What Are the Health, Isolation, and Safety Measures Offered by Seoul Districts Reaching Out to Single-Person Households?

Mapo-gu, Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seongdong-gu Operate Cooking and Other Programs to Prevent Social Isolation of Single-Person Households

As the number of single-person households continues to rise daily, each autonomous district in Seoul is taking measures to address their health and safety.

This is to establish preemptive networks to prevent solitary deaths caused by the social isolation these individuals experience.

Mapo-gu (District Mayor Park Gang-su) extends a warm hand to the increasing number of single-person households every year.

According to the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, as of March 2024, single-person households in Mapo-gu account for 48.5% of all households, ranking 9th among Seoul's autonomous districts. This figure is higher than the Seoul city average of 44.7%.

In response, Mapo-gu has established the '2024 Single-Person Household Support Implementation Plan,' divided into safety, health, loneliness, isolation, and housing sectors, to prevent social isolation among the growing single-person households and create a safe living environment. The plan includes 34 projects, with 8 new initiatives.

Key projects in the safety sector include the 'Safe Home 3-piece Set Support' and the installation of 'Smart Security Lights.' The 'Safe Home 3-piece Set' provides home CCTV, portable emergency bells, and window locks to promote a safe residential environment.

Additionally, Mapo-gu replaces and installs outdated security lights in areas densely populated by single-person households with 'Smart Security Lights' to eliminate safety blind spots.

Policies for the health of single-person households have also been prepared. For middle-aged individuals who often neglect health management, Mapo-gu runs the 'The-Eum' project, an integrated health and welfare care support linking medical and social care.

Alongside this, the 'Monthly Table' project, aimed at addressing nutritional imbalance and improving eating habits among single-person households, will be newly launched this year.

Furthermore, Mapo-gu operates the 'Single-Person Household Support Center' to help form social networks and alleviate depression among single-person households. It also runs the 'Mapo Safe Smart! Mobile Safety Care Service' and the 'Care SOS Project,' which serve as reliable companions for socially isolated households at risk.

In the housing sector, representative initiatives include the 'Self Care Class,' which makes daily life more convenient, and the nation's first communal living facility for seniors aged 65 and older living alone, the 'Hyo-do Suk-sik Senior Center.'

Moreover, Mapo-gu plans to enrich the lives of single-person households through various projects such as the 'Safe Return Home Scout' to assist late-night returns, the one-stop welfare project 'Resident Participation Hyo-do Meal' for seniors aged 75 and older, and the 'Single Life Master,' a support group for single elderly men.

Park Gang-su, Mayor of Mapo-gu, said, “As single-person households are rapidly increasing, I believe policies need to be viewed from multiple perspectives. Mapo-gu will prepare and actively promote various policies to ensure the safe and healthy lives of single-person households, which have become a major household type.”

Yeongdeungpo-gu (District Mayor Choi Ho-gwon) announced that it will operate the 'Go·Bong·Bap' self-help group to build social networks and prevent isolation among middle-aged male single-person households at risk of solitary death.

Social isolation and the risk of solitary death among middle-aged male single-person households have emerged as social issues. This is because they are prone to social isolation due to economic failures such as divorce and unemployment, as well as family relationship breakdowns.

In response, Yeongdeungpo Bon-dong, together with the local community security council, operates the 'Go·Bong·Bap' self-help group to build social networks and prevent solitary deaths among middle-aged men living alone in goshiwon (small, inexpensive rooms). 'Go·Bong·Bap,' an abbreviation for 'Goshiwon Men Serving Meals,' is a group where socially isolated middle-aged men in goshiwon come out into society to share food, interact, and practice sharing and volunteering in the community.

They engage in various social activities with peers of similar ages. They leave their solitary rooms to cook and eat meals with neighborhood friends, building relationships. They also participate together in gardening, preparing meals with harvested produce, sharing side dishes and kimchi, joint birthday parties, and movie watching.

Additionally, they form small groups such as 'Our Neighborhood Hongbanjang,' which provides home repair volunteer services, and 'Raonjena,' which offers one-day workshop experiences for enjoyment, allowing them to enjoy leisure and cultural experiences.

Moreover, Go·Bong·Bap identifies middle-aged male single-person households who find it difficult to ask for help. They engage these hidden individuals in psychological counseling and help lead them out of social isolation.

A man who participated as a Go·Bong·Bap member last year said, “During a temple stay meditation session through Go·Bong·Bap activities, I was able to spend some time facing myself. I also learned the joy of volunteering by sharing side dishes made with my peers with other single-person households facing similar difficulties.”

Choi Ho-gwon, Mayor of Yeongdeungpo-gu, said, “The best treatment for single-person households experiencing psychological difficulties is various activities and forming social networks with others. Yeongdeungpo-gu will be the first hand to lean on in loneliness and daily life through Go·Bong·Bap.”

Seongdong-gu (District Mayor Jeong Won-o) has signed agreements with local non-profit corporations and organizations selected for the 'Seongdong-type Single-Person Household Support Public Project' and will actively promote various support projects for single-person households until November.

The single-person household support public project went through a public announcement, application, project briefing, and evaluation process from February to March this year, and in April, 14 organizations with 15 projects were finally selected.

The selected projects include ▲Middle-aged single-person household organizing and storage, dispatching with the village! ▲'Relationship Formation Sports Project' for Seongdong-gu single-person households ▲'Smart Green Home Project' for housing environment improvement targeting low-income elderly living alone ▲'Digital Literacy Support Project' to enhance cognitive abilities of elderly single-person households, among others. These tailored projects cover safety, housing, health, culture and leisure, and middle-aged specialization for single-person households.

As of May 2024, Seongdong-gu has 59,250 single-person households, accounting for 44.4% of all households, nearly half of the total. Accordingly, Seongdong-gu has been continuously supporting single-person households since 2022 by reflecting their diverse needs and desires to help them live healthy and happy lives through public projects. Last year, 16 organizations participated in 18 projects targeting various age groups including youth, middle-aged, and elderly single-person households.

In addition to the public projects, Seongdong-gu operates programs at the Seongdong-gu Single-Person Household Support Center to promote physical health, mental health recovery, and relationship health formation for balanced and healthy living. From June 10, applications for second-half programs will be accepted through the center's website, with some programs accepting applications on an ongoing basis. Detailed information is available on the center's website.

Furthermore, promotional materials such as lifestyle guidebooks providing various information on single-person household policies and daily life will be produced and distributed to community service centers, the Single-Person Household Support Center, youth centers, and other related institutions. These materials will also be given to new single-person household residents moving into Seongdong-gu to ensure no blind spots exist where benefits are missed due to limited information access.

Jeong Won-o, Mayor of Seongdong-gu, said, “Due to social, economic conditions, and changes in values, the number of single-person households in Seongdong-gu is continuously increasing, and the demand for policies is diversifying, requiring tailored policies by gender and age. Through the single-person household support public projects and operation of the Seongdong-gu Single-Person Household Support Center, we will actively discover and implement demand-oriented projects to realize an inclusive city where everyone, including single-person households, can be happy.”