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| gettyimagesbank |
By Jun Ji-hye
The ongoing controversy over kid-free zones in Korea is now expanding to another age group, with some designating certain areas as senior-free zones in commercial venues such as restaurants and cafes.
The so-called "no-senior zones" are a kind of a variation of the "no-kid zones," banning the entry of children, which have emerged in the country in recent years due to noisy, disruptive children becoming the bane of many restaurants and cafe patrons.
The renewed controversy regarding no-senior zones has sparked debate about whether the designation of such zones is a right that venue owners can exercise for the benefit of their customers, or if, in fact, it is a form of discrimination against older people and a violation of their human rights.
The controversy over no-senior zones began earlier this month when a photo posted on an online community forum showed a cafe door that stated, "No senior zone (no entry for over 60s)."
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| This captured image shows a cafe door with text that states: "No senior zone (no entry for over 60s)." Korea Times file |
Arguments heated up further because the cafe door also has a sign stating that guide dogs are welcome.
The person who posted this photo noted that the cafe was located in a quiet residential area, saying, "I am not sure about the reason (why the owner of the cafe decided to ban elderly customers), but I am worried that my parents could see it while passing by."
Kang Jeong-mi, a 67-year-old retired teacher, said she felt sad when she learned the news about the senior-free zones.
"I like coffee and want to spend time in cozy cafes as young people do. But it feels like I am not welcomed in such places as I am old," she said.
On the other hand, Lee Joon-hyuck, a 30-year-old office worker, said he understands the owner of the cafe in question, as he has seen older customers disturbing others several times.
"One day, I was drinking coffee in a cafe and saw five old men coming in. They ordered just two cups of coffee, occupied two four-person tables and made a lot of noise," he said. "They disturbed other customers a lot, but the owner of that cafe couldn't do anything."
Experts said that the recent emergence of senior-free zones reflects the younger generations' negative perception of older people, which has worsened due to a lack of communication between generations while the traditional extended family system has broken down in favor of the detached nuclear family.
Nonetheless, they stressed that banning customers based on their advanced age is clear discrimination.
"It is improper to excessively generalize the whole group of the elderly simply because some were discourteous," said Hur Jun-soo, a professor of social welfare studies at Soongsil University. "This is clear discrimination based on age, and it is in the same context of racial, sexual and disability discrimination."
Other experts pointed out that the elderly have already faced barriers when using many establishments including restaurants, cafes and cinemas due to the increasing adoption of digital kiosks.
Kim Mee-hye, a professor emeritus of social welfare studies at Ewha Womans University, said, "Even if restaurants or cafes do not ostensibly ban elderly customers, an increasing number of the elderly have faced difficulties in using many of these establishments," she said.
"If the range of activities of the elderly is reduced, it will adversely affect their health and eventually increase the society's caregiving burden for the elderly."
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