'Silver cafe' takes elderly back to old era

A man eats from a lunch box at “Adding to Memories” a silver cafe mainly for elderly citizens in Nagwon-dong, Seoul, on Feb. 28. / Korea Times photo by Kim Ji-soo

By Kim Ji-soo

“Silver Cinema” in Nagwon-dong, downtown Seoul, offers an oasis for the elderly in this district for young people.

This cinema used to house Hollywood, one of the top movie houses in the capital before the multiplexes moved in.

A ticket sells for 2,000 won for those 55 and older. The going price for a ticket in a “first-run” theater is 8,000 won.

“Adding to Memories” is a café about 10 meters away from the theater’s entrance. From 10 a.m. through 5 p.m., the venue on the second floor plays music from the 1960s-1970s.

“I feel very familiar with the music,” said Lim Jeong-deuk, 71, a resident of Gwanak, Seoul.

Lim brought along a friend, a 74-year-old resident of Gangnam. Enjoying a cup of tea, they were listening old pop music including “Besame Mucho” that seemed to transport them back an era.

At the next table, two women were sampling an “old-style lunchbox” that the café was selling for 3,000 won.

For an additional 1,000 won, there was also tea and coffee available.

They had just watched the Korean movie “Following the Husband.”

“Oh, we had a late lunch and we weren’t even hungry, but we just sampled it for old time’s sake. It wasn’t bad at all,” said Park, a 69-year-old resident of Seoul who would only give her last name.

Park came with her friend, and the two said they liked the music and the ambience. They said they were glad to see more places that offer day-long entertainment for about 10,000 won a day.

The café is also run by the chief of Silver Cinema, CEO Kim Eun-ju, with the help of the Seoul City Government.

“We have a lot of customers around lunch time after the showing of the first movie,” said Kim, CEO of Silver Cinema. The DJ who had carved out a corner of the theater has moved into the café.

“Originally, I thought about offering the discount advantages to 65 year or older, but as there were so many senior citizens sitting at the Tapgol Park, I’ve decided to lower the age to 55,” Kim said.

Korea is a rapidly aging society. Statistics Korea announced in June 2012 that population will peak in 2030 at 52.16 million but drop below 50 million by 2045. Moreover, it forecast that people aged 65 or older will grow to 16.5 million by 2040 from 5.45 million in 2010.

Kim, who has been operating the silver theater for the past five years, said that she now recognizes what the elderly want.

“I have seen an elderly couple who would awkwardly walk in to see a movie at first, but after the movie they would walk out with their hands clasped tightly. I want to be able to provide an opportunity for them to make up if they had fought, and to have a good time together,” Kim said. “Senior citizens are our future. We all grow old.”