"Nursing Home Covered Windows Due to Complaints of 'Dislike Seeing Elderly'... I Am the Present, You Are the Future [Senior House]"

[20-2] The Present Me Is the Future You

Rapid Increase of 'Post-Elderly Aged 75 and Over' After 2030

Urgent Need to Expand Senior Housing Facilities
Many Avoid Them as Undesirable Facilities

We Must Change Perceptions Starting with the Elderly Next Door

Photo by Kang Jin-hyung

On the 8th, Parents' Day, carnation pots were placed in front of the windows of a nursing home in Seoul. Grandfather Kim Mansik (87, pseudonym), who lives in room 302, was sitting in a wheelchair by the window inside his room, basking in the sunlight. The sky was clear and cloudless. Outside the window, the mountains spread out like a painting, full of vibrant green life.

"The carnations are really pretty, aren't they?" When the caregiver asked, Grandfather Kim, who has dementia, blinked his wrinkled eyes twice. His gaze was directed outside the window. But what was reflected on his retina were only the flowers and pots. The background was not the mountains and sky but a foggy glass window.

What cut off Grandfather Kim from the world was the opaque sheet that covered half of the window. Choi Kyungmi (56, pseudonym), the director of this nursing home, said, "Those who have to sit in wheelchairs or lie down cannot see the scenery because of that sheet," adding, "It weighs on my heart so much that I cannot even greet the elders by saying ‘The weather is really nice’."

The window was covered as a desperate measure following complaints from residents living near the nursing home. Director Choi explained, "People living nearby persistently filed complaints saying it was uncomfortable to see the nursing home elders from their homes," and added, "They said things like ‘It’s scary to see dementia patients wandering around at night,’ ‘Please don’t let them go out in the neighborhood in wheelchairs,’ and ‘Please cover the windows so we can’t see the elders at all.’"

At first, they tried to persuade the neighbors, but ultimately failed. Following the residents' demands, opaque sheets were attached to the windows of the rooms where the elders live. The boast that "the scenery around the nursing home is superb," which was told to those coming for admission consultations, became useless. Due to collective complaints of "not wanting to see sick elders," the nursing home elders lost their view without any resistance.

Director Choi explained, "Even in this situation, there is such high demand that one has to wait at least a year to be admitted," and said, "This is a reality caused by the lack of quality nursing homes." A senior welfare housing operator also lamented, "It is not easy to build nursing homes or senior housing in good locations," adding, "Residents often complain that ‘the neighborhood atmosphere is spoiled.’"

In the era of 10 million elderly people, from 2030, the late elderly aged 75 and over will come like a tide. To avoid being swept away, the number of housing units where the elderly can live while receiving proper care services must increase accordingly. Starting with changing the perception of the elderly next door, senior welfare housing can gradually be built one by one in our neighborhood streets.