South Korea’s Ministry of Health and Welfare has introduced a comprehensive manual for nationwide “Neighbor Connection Teams.” (Image courtesy of Yonhap)
SEOUL, March 6 (Korea Bizwire) — In an effort to prevent lonely deaths among socially isolated individuals, South Korea’s Ministry of Health and Welfare has introduced a comprehensive manual for nationwide “Neighbor Connection Teams,” the ministry announced on March 5.
The initiative, officially named through a public contest last December, establishes networks of local residents who actively identify and regularly check on households at risk of social isolation. The program recruits participants from various community touchpoints, including convenience store workers, pharmacists, real estate agents, and apartment building managers, who can join through their local district offices or administrative welfare centers.
The newly released manual provides detailed guidance on how to identify warning signs of social isolation. These include accumulated mail or overdue bills outside residences, numerous empty alcohol bottles around homes, or televisions running continuously without signs of activity.
Team members are instructed to follow specific protocols when checking on at-risk individuals. After identifying themselves and explaining their purpose, they are encouraged to ask gentle, probing questions about daily life, such as “How are you managing in this cold weather?” and “Have you been eating regularly?”
“We hope this manual will help identify households showing signs of isolation risk and support the formation of social relationships,” said Bae Hyung-woo, who oversees welfare administration at the ministry. “We will work with local governments to discover and assist households at risk of social isolation and loneliness.”
The program includes strict guidelines for protecting privacy and ensuring safety. Team members are required to maintain confidentiality about any personal information they discover, conduct visits in pairs when checking on high-risk individuals, and promptly leave situations that feel unsafe.
M. H. Lee (mhlee@koreabizwire.com)
