Preparation for Independence and Family Relationship Enhancement... Expansion of Support Programs for Single-Person Households by Life Cycle

Ministry of Gender Equality to Provide Social Network Support Programs through Healthy Family and Multicultural Centers

[Asia Economy Reporter Han Jinju] The Ministry of Gender Equality and Family will provide social network programs tailored to life cycles through Healthy Family and Multicultural Centers in response to the increasing trend of single-person households.

On the 17th, the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family and the Korea Healthy Family Promotion Agency announced that they will hold a training session for the heads of Healthy Family and Multicultural Centers at the LW Convention Grand Ballroom in Jung-gu, Seoul. The training session was organized to share family policy directions and strengthen mutual cooperation and exchange.

The Ministry plans to offer programs through Healthy Family and Multicultural Centers to identify the status and needs of single-person households by gender and age, and to prevent loneliness and isolation. For young adults, independent living preparation education will be provided; for middle-aged adults, programs to improve relationships with family; and for the elderly, well-dying preparation education, among others.

Family centers that provide services tailored to community characteristics, such as support for family member care, education and counseling support, and family communication support, will also be gradually expanded. The number of family centers increased from 5 in 2019 to 67 last year, and 93 this year, with plans to expand to 108 by next year.

On the same day, the Ministry and the Promotion Agency awarded ministerial commendations to 25 outstanding institutions, including centers in Dongdaemun-gu, Seoul; Saha-gu, Busan; and Jeonju-si, Jeollabuk-do. The Dongdaemun-gu center promoted single-person household support projects such as "I Live Alone" and multicultural family and foreigner-targeted projects like the "World Culture Festival." The Saha-gu center was recognized for programs improving adult children-parent relationships and family communication, while the Jeonju-si center was acknowledged for operating multicultural youth career projects.

Kim Geum-ok, Director of the Korea Healthy Family Promotion Agency, said, "Through this training session, I hope that sharing service cases among centers and enhancing understanding of policy environment changes such as family changes will improve the capacity to support services tailored to regional characteristics."

Kim Kyung-sun, Vice Minister of the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, stated, "The role of Healthy Family and Multicultural Family Centers is very important to provide timely necessary services without blind spots to diverse families. We will strive to strengthen the service capacity of centers and expand family centers to respond to environmental changes where family forms and life cycles are diversifying, and to support various families."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.