"The Final Stop of a Lifetime of Hardship, Nowhere Better Than This" [Senior House]

[3-1] This Is My Final Stop

For Elderly Who Must Live Alone but Lack the Ability
Ansan City's 'Senior Care Safe Housing' Embraces Their Hard Life
Deposit 5 Million KRW, Monthly Rent 250,000 KRW

Though They Must Take 50 Pills Daily
Reliable Home Eases Worries of Dying Alone

On the 28th of last month, Grandpa Jeong Gi-yong, who lives in Boba Care Safe Housing in Danwon-gu, Ansan-si, Gyeonggi, is showing the inside of his house. Photo by Jin-Hyung Kang aymsdream@

"I've had cancer surgery twice, had a heart stent procedure, and even got pneumonia, so what choice do I have? I just endure it with all kinds of medicine."

Grandfather Jeong Gi-yong (76), who lives in Ansan, Gyeonggi Province, has to swallow 53 pills every day. On the shelf by the bedside, within arm's reach, there are many medicine bottles. Meanwhile, the washing machine on the veranda signaled that the spin cycle was finished. Grandfather Jeong stood up with his cane and pressed the remote control. The ceiling-mounted laundry rack lowered to leg height. It was a thoughtful convenience essential for Grandfather Jeong, who has difficulty moving around.

"For an old man like me, there's no better place to live. They bring me lunchboxes every day, there are other elderly people to chat with in the auditorium on the first floor, helpers come to clean, and there's even a monitor in the room that connects to 119 in case of emergency. If I collapse, someone will come right away. This place is my final stop."

On the 28th of last month, Grandpa Jeong Gi-yong, who lives in Boba Care Safe Housing in Danwon-gu, Ansan-si, Gyeonggi Province, is showing the inside of his house. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

The 'final stop' Grandfather Jeong refers to is the ‘Bobaecare Safe Housing’ located in Gojan-dong, Danwon-gu, Ansan. In the middle of a shabby and old residential area stands a newly built three-story building where nine elderly people who have carried a lifetime of poverty live together. The average age is 75. All must live alone, but they are recipients of home care services who lack the ability to live independently.

Kim Kyung-chul, team leader of the Integrated Care Division in Ansan City, explained, "When elderly people get sick, they usually spend their last days in nursing hospitals. But in Ansan, we thought about building small houses and having the community take care of the neighborhood elders, and this project started." Ansan City began the Bobaecare Safe Housing project five years ago through a senior care pilot program. Korea Land and Housing Corporation (LH) remodeled rental housing to specialize it for elderly living and handed it over to Ansan City, which operates it.

The selection of residents is currently handled by the Ansan Regional Self-Support Center. Not everyone who wishes can move in. Applicants must be homeless. Priority is given to elderly people who have been hospitalized for more than three months and then discharged, elderly residents of nursing homes who want to return to the neighborhood, or elderly people who have been certified for long-term home care.

Danwon-gu, Ansan-si, Gyeonggi Province, Bobae Care Safe Housing. Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@

The deposit is 5 million won, and the monthly rent is 250,000 won. Basic livelihood security recipients can cover this 250,000 won with housing benefits provided by the government. Essentially, they stay for free. The residency period is 10 years, but it can be extended continuously to live as long as they want.

Ansan City operates two more such facilities (in Gojan-dong and Bono 2-dong) and plans to add one more by next year. Team leader Kim said, "Ansan has many purchased rental houses, so cooperation with LH was smooth. It would be great if many such senior care safe houses were established nationwide, but due to budget and operational issues related to building construction, only places like Ansan have specialized facilities so far."

Grandfather Jeong also placed a four-span calligraphy desk in one corner of his 9-pyeong (approx. 30 square meters) room. It is a small space he has long kept in his heart. "When I lived alone in a collapsing house on Daebu Island, I could never have imagined this. I still take antidepressants, but when I write calligraphy, I can bear it. Here, I don't have to worry about dying alone."