Elderly Koreans Seek Dignified Death at Home, Citing Need for More Support (Yonhap)
SEOUL, Feb. 5 (Korea Bizwire) — About eight in 10 elderly South Koreans who require long-term care say they would prefer to remain at home during the final stage of their lives, according to a new longitudinal study, underscoring a growing demand for expanded in-home services as the country ages rapidly.
The findings come from the National Health Insurance Research Institute’s second follow-up survey of the Korean Long-Term Care Elderly Cohort, a panel established in 2023 to track the health and caregiving conditions of older adults receiving care at home.
The latest survey, conducted last year, followed 2,933 seniors who had continued living at home for three years and were able to respond directly to questions about end-of-life preferences.
Across all three survey waves — 2023, 2024 and 2025 — roughly 80 percent of respondents said they would prefer to receive end-of-life care at home. The share stood at 78.2 percent in 2023, 80.3 percent in 2024 and 79.7 percent last year.
Hospitals ranked second, with about 30 percent naming medical institutions as their preferred setting for end-of-life care.
Preferences shifted, however, when respondents were asked where they would want to spend their final moments. Over the three-year period, support for dying at home fell from 67.3 percent to 59 percent, while the share preferring hospitals rose from 44.3 percent to 52.7 percent.
Researchers said the shift likely reflects concerns about medical stability, pain management and the administrative complexities that follow a death at home. “While most older adults prefer to remain at home for end-of-life care, preference for hospitals increases as death approaches,” the research team said, adding that conditions should be strengthened to allow people to receive necessary medical treatment at home and die with dignity.
Both seniors and their caregivers said expanded home-visit services would be essential to making that possible. Nearly half of respondents cited the need for longer hours of in-home care, followed by transportation and companion services for outings and home-based nutrition support.
Only 15.3 percent of seniors — and 10.9 percent of caregivers — said current public services were sufficient.
The findings highlight the policy challenges facing South Korea, one of the world’s fastest-aging societies, as it seeks to reconcile older adults’ desire to remain at home with the medical and caregiving demands of their final years.
Lina Jang (linajang@koreabizwire.com)
