[Senior Trend] Attitudes Toward Living Alone

The Rising Trend of Single-Person Households,
What Defines a Nuclear Family for the Senior Generation?

According to a 2022 Statistics Korea survey, single-person households in Korea account for 33.4% of all households, totaling 7,166,000 households. According to the "Future Household Projections," although the population is expected to decline, the number of households is projected to increase. Currently, the highest proportion of households consists of couples with children, but gradually, single-person households are expected to become the predominant household type. Around 2020, among major OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) countries, only Korea, the United Kingdom, France, and Japan had single-person household rates exceeding 30%. Germany, Sweden, and Finland surpass 50%.

Looking at the proportions by age group, those under 29 account for 19.8%, those over 70 for 18.1%, people in their 30s for 17.1%, and those in their 60s for 16.4%. Currently, the highest rate of single-person households is among people in their 20s. According to data released by the Ministry of the Interior and Safety in January 2023, the elderly population aged 65 and over exceeds 9.26 million, accounting for 18% of the total population. Among them, 1.82 million currently live alone. Expanding the age range to include those in their 50s, the number exceeds 3 million. Considering our life cycle, what is a "standard" household?

Recently, there was a discussion about solitary death at a senior business-related meeting. It was mainly from the perspective of seniors in their 50s, discussing how one might end up dying alone and how frightening and terrifying it is to be alone after losing a spouse. A major daily newspaper recently introduced a case of a widowed man in Japan, portraying being left alone as lonely and tragic. In this era of longevity, with varying lifespans and personalities, the possibility of everyone facing a period of living alone has increased.

At the same time, there is a trend of wanting to live alone in old age. In the 2008 drama "Mom is Angry," actress Kim Hye-ja declares a "long vacation" and rents a studio apartment. The reason was that she had sacrificed for her family for a long time and needed time to live and breathe as herself. The main viewers who felt a sense of liberation were women in their 60s, but nowadays, men feel the same. In the program "I Am a Natural Person," although each had their own story as passionate family heads, various men in their 50s and 60s living alone in their own ways can be seen.

In fact, living alone is becoming a trend not only among the senior generation but across all generations. Accordingly, books depicting the ordinary daily lives of singles and unmarried people have gained attention. Kim Hee-kyung's "Aging Solo," a collection of interviews about "how people who choose to be alone age," fills the gap in discussions about single middle-aged people living alone. It focuses on what is "present" in life rather than what is "absent." It shares the journey as a reference on how to prepare for challenges that come with aging, such as livelihood, housing, and care.

There is also an essay titled "Living Alone," highly praised by Japan's NHK and a bestseller on Amazon. Ninety-six-year-old grandmother Yoshizawa Hisako has lived alone for over 30 years after her husband and mother-in-law, with whom she lived, passed away. Even though she accepts the weakening of her body with age as natural, she lives a self-directed life by doing what she can herself. And she does it joyfully. For example, she does not overexert herself and focuses on the good aspects of people.

Additionally, Junko Matsubara's book "At the Last Moment of Life, Everyone is Alone" breaks the perception that all single-person senior households are lonely and destined for solitary death. It thoroughly describes how "eating alone" and "living alone" can be quite okay. It also provides life organization methods to prepare for the final moments of life that one will face alone.

Meanwhile, if the rapidly growing single-person household industry was previously tailored to single people in their 20s and 30s, it is now evolving into "age-friendly" services and products for the senior generation. Food leads the way. Focusing mainly on nearby areas, senior-specialized single-person delivery lunchbox businesses and small-package side dish stores have emerged. Convenience stores, which used to mainly stock processed foods targeting younger customers, have started to offer various fresh foods and semi-prepared meals for single-person senior households. The one- to two-person meal kit market has become a product group steadily favored by the senior generation through the COVID-19 pandemic.

The small home appliance market is also noteworthy. While maintaining the performance of existing products, they are reducing size and weight and simplifying usage. Even in smaller refrigerators, features that consider seniors' usability, such as easy opening and closing without effort, are being added. Home security services are also expanding their scope. The Ministry of Health and Welfare has piloted a home CCTV project based on IoT (Internet of Things) technology to improve the living environment and support emergency medical care for elderly people living alone. As children worried about their aging parents' safety also participate, the market is gradually growing. Lifestyle robots cannot be overlooked either. Mini robots that serve as companions, teach dementia-prevention games, or remind seniors when to take their medication are accompanying the senior generation.

Living alone is surprisingly not a bad world. There is a high possibility that we will live alone for a certain period before passing away. Some people deeply feel human loneliness whether alone or not, while others are filled with gratitude and fulfillment whether living together or not. As we find ways to live authentically even when alone, the era when single-person households living alone are no longer special has arrived. Welcome to the aging society and the era of the individual.