• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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• v.15 no.5
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• pp.219-227
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• 2015

This study analyzes the right guarantee level of Job Creation Project for the Elderly by participation type based on Madrid International Plan of Action on Ageing. The analysis is conducted using '2012 Job Creation Project for the Elderly Participants Survey' of Korea Labor Force Development Institute for the Aged. The major findings are as follows: First, "social contribution" type's implementation level of "active participation in society and development" is not high enough. Second, considering the average age of the participants, the level of "work and the ageing labor force" is high enough while the practical level is not high in market. Third, the level of "access to knowledge, education and training" is not enough within "market entrance" participants. Fourth, the level of "poverty reduction" and "income security" is not high. Based on the results, this study proposes that the quality of "social contribution" type's occupations and "market entrance" type's education should be improved. Also, the wages of the entire occupations provided by this project need to be raised.

• 한국노년학
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• v.38 no.1
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• pp.143-168
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• 2018

While there were posed arguments that social treatment to older persons should be based on the perspective of human rights turning into the 21st century, policy efforts to protect and promote the rights of older persons in international community have slowly proceeded. In this situation existing studies on the rights of older persons in the international perspective have been fragmented in their contents, lacking systematic overview of policy efforts to strengthen the rights of older persons in international community. This study aims to be the one that could be such a systematic study to overview international policy efforts to strengthen the rights of older persons through analyzing the background of posing the problem of the rights of older persons, problems in existing international norms for human rights applicable to older persons, and measures to strengthen the rights of older persons and controversial issues. Existing international norms on human rights that are Universal Declaration of Human Rights, international conventions on the rights in terms of area of rights and target population, and policy recommendations, are narrow in the scope of rights to be protected, and also lack legal force in their implementation. The international community has generally reached a consensus on strengthening the rights of older persons. However, there have been two different positions: strengthening existing norms on human rights versus creating a new convention on the rights of older persons. And also there have appeared many controversial points in both positions. Conclusively this study, arguing the creation of a new convention, suggests implications for Korean society and research studies.

• Health Policy and Management
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• v.28 no.3
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• pp.240-250
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• 2018

By the end of 2017, in a world of 7.6 billion people, there were inequalities in healthcare indices both within and between nations, and this gap continues to increase. Therefore, this study aims to understand the current status of regional inequalities in healthcare indices and to find an action plan to tackle regional health inequality through a geo-economic review in Korea. Since 2008, there was great inequality in life expectancy and healthy life expectancy by region in not only metropolitan cities but also districts in Korea. While the community health statistics from 2008-2017 show a continuous increase of inequality during the last 10 years in most healthcare indices related to noncommunicable diseases (except for some, like smoking), the inequality has doubled in 254 districts. Furthermore, health inequality intensified as the gap between urban (metropolitan cities) and rural regions (counties) for rates of obesity (self-reported), sufficient walking practices, and healthy lifestyle practices increased from twofold to fivefold. However, regionalism and uneven development are natural consequences of the spatial perspective caused by state-lead developmentalism as Korea has fixed the accumulation strategy as its model for growth with the background of export-led industrialization in the 1960s and heavy and chemical industrialization in the 1970s, although the Constitution of the Republic of Korea recognizes the legal value of balanced development within the regions by specifying "the balanced development of the state" or "ensuring the balanced development of all regions." In addition, the danger of a 30% decline or extinction of local government nationwide is expected by 2040 as we face not only a decline in general and ageing populations but also the era of the demographic cliff. Thus, the government should continuously operate the "Special Committee on Regional Balanced Development" with a government-wide effort until 2030 to prevent disparities in the health conditions of local residents, which is the responsibility of the nation in terms of strengthening governance. To address the regional inequalities of rural and urban regions, it is necessary to re-adjust the basic subsidy and cost-sharing rates with local governments of current national subsidies based mainly on population scale, financial independence of local government, or distribution of healthcare resources and healthcare indices (showing high inequalities) overall.

• 한국노년학
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• v.38 no.3
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• pp.569-592
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• 2018

This study purported to investigate the current state of human rights of older adults residing in rural areas of Korea. The study utilized, as an analytic framework, 4 priority directions (1. "older persons and development", 2. "rural area development", 3. "advancing health and well-being into old age", and 4. "ensuring enabling and supportive environments") with 13 task actions recommended by Madrid International Plan of Action on Ageing (MIPAA). Furthermore, the study examined gender differences in all items included in the analytic framework. Data was collected by the face-to-face survey on 800 subjects aged 65 and over. Statistical analyses were conducted using STATA 13.0 program. The main results were summarized in order of 4 priority directions as follows. First, average working hours per day were 6.2, and men reportedly participated in economic activities and needed job training more than women, while women participated in lifelong education programs more than men. Awareness of fire and disaster prevention facilities was low in both genders. Second, accessibility to the support center for the elderly living alone as well as protective services for the vulnerable elderly was found to be low. IT-based services and networking were used more by men than women, and specifically, IT-based financial transactions and welfare services were least used. Third, medical check-ups and vaccinations were well received, while consistent treatments for chronic illnesses and long-term care services were relatively less given. In addition, accessibility to mental health service centers was considerably low. Fourth, although old house structures and the lack of convenience facilities were found to be circumstantial risk factors for these elders, experiences of receiving housing support services were scarce. The elderly were found to rely more on informal care, and concerns for their care were higher in women than men. Plus, accessibility to elderly abuse services was markedly low. Based on these results, discussed were implications for implementing policies and practical interventions to raise the levels of the human rights for this population.