The Gyeongnam Institute (Director Oh Dong-ho) announced the publication of a brief titled "How to Support Senior Leisure in Gyeongnam in the Era of 10 Million Elderly People" to propose policy directions for supporting leisure activities for the elderly in Gyeongnam, where the population of seniors aged 65 or older has reached 700,000.

The elderly population in Korea is rapidly increasing. As of November last year, the number of seniors aged 65 or older in Gyeongnam Province exceeded 700,000. Since 2020, the retirement of the baby boomer generation (born between 1955 and 1963) has begun in earnest.

They are healthy, energetic, have high consumption levels, and are independent. They are also called active seniors, unlike the existing elderly generation, as they are a new senior generation who spend their old age actively.

After passing the legal retirement age of 60 in Korea, most seniors lose their jobs, social status, and are pushed to the periphery, experiencing role loss and reduced social relationships. Participation in leisure activities has been emphasized as a positive factor for physical, mental health, and happiness for such seniors.

Looking at the leisure activities of seniors aged 65 or older in Gyeongnam, as of 2023, 85.8% of the respondents said they had experience participating in leisure activities, and nearly half of them (57.4%) engaged in walking or resting. The rate of participation in relatively simple activities was high, with 22.2% for social activities such as religious activities and visiting relatives, and 9% for hobbies and entertainment activities (playing cards, hiking, gardening, reading, etc.).

Among those who did not participate in leisure and cultural activities, 33.1% said they did not participate due to a lack of information on leisure activities (23.4% did not know how to do it, 9.7% did not know what to do), indicating a need to provide various information on leisure support for the elderly.

Developed countries such as the UK and the US are supporting the installation of senior-only playgrounds to help seniors take care of their health during their leisure time. There are also cases of establishing park-type playgrounds to respond to special needs such as dementia care.

In Korea, there is growing interest in supporting leisure activities for the elderly, such as the creation of smart senior playgrounds (Gwangjin-gu, Seoul) and the creation of Haha Centers (Busan City) to support leisure for the new senior generation.

Park Sun-hee, head of the Welfare Companion Policy Team, said, "Supporting seniors to maintain their health by utilizing their leisure time and providing opportunities for them to contribute their rich social experience and capabilities to society is an important policy that can kill two birds with one stone: reducing social costs and promoting the happiness of seniors." She added, "In a super-aged society, it is necessary to raise more interest in policies to support leisure for the elderly."

G-Brief No. 236 of the Gyeongnam Institute can be found in the research category of the Gyeongnam Institute website (www.gni.re.kr).

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