Aging in Place: Why Community Integrated Care Matters in Super-Aged South Korea
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| Scene from the forum on August 19 (Photo by Milly) |
I have discussed community integrated care several times on this blog. As South Korea has officially become a super-aged society, active discussions and policies around care are underway nationwide, with local governments implementing initiatives tailored to their specific regional contexts.
In Goyang City, Gyeonggi Province, where I currently reside, discussions on care are also actively taking place. On August 19, I attended a forum organized in Goyang to explore future development directions for healthy integrated care. In this article, I want to share the key takeaways from that forum. Rather than focusing strictly on Goyang, I will examine why community integrated care is vital for South Korean society as a whole.
Aging in Place: Staying in the Community You Know🐤
Historically, care in South Korean society was largely viewed as an individual family responsibility or provided through institutional admissions. However, as the senior population surged, care demand grew rapidly, making it increasingly difficult to sustain through family sacrifice or municipal administration alone. Amid these changes, South Korea began recognizing population aging as a structural social challenge, alongside the climate crisis and economic inequality. Consequently, 'community integrated care' has emerged as a core solution to address aging society challenges.
For these reasons, the phrase I heard most frequently during my reporting on care was "helping seniors continue living where they have always lived." The objective is to build sustainable care services that enable both care recipients and providers to live together harmoniously within their local communities for a long time.
From Provider-Centered Care to Resident Mutual Networks🐥
How can community integrated care take solid root in local regions? Care must transition from a top-down, provider-centered delivery model to a resident-led mutual care network. This requires fostering capable community members into local care activists and care managers (prior to formal long-term care worker stages). Only through this framework can mutual care become a reality, rather than relying solely on unilateral service provision by the government or local authorities.
In addition, underutilized community spaces—such as senior community centers or local neighborhood cafes, as piloted in Goyang—should be converted into local hubs. Regular check-ins and emotional support must also be provided through models such as care banks (mutual care exchanges, time-banking systems) and community care activist networks.
It is equally important to integrate care with resident autonomy, where citizens make decisions directly. While the public administration establishes foundational frameworks such as legislation and budgeting, daily operations at the neighborhood level must follow a bottom-up structure led by local residents and specialized organizations. This enables genuine local governance centered on care.
Bridging Healthcare and Daily Living Support🐧
Healthcare remains a vital pillar of senior care. At the forum, public health professionals also delivered presentations emphasizing this connection.
Appropriate medical services must be organically integrated with daily living care. Before seniors face mobility impairments—that is, before entering severe nursing care stages—a system must proactively identify care needs through local primary healthcare clinics and family physicians. Furthermore, a multidisciplinary collaboration system must be established to connect patients requiring care with local welfare centers and social solidarity economy organizations.
Integrating the Social and Solidarity Economy (SSE)🐮
The greatest strength of the social and solidarity economy lies in its ability to translate daily life care—such as meals, mobility, housework, and housing—into practical services and activities. Therefore, SSE organizations must serve as strategic policy partners rather than simple outsourced contractors. Social enterprises, cooperatives, and village enterprises can provide tailored daily care services that the public sector cannot fully deliver alone.
Care activities must not merely function as public policies; they should transition into decent social jobs, accompanied by community asset building in physical spaces and finance to establish a virtuous local reinvestment cycle.
Moving from Quantitative Metrics to a Sustainable Care Society🐯
Evaluation of care policies must move beyond quantitative assessments—such as the number of service units delivered or total budget executed. Instead, impact must be evaluated qualitatively based on whether resident isolation has decreased and whether the community's mutual care capacity has expanded.
We will all require care at some point in our lives, and building a sustainable care system creates a healthier society. When we connect relationships, build resources, and foster warm solidarity, we can move toward a truly sustainable care society.
This forum provided a meaningful space to discuss methods for establishing healthy local integrated care models. Attending the event, I look forward to seeing robust care systems established—both in Goyang where I live and in the region where my parents reside—that will reliably support my parents and myself when the time comes.
👉👉👉Read related articles
Community Healthcare Cooperatives in Korea: Caring for Daily Life
Why “Care” Has Become One of the Hottest Topics for Social Impact Organizations in South Korea
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