• Proceedings of the KHMA Conference
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• 2013.05a
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• pp.119-156
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• 2013

• Journal of Families and Better Life
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• v.32 no.1
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• pp.151-166
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• 2014

This study attempted to explore how middle aged married men and women prospected a Centenarian society and what implications their prospect cast for family policy. We conducted focus group interviews with five groups in order to identify their subjective prospects on marital relations, parent-child relations, caregiving from family or institutions, and alternative living arrangement. From those interviews, we found that married men and women in their 40s, 50s, and 60s possessed ambivalent attitudes toward their marital relationship, either acknowledging an importance of marital relationship or accepting long-standing disrespectful marital relationship. They also had a dualistic perspective on parent-child relationship, accepting parental responsibility for children and even grand-children but maintaining low expectations for children. What they needed was age appropriate opportunities for work or leisure and better community services and facilities. These results showed that the middle-aged was concerned experiencing unprecedented family situations. They needed family life education and services in order to adapt to the Centenarian society. Since family policy has viewed this age group out of service target, programs and services have been underdeveloped for this group. Expecting a Centenarian society however, we need to expand the boundary of family policy and take a new perspective. We need to develop and implement marital education programs, community-based self-care services, and age-appropriated opportunities for work, leisure, and social relations.

• 건강소식
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• v.34 no.1
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• pp.20-25
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• 2010

설날, 어른께 세배를 올리며 으레 했던 덕담이 '오래 사세요' 라는 말이다. 이는 평균수명이 길지 않았던 시대에 자손들이 어른께 드리는 당부이자 소원이기도 했다. 집안 어른의 환갑잔치는 마을의 큰 행사였고 자손들뿐 아니라 온 마을 사람들이 찾아와 아낌없이 함께 기쁨을 나눴다. 하지만 최근에는 환갑잔치를 여는 집이 거의 드물고, 오히려 고희연을 옛날 환갑잔치하듯 크게 베푸는 경우가 많아졌다. 환갑은 이미 거의 다 거쳐 가는 여느 생일 그 이상도 아니게 된 것. 이처럼 의학의 발전과 더불어 물질적으로 풍족한 사회가 되면서 인간의 평균수명은 몰라보게 늘어났다. 우리나라도 이미 급속한 고령화 사회로 진입한지 오래다. 하지만 '오래' 만 사는 고령화는 결코 바람직하지 않다. 왜? '건강하지 않는' 고령화는 본인과 그 가족 그리고 더 나아가 사회적으로도 큰 고통이 아닐 수 없기 때문이다. 정기적인 건강 검진과 철저한 예방을 통해 젊고 건강하게 '구구팔팔이삼사' 하는 멋진 노후를 맞이해야 하지 않겠는가?

• The Korean Journal of Community Living Science
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• v.15 no.3
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• pp.121-135
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• 2004

'Long-life' which has been the perennial interest to human beings also carries the risk of multiple losses such as the death of the family members and friends, the loss of physical and cognitive functions. In that regards, living a long life to be the 'oldest-old' could mean not only a 'symbol of successful aging' but also a hardship and low quality of life at the same time. Therefore, the issue of the quality of life of the oldest old has been the subject of the much of the public and research concern in recent days. While there has been increased awareness about the importance of the subjective aspects of the quality of life and meanings attached to the extended life, most researches on the quality of life of the oldest-old have focused only on the objective conditions of the quality of life such as health, economic status and housing conditions. To overcome these limitations this study aims to explore the subject meaning of 'living a long life' in Korean society by investigating centenarians and their caregivers' interpretations of aging experiences. Qualitative data were gathered from the forty-nine Korean centenarians and their caregivers through in-depth interview. Each interview was tape-recorded and transcribed verbatim. Researchers read each transcript a number of times to get some emerging themes. Most striking result was the fact that most of the centenarians express the 'guilty feelings' and try to offer the 'excuses' about their long life. This results were quite contrary to the results of the studies, done in Japan and western countries like Sweden, United States and Germany, where most of the oldest-old express quite positive interpretations about their long-life and take pride in their longevity. Lack of social support, cohort characteristics of the Korean oldest-old and the cultural interpretations linking the death of children to the long life of older generation are given as possible factors to these unique findings of Korean study. The policy implications of the results are discussed.