difficulties will walk 10 to 30 minutes to find cheap goods. However, there is a lack of places to sit and rest along the way. Professor Park explained, "Elderly people move farther than expected and need places to rest," adding, "We need to gather data and create resting spots where many elderly people gather."

Another important factor to consider in walking welfare is ‘interest.’ Professor Park argued, "Simply making people walk more should not be the ultimate goal," and emphasized, "We need to find intersections through data-based research so that walking can be enjoyable as well." She said Seoul is in a favorable position in this regard. Professor Park stated, "Since Seoul has released a vast amount of transportation and mobility-related data, future urban policies in Seoul can be built on research utilizing this data."

Professor Park Sohyun has been teaching courses in urban and architectural design at Seoul National University’s Department of Architecture since the fall semester of 2004. Before joining Seoul National University, she was a professor at the University of Colorado’s College of Architecture and Planning in the United States, where she conducted education and research related to planning studios, urban design policy, and street environments. She earned her Ph.D. in Urban Design and Planning from the University of Washington in Seattle with a dissertation on the preservation and redevelopment of downtown Seattle, and holds a Master’s degree in Historic Preservation from the University of Oregon’s College of Architecture. She received her Master’s degree in Architectural Planning and Bachelor’s degree in Architectural Engineering from Yonsei University. She has served as a member of the Presidential Committee on National Architecture Policy, the Special Committee on Urban Regeneration, and the Cultural Heritage Committee. She completed her term as the inaugural director of the Architecture and Space Research Institute, a national research institute, in June 2021. Her major publications include ‘Neighborhood Walking Neighborhood Planning,’ ‘Irony Seoul Streets, Five Stories,’ and ‘One Year Living in Sejong, One Year Reading the City.’