Incheon Yeonsu-gu to Build Nature-Friendly Nursing Home by 2027 with Dedicated Dementia Care Rooms

Yeonsu-gu 65 and Older Population Increased by 27.1% Over 4 Years

A nature-friendly public nursing home will be established in the urban area of Yeonsu-gu, Incheon. Yeonsu-gu announced on the 25th that it plans to build a public nursing home in Seonhak-dong by 2027, investing 14.8 billion KRW.

The public nursing home will be constructed as a three-story building with a total area of 3,000㎡, linked to the 'Seonhak Urban Forest' project, which creates a large-scale natural healing space. Construction will begin in April 2026. The facility will accommodate a total of 99 residents, including 87 in general rooms and 12 in dementia-specialized rooms.

Unlike existing facilities built on the outskirts of urban areas, this will be the first nature-friendly public nursing home in the urban area of Incheon and the first public nursing home built inland in Incheon, excluding island regions.

Once completed, the nursing home will provide efficient and professional care services close to families, and by operating a separate dementia-specialized room, systematic management of elderly patients with dementia will also be possible.

Incheon Yeonsu-gu Office

The district is currently undergoing an urban management plan decision (change) for the use of the site and plans to proceed with architectural design competitions and detailed design, which are preliminary steps for construction, starting next year. The construction method involves holding an architectural design competition to incorporate creative and efficient building configurations and beautiful exterior designs, and is considering involving the designer in the construction process to ensure proper reflection of the design proposals.

As of last month, the population aged 65 and over in Yeonsu-gu was approximately 49,000, having increased by 27.1% over the past four years. With rapid aging and low birth rates increasing the social burden of care, urgent measures for elderly care management are needed.

Yeonsu-gu expects the public nursing home construction project to be a proactive initiative at the local government level to expand elderly care in an aging society and to secure national responsibility and publicness for the basic living of the elderly.

Lee Jae-ho, the district mayor, said, "We will do our best to build a public nursing home in an eco-friendly location harmonized with nature so that the elderly can spend their later years comfortably," adding, "We will present a new community care model by operating it with publicness and responsibility, differentiated from private facilities."