Over 1,000 Middle-Aged Single-Person Households in Seoul Join 'Happy Table'... Participation to Expand to 15 Districts Next Year

After 6 Months Since Launch in 10 Districts, Over 1,030 Participants... High Satisfaction
Next Year, Expansion from 10 to 15 Districts... Project Revitalization Through Health, Exercise Linkage, and Support for Self-Help Groups

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] Seoul City announced on the 16th that the ‘Happy Table’ project, which started in April this year targeting middle-aged and older single-person households, has surpassed a cumulative participation of 1,000 people within six months of implementation.

According to the ‘Seoul Single-Person Household Survey,’ about half (48.1%) of single-person households skip meals mainly due to lack of appetite, inconvenience, or dislike of eating alone. In particular, 28.4% of middle-aged and older single-person households cited “disliking or feeling uncomfortable eating alone” as a difficulty of living alone.

Additionally, among single-person households, middle-aged and older individuals show relatively higher rates of social isolation (15.2%) and loneliness (65.4%) compared to other age groups. In coping with loneliness, the majority engage in eating or drinking alone (19.8%) or playing games and using the internet (9.5%), while a high percentage (11.5%) do not take any coping measures.

Accordingly, the actual satisfaction level of middle-aged and older single-person households with the ‘Happy Table’ program was very high. In the satisfaction survey, participants responded that 98.2% were satisfied with the instructor’s expertise and communication, 96.3% with the program composition and operation, and 87.8% with overall convenience and usefulness, including the educational environment and interaction among participants beyond the instructor and program.

Seoul City cited the popularity of ‘Happy Table’ as stemming from the detailed learning that enables participants to cook healthy meals on their own, as well as the formation of bonds among participants that promote psychological stability. In Yangcheon-gu, each session provides dietary education tailored to major diseases with high prevalence among middle-aged men, such as ‘diabetes management diet,’ ‘muscle strength enhancement diet,’ and ‘hypertension and hyperlipidemia management diet,’ along with cooking classes using ingredients that help prevent related diseases.

Reflecting the popularity of ‘Happy Table,’ Seoul City plans to expand the participating autonomous districts from the current 10 to 15 starting next year, strengthen programs linked to health management and exercise, and further activate the project by supporting various self-help groups to sustain the bonds and communication formed through cooking.

Kim Seon-soon, Director of the Seoul Metropolitan Government’s Women and Family Policy Office, stated, “Happy Table not only contributes to improving the dietary habits of middle-aged and older single-person households but also helps restore social networks as a communication platform. We will continue to strive to enable middle-aged and older single-person households to communicate and interact with many people and maintain a healthy life through Happy Table.”

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