[The Era of 10 Million Elderly]⑮ "Better than Daughters-in-law and Daughters"… Filial Piety Meals in Mapo-gu, Seoul

Since April Last Year, Approximately 110,000 Meals Provided Weekly 6 Times
Pursuing Integrated Service Managing Elderly Daily Life

At around 11 a.m. on the 14th, at Daun Church in Hapjeong-dong, Mapo-gu, Seoul, two elderly men with neatly combed white hair wearing jackets entered the church cafeteria where a banner reading "Hyodobapsang Hapjeong Branch No. 2" was hung. The lunch menu that day included Chuncheon-style Dakgalbi, steamed eggs, seasoned seaweed flakes, pickled garlic, napa cabbage kimchi, seasoned perilla leaves, and tofu soybean paste soup. They joined other elderly people seated at a round table, took out their trays as if accustomed to it, served themselves food, and began eating.

At around 11:30 a.m. on the 14th, at Daun Church in Mapo-gu, Seoul, users of the 'Resident Participation Filial Piety Meal' are smiling brightly after finishing their meal.
Photo by Tae-won Choi peaceful1@

A total of 25 registered seniors receive lunch five times a week at Hyodobapsang Hapjeong Branch No. 2. On this day, 24 of them dined here, except for one who went to the hospital. Kang Soon-deok (81, female), who came dressed stylishly in a brown checkered shirt with a scarf and hat, said, "The Hyodobapsang staff are much better than daughters-in-law or daughters. Who else would prepare meals changing side dishes every day like this?"

Since April last year, Mapo-gu, Seoul, has been implementing this project called "Resident Participation Hyodobapsang." It provides free balanced lunch meals to seniors aged 75 and older in Mapo-gu who need meal support. Eligible seniors receive meals using various ingredients at designated meal service institutions five times a week from Monday to Friday. On weekends and the day before holidays, they are given packaged retort soup and side dishes for one meal. As of the 21st, a total of 108,928 meals have been provided over one year and one month.

The menu selection and cooking process carefully consider the elderly. Volunteers provide feedback to nutritionists on the amount of leftover food and taste evaluations. To prevent protein deficiency in old age, meat is never omitted from the side dishes. Nutritionist Kim Jeong-min said, "Considering seniors with poor dental health, we avoid hard foods and use a lot of tofu and eggs."

Hyodobapsang aims to be a one-stop integrated senior welfare service that goes beyond simply providing food to managing daily life. Gathering in the dining space to communicate helps prevent depression, and it is a community-based senior welfare service that cares for daily life by checking on the well-being and health status of seniors who do not visit.

To this end, Mapo-gu has recruited about 300 volunteers who assist with meal distribution and companionship, and identify seniors who do not come during meal times to check on them by phone or visit. Through visiting nurses, consultations on basic health, diabetes, hypertension, and other chronic diseases are also conducted. Volunteer Ha Jae-deok (66), who guided seniors at Hapjeong Branch No. 2 that day, said, "I found out about volunteering for Hyodobapsang while looking for ways to contribute to the community," adding, "While dining with elderly people, I think, 'I will be a beneficiary in 10 years too.'"

Attendance sheet of 'Resident Participation Filial Piety Meal Hapjeong Branch No. 2'. For users who are absent, public officials and volunteers immediately contact them to check on their well-being./ Photo by Tae-won Choi peaceful1@

The budget for the Hyodobapsang project is not entirely covered by the district. Part of the meal costs is covered by voluntary donations from individuals and companies. As of the 23rd, the Mapo Welfare Foundation, which oversees Hyodobapsang, has received donations in cash and kind amounting to about 1 billion KRW from dozens of institutions, organizations, and 1,053 individuals.

Currently, 1,000 seniors are registered at 33 Hyodobapsang meal service institutions within Mapo-gu. Mapo-gu plans to expand the number of beneficiaries to 1,500 by the second half of this year. Anyone aged 75 or older can apply without other conditions. Priority is given to elderly living alone, followed by households where only elderly couples live and one spouse has health issues requiring them to eat alone. Asset or income levels are not considered. Jang Joo-hyun, head of the Hyodobapsang Operations Team at the Mapo Welfare Foundation, explained, "Many seniors are excluded from welfare projects because they own an old house that does not sell, creating ambiguous welfare blind spots. We want to avoid creating such gaps."