Elderly people gathering at Tapgol Park in central Seoul to spend their free time. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, Nov. 22 (Korea Bizwire) — One in 10 middle-aged and senior citizens in Korea who live alone or belong to the lowest-income group were found to have no one to rely on for help in the face of a crisis.
According to a survey conducted by the National Pension Service of 5,110 households across the country that have members aged 50 or older, most middle and senior citizens aged 50 or older said they have someone to help them if they urgently need assistance from others.
However, among the survey respondents, 10.7 to 12.5 percent said they had no help at all.
These respondents were typically either in the lower 20 percent income bracket, illiterate, living in Seoul, or living in a single-person household.
Those who were the most helpful in the past year were spouses, accounting for 51.7 percent, and children, accounting for 36.4 percent. However, there was also conflict between family members.
When looking at conflicts between spouses, 21.6 percent of the respondents said they were at odds due to “financial problems” and 20.6 percent said “differences in lifestyle such as drinking, smoking and returning home late.”
Conflicts with children often arise for parents living with their children rather than children living separately. Among the elderly, 13.7 percent experienced “conflict over career, relationship and marriage issues” with their children.
D. M. Park (dmpark@koreabizwire.com)
