Less than 1 in 3 Koreans over 65 satisfied with life, study finds

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Older Koreans are much less satisfied with life than young Koreans, a study showed Friday.

The Statistics Korea survey showed that only 29.9 percent of those aged 65 and older said they were satisfied with life, the lowest figure compared to children and teenagers (56.6 percent) and people in their 20s and 30s (41.8 percent) and those aged 40 and older.

The overall satisfaction was low among the elderly as measured across various areas: access to education; health and leisure; personal relationships encompassing family bonds and friendships; income and spending levels and working conditions; social and public safety and living conditions.

Only 11 percent said they were satisfied with their current spending capabilities. Some 16 percent said they were satisfied with their income and leisure activities.

The number of single households of older adults is on the rise, far faster than the growth of the older adult population.

The number of people aged 65 and older increased to over 9.4 million in 2023, nearly triple the 3.3 million in 2000.

During the same period, the figure for the same demographic living alone increased to 1.9 million, nearly quadrupling from 543,000.

Korea’s poverty rate among people aged 66 and older was 39.3 percent in 2021. The rate is measured by individuals earning less than 50 percent of the equivalized median income relative to the total population.

The figure of 66 percent is the second highest among OECD member countries, after Estonia.

The overall rate in Korea was 14.9 percent in 2022. As of 2021, Korea’s figure was the ninth-highest among OECD member countries.

Apart from financial and physical difficulties, a growing number of older adults are experiencing mental health problems as well.

More than two in five said that they have no one to call for help in emergency situations, far above the surveyed average of 33 percent.

About one in four said that they have no one to talk to, whereas the same response was given by only as high as 20 percent among other age groups.

Overall life satisfaction in Korea is the lowest compared to other economically advanced nations, the study added.

On a scale of one to ten, Korea’s life satisfaction rate stood at 5.95 as of 2022, 35th among the 38 OECD member countries.

Turkey was at the bottom of the list (4.6), followed by Colombia (5.6) and Greece (5.9). The OECD average was 6.69.

“Overall life satisfaction rate inches up as people age, as suggested by almost all empirical data available. However, Koreans are bucking the trend,” the study said.