South Korea faces rising number of 'lonely dead'
An elderly person sitting on a bench, in the streets of Seoul in 2019. © Ed Jones / AFP
Text by: RFI Follow
1 min
Every year in South Korea, thousands of people die in isolation.
The phenomenon mainly concerns men over the age of fifty, who account for half of the cases.
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With our correspondent in Seoul
,
Célio Fioretti
The phenomenon has a name, "
Godoksa
", meaning solitary death.
According to the South Korean Ministry of Health, in 2021 more than 3,300 people died alone at home.
A sad record of a constantly increasing trend for five years.
Dr. Kim Seong-yoon is president of the South Korean Gerontology Association and works on this issue.
“
The loneliness increases.
South Korea is one of the fastest industrializing countries.
Within a generation or two, the traditional family disappeared.
Young people went to town to work or study and the older ones stayed in rural areas.
The young are isolated from the family structure and so are the oldest
”.
Public health issue
Another factor noted by the Ministry of Health, the loss of employment.
Unemployment, but also retirement, deprive of regular social contact.
This loneliness poses a real public health problem in the country.
Kim Seong-yoon continues, “
The consequences of loneliness are obvious.
Depression, insomnia, anxiety or other mental disorders.
But these psychological problems also have effects on the physical, such as a more fragile immune system and more frequent infections
.
As South Korea's population increasingly ages
, municipalities are trying to combat the problem by opening activity centers for single people.
The government is also preparing a loneliness prevention plan which should see the light of day this year.
► To read also:
South Korea: connected speakers against the loneliness of the elderly?
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South Korea
Demography