By Bae Ji-sook
Staff Reporter
Longevity is a long a craved issue for everyone. Many people dream of reaching 100 years old, but what is necessary for a long life?
The answer may be a clean environment and eating lots of beans and garlic.
According to Prof. Kim Jong-in of Wonkwang University, many long-living people reside in areas with these crops, clean water and fresh air.
He conducted a survey of 996 people over 100 years old nationwide and found Hampyeong, Guryeh, Jangseong in South Jeolla Province and Sunchang in North Jeolla Province have the largest numbers of the senior citizens. They had 27.7, 24.3, 16.8 and 15.2 senior citizens aged over 100 per 100,000 persons, respectively.
In metropolitan cities, Gwangju topped the list with 2.1, followed by Seoul and Daejeon with 1.44 and 1.39, respectively. Ulsan placed last with 0.5.
Kim collected data on environmental pollution, development, local government's financial status and farming crops of the regions.
These regions had clean air and less water pollution. For instance, Ulsan has twice the amount of sulfurous acid gas in the air as that in Gwangju. Jeongeup in North Jeolla Province, where the number of long-living seniors peaked among small cities with 6.9 per 100,000, had 3.4 milliliters of biological oxygen demand per one liter of water while Gimje, which placed fourth in the category, had 4.3 milliliters.
Those in the regions with a lower smoking rate and fewer cars enjoyed longer lives. The less paved roads they had, the longer they lived.
Diet was also an important factor. South Jeolla Province, where most of the towns are located, has more than nine times the number of garlic fields than Gyeonggi Province, which had the least number of people living to over 100.
``The number shows beans and garlic may be a key food for enjoying eternal youth,'' Kim said.
He also said that longevity differs from person to person, but social environmental backgrounds can play an important role in it. He stressed that when devising development plans for suburban areas, people must make them in an environmentally friendly way.