"Even if they pass away in the morning, they must be taken out at night" Bitter words... Nursing home that broke intact walls [My Home as a Senior House]

A Nursing Home Beside an Apartment, a Door That Must Not Be Seen
"Even if an Elderly Resident Passes Away in the Morning, We Must Take Them Out at Night"
"It's 8 p.m. Turn Off the Lights Quickly"
The Sharp Gaze Cast Upon the Elderly
Worried That Going Outside Will Become Even Harder for the Residents
The Nursing Home Is Anxious About Neighborhood Complaints
Breaking Through a Perfectly Good Wall
A Secret Door for the Ailing Elderly

The appearance of an ambulance-only door created by breaking through an intact wall at a nursing home in downtown Seoul. It is a door used to secretly move sick or dying elderly residents so that they are not seen by the neighbors. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung

A nursing home nestled quietly among the flashy apartment complexes in Seoul. As soon as you enter the main entrance on the first floor, there is a large glass door to the right. It was clearly a place where a door shouldn’t be. The sign read, “Ambulance Only Door. Usually locked,” revealing its purpose. Next to the door used by elderly residents in critical condition, a few flower wreaths delivered for the opening ceremony stood awkwardly.

The ambulance-only door was originally part of the building’s outer wall. The nursing home director had a perfectly good wall torn down to install the glass door for a reason. It was about two weeks after the nursing home opened. “We want to take a look around the new nursing home,” said some public officials who came to visit. The director kindly guided them. A rare dementia-specialized room, gardens arranged on each floor, and rooms cleaned spotless without a speck of dust. Grandmothers with dementia were gathered in the activity room making baskets. Some grandfathers were lying in bed watching TV. It was a quiet but peaceful afternoon.

As the officials finished their tour and were about to leave, someone muttered to themselves, “Here, even if the elderly pass away in the morning, they’ll have to be taken out at night.” This remark pierced the director like a dagger. “It felt like pressure to keep critically ill or deceased elderly out of the neighborhood’s sight. After much thought, we decided to make a door in a place completely hidden from the main street.”

119 emergency vehicles and ambulances frequently come and go at the nursing home. Each time, the elderly are moved on stretchers or wheelchairs. Eventually, the director made a passage by breaking through the wall so the elderly could move discreetly. “If complaints start coming from the neighborhood, it becomes even harder for the residents to go out. It was a desperate measure…” The director trailed off, feeling disappointed by the community’s perception of the nursing home.

Nine out of ten residents here have dementia. Caring for the patients is already challenging, but they also have to be mindful of trivial things like “when to put out garbage bags with diapers” or “what time to turn off the lights at night” because of the neighborhood’s watchful eyes.

“Some residents complain persistently, saying the nursing home lights should be turned off even though it’s only 8 p.m. Elderly people need the lights to go to the bathroom, and caregivers need to move around. What are we supposed to do? Even when throwing out garbage bags, we’re very careful. We keep them tightly sealed inside the building to avoid smell complaints and only put them out just before the garbage truck arrives after dark.”

According to Statistics Korea’s future population projections, the proportion of elderly people aged 65 and over in South Korea’s total population has exceeded 20% this year, will reach 30% by 2036, and a staggering 40% by 2050. Elderly issues are about our parents, our families, and our own future. Our neighborhoods must be able to embrace spaces where the elderly can age, fall ill, and say their goodbyes peacefully for everyone’s well-being in old age.