"Even if it feels like using up the inheritance... Saving pension to move in [Senior House]"

[7-1]"Me? Not a big rich person, but I receive monthly rent every month"

Screen golf, swimming pool, etc., removing the bubble
Some places priced lower than ultra-luxury senior housing also appear

Covering monthly living expenses with housing pension

This is the interior view of KB Pyeongchang County, a senior welfare housing located in Pyeongchang-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul. Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@

Grandfather Kim Jeongsik (alias) was born in 1944. His hometown is Kangye, North Pyongan Province. He came down to Seoul during the Korean War. What can be said about the hardships he endured when he was young? He worked at a dress shirt factory and even went to construction sites in the Middle East. When he was almost fifty, he started a diced radish kimchi factory. With the money he had saved, he bought land in Sinchon and built a four-story building. Although he has no pension, he receives monthly rent regularly. He thought he and his wife could live comfortably with this, but his wife developed dementia. After two years of caregiving, Grandfather Kim, who was also suffering from diabetes, grew exhausted. Then one day, their eldest daughter declared she would take care of her mother.

"We have three children, and they seemed to have looked for places because they said, 'At this rate, father might collapse too.' They couldn’t afford too expensive places, so they looked for somewhere within my means, and this was it. It’s been over a month since we came here. Every morning, I look at the mountain in front. That’s where I fled to Seoul at age seven and played around. There were many apple trees near Jahamun, and I remember my mother bringing apples from there and giving them to me. But now, after turning eighty, I’ve come back here. Isn’t that strange?"

This is the interior view of KB Pyeongchang County, a senior welfare housing located in Pyeongchang-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul. Photo by Jin-Hyung Kang aymsdream@

The place where Grandfather Kim lives is a senior welfare housing in Pyeongchang-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul. To stay in a 34㎡ (10.4 pyeong) studio apartment, a deposit of 30 million KRW and a monthly fee of 3.5 million KRW (covering 60 meals per month and maintenance fees) are required. If the deposit is increased to 330 million KRW, the monthly fee drops to 2.45 million KRW. Han Manki, the facility manager of KB Pyeongchang County, introduced, "For middle-class seniors living in Seoul, we removed unnecessary amenities like screen golf courses and swimming pools to lower costs compared to ultra-luxury senior housing."

What is the economic status of the seniors who move in here? The facility manager explained, "They usually own an apartment around 30 pyeong in Seoul and have personal pensions in addition to the national pension. They can apply for a housing pension or rent out their house to move in." He added, "Those receiving government employee pensions, private school pensions, or military pensions can cover their monthly living expenses with the pension alone."

Another characteristic of the residents here is that the main customers are ‘late-stage elderly single-person households.’ While ultra-luxury senior housing often houses couples, single seniors or those whose spouses have passed away seek these facilities. Living alone causes anxiety about sudden health deterioration and often leads to skipping meals.

On the 10th of last month, elderly people participated in a Korean traditional music and rhythm cognitive stimulation program at KB Golden Life Care Seocho Village in Seocho-gu, Seoul. Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@

This place also has a system that allows residents to move to a nursing home when they become unable to move around over time. KB operates ‘KB Seocho Village,’ a nursing home for seniors who need wheelchairs or have dementia. Especially when moving from senior welfare housing to a nursing home, the entrance fees are set similarly to Pyeongchang County to avoid increasing the financial burden.

KB plans to create more affordable and practical middle-class senior welfare housing with prices lower than Pyeongchang County. "Our seniors think that if they sell their house, they will have used up the home they were supposed to leave for their children. Feeling sorry for their sons and daughters, they endure discomfort and hardship to keep living in their homes. That is the sentiment of Korean seniors. Many compact senior housing options should be created where they can pay a deposit without selling their apartment and pay monthly rent with their income. That way, middle-class seniors will have places to go," said Yoo Bokjae, Head of Operations and Management at KB Golden Life Care.

[7-1] "Me? I’m not rich, but I receive rent every month"