Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs, National Survey on Solitary Death Awareness
Economic Insecurity Increases Likelihood
One in ten Koreans believes there is an 80% or higher chance that they will die alone, according to a survey.
On the 3rd, the Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs released the results of a “National Survey on Public Awareness of Dying Alone,” conducted among 1,000 men and women aged 19 and older nationwide. Dying alone refers to a situation where a person lives isolated from family, relatives, and others around them, passes away alone, and their body is discovered after a certain period of time.
When asked, “If the possibility of dying alone ranges from 0% to 100%, what do you think your own chance is?” the average response was about 32%.
By range, 38.9% answered that the possibility was less than 20%, the largest group, followed by 22.3% who said between 40% and less than 60%, 20.1% between 20% and less than 40%, and 9.5% between 60% and less than 80%.
The entrance of the villa where a 70-year-old basic livelihood security recipient who died alone last year lived [Image source=Yonhap News]
Also, 9.2%, equivalent to one in ten, said their chance of dying alone was 80% or higher.
By gender, men responded with 30.21%, and women with 34.35%. By age group, those in their 30s viewed their chance of dying alone as the highest at 39.53%, followed by those in their 40s at 33.16%, 50s at 32.01%, 60 and older at 29.84%, and 19 to 29 years old at 29.58%. Additionally, 84.3% agreed that dying alone can occur at any age.
Respondents who were separated, divorced, or bereaved estimated their own chance of dying alone at 45.17%, unmarried individuals without a partner at 42.80%, unmarried individuals with a partner at 33.83%, and married individuals at 25.94%.
Even among those with family, 58.3% responded that they could still die alone. Single-person households assessed their own chance of dying alone at 45.05%, two-person households at 33.84%, three-person households at 30.72%, and households with four or more people at 25.40%.
There was also a tendency for those with unstable economic status or housing conditions and lower income to rate their chance of dying alone higher. Day laborers and respondents with a monthly household income below 2 million KRW answered that their chance of dying alone was 41.71% and 44.94%, respectively. In contrast, regular employees and those with a monthly income of 6 million KRW or more estimated their chance at 28.64% and 25.76%, respectively.
A scene from the movie "Still Life," which depicts the story of a public official responsible for organizing the belongings and funerals of people who died alone. [Image source=Naver Movie]
According to the Ministry of Health and Welfare’s “2022 Survey on the Actual Conditions of Dying Alone,” the number of deaths from dying alone steadily increased from 2017 to 2021. In 2021, the number of deaths from dying alone was 3,378, accounting for about 1.0% of total deaths (317,680). Men and those in their 50s and 60s are particularly vulnerable.
The increase in dying alone is attributed to changes in family structures centered on single-person households and disconnection from surrounding factors. In response, the government announced the “1st Basic Plan for Preventing Dying Alone (2023?2027)” last May. The goal is to mobilize maximum human and material safety nets to identify and support high-risk groups and reduce the number of deaths from dying alone by 20% per 100 total deaths by 2027.
Japan, where about 30,000 people are estimated to die alone annually, appointed a minister in charge of loneliness and isolation to address issues related to aging and increasing suicide rates. The UK established the world’s first Department for Loneliness in 2018 to specifically handle the issue of dying alone.
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