"Not Jealous of Expensive Silvertown"...Word Spreads in Apartment Complex, 'School Attendance Popularity Soars' [Turning My Home into a Senior House]

A Health and Care School Opens in the Heart of an Apartment Complex
Local Seniors Choose This School Over the Community Center
Exercise, Art, Yoga, and Cooking Classes Offered
Chronic Disease Prevention and Management Guidance Provided
No Need to Envy Expensive Silver Towns While Living in Apartments
Helping Seniors Spend Their Later Years at Home

On November 6 last year, Beopdong Care Health School located in Hanmaeum Apartment complex, Daedeok-gu, Daejeon. Beopdong Care Health School is a facility established in a space of a closed kindergarten. Photo by Kang Jin-hyeong

The kindergarten located in Hanmaeum Apartment Complex 1 in Beop-dong, Daedeok-gu, Daejeon City, closed two years ago. It had cared for neighborhood children for nearly 30 years, but due to the declining birthrate and decreasing enrollment, it could no longer sustain operations. The silence left by the absence of children's chatter was short-lived, as the warmth of Beop-dong’s elderly residents began to fill the space. Last year, the building that once housed the kindergarten became home to the 'Care and Health School,' a sanctuary for senior citizens.

'A 5-minute walk'?Seniors living in the apartment flock here

The biggest advantage of the Care and Health School is its proximity to the elderly living in the neighborhood apartments. Since its establishment, the daily life of Grandma Kim Mumyeong (75) has changed. Grandma Kim, who lives in Hanmaeum Apartment, slowly walks with her cane to the school just five minutes away at 9 a.m. every morning.

"A few years ago, I was healthier than I am now. I used to take the bus for 30 minutes to places like the Women's Center or Senior University, which are far away. Since last year, even a short walk causes joint pain, so I couldn’t go. But now that something like this has opened right in front of my house, I’m so excited."

Daejeon is a city with an aging population, where 20% of the residents are elderly. However, senior welfare facilities are severely lacking. In places like Daedeok-gu, where the population and apartments are concentrated, there is hardly any space to build new facilities.

Kim Youngrye, head of the Integrated Care Policy Team at Daedeok-gu Welfare Policy Division, said, "We couldn’t find a site for a facility, so we built a welfare center in the mountains, but even after getting off the bus, seniors had to climb a long way, which was inconvenient for them." To solve this problem, Daedeok-gu established the Care and Health School in a closed daycare center within an apartment complex.

Kim said, "There are about 10 apartment complexes nearby where seniors can walk to and from. Building a Care and Health School in an apartment community is efficient because there is high demand from the elderly."

"Living in an apartment, no need to envy expensive silver towns"

On November 6 last year, elderly people are exercising at Jungri Care Health School located in the shopping area of Jugong Apartment, Daedeok-gu, Daejeon. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung

A day at the Care and Health School is different from the usual routine of playing Go-Stop after lunch at a typical apartment senior center. There are about twenty programs, including exercise classes, art lessons, yoga, and cooking classes for seniors living alone. They also teach how to prevent and manage chronic diseases like hypertension and diabetes.

Grandpa Han Pil-su (81), who lives in Seonbi Village Apartment Complex 1 nearby, said, "Taking care of my physical and mental health here seems to slow down the aging process. Even living in an apartment, I don’t envy friends who moved into expensive silver towns."

Daedeok-gu operates three Care and Health Schools within apartment complexes, not only in Beop-dong but also in Jungni-dong and Deokam-dong. Among them, the Jungni-dong Care and Health School was created by remodeling a PC room that closed in August 2023 in the commercial area of Jungni Jugong Apartment Complex 3. Grandmas Kim Chun-ja and Joo Jeong-ja, both 82 years old, met here and became 'Best Friends.'

"I lost my husband 10 years ago, and she lost hers over 20 years ago. It’s boring to be alone at home, but having a place like this nearby is wonderful. Today, I made a keychain. Isn’t it pretty? There’s so much to do here. Soon, I have to go to the exercise class next door."

Kim said, "We plan to establish a Care and Health School in every neighborhood. Our goal is to realize 'Aging in Place,' allowing seniors to spend their healthy old age where they have lived." Recently, public officials from Jeju Island, Incheon, and Gyeonggi Province have visited Daedeok-gu to learn about the operation methods of the Care and Health School.

On November 6 last year, elderly people were exercising at Jungri Care Health School located in the shopping area of Jugong Apartment, Daedeok-gu, Daejeon. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung