示範 敬老堂 運營實態와 活性化方案에 관한 硏究

Abstract

Recently, the elderly's problems emerge as a social issue. Under such circumstances, this study was aimed at reviewing the conditions of the model elderly's houses used as elderly's leisure activities and thereby, finding the ways to activate them. The conventional large family system has collapsed due to extension of the average life span, increase of the old population, increase of nuclear families and decrease of unit family members, and as a result, our elderly people have lost their roles, living an idle life. Although people retire legally when their age reaches 55 ∼ 60, the average life span exceeds 70. Under such conditions, elderly's leisure time increases more and more, and therefore, most of the elderly face the problem of how to use the increasing leisure time. In the past the elderly's desires were satisfied at their homes, but today, they should find some other means out of home whereby their needs can be met. Many elderly people spent their idle time out of their home, and thus, the number of the elderly's houses increases. Nevertheless, the elderly's houses are operated in the same way as they were in the past, and what is worse, their basic roles are diminishing. In other words, despite the elderly's houses should be operated efficiently as leisure places in both terms of quantity and cluality, relevant research centers or public authorities have yet to find the ways to activate the elderly's houses and their programs, much less effective policies. In this study, in order to establish the elderly's houses as effective leisure places, the operation of model elderly houses in Kuro-gu, Seoul was surveyed and thereby, problems were addressed to find the ways to activate the elderly's houses. The problems identified regarding operation of the elderly's houses were shortage of the operation cost (poor financial status), lack of the adequate programs, shortage of the equipments and poor linkage between elderly's house and community. In order to correct such problems and thereby, activate the elderly's houses, four reform measures have been suggested; first, the government should subsidizes the elderly's houses. Second, social welfare specialists should be recruited. Third, the facilities of the elderly's houses should be maintained and renovated. Fourth, the relationship between elderly's house and community should be enhanced. Lastly, since the survey was conducted for several model elderly's houses, its results may not well be generalized. Moreover, more aspects of the elderly's houses could not be covered by this study. Therefore, it is hoped that this study will be followed up by future studies conducted for larger samples in Seoul or nation-wide.