[Lee Boram's Senior Trend] Leisure and Career Planning Are Important for Happiness in Life's Third Act

Grandma Park Makrye, famous as the "Korea Grandma," worked for over 50 years in various jobs such as fruit vending, house cleaning, and serving meals at construction sites, raising two sons and one daughter on her own. When the hardworking grandmother was diagnosed with a risk of dementia at the hospital, her devoted granddaughter stepped in to teach her mobile phone games. Eventually, she quit her job and started traveling with her grandmother, filming videos that turned them into YouTube stars. The grandmother’s happiness, saying "I'm glad I held on until my 70s!" is a joy to watch.

This case is introduced because it relates to the characteristics of leisure, an important component for a happy life for seniors. Watching the videos covers everything from designing leisure life after retirement, the concept and characteristics of leisure activities, to their relationship with a happy life. Starting as the grandmother’s bucket list with the granddaughter acting as a consultant, it gradually evolves into freely and enjoyably experiencing activities easily done in daily life. It provides references for considerations when planning life after retirement as an active senior. You can find diverse leisure activities such as realistic rotating savings groups, soap opera review meetings, dance and makeup lessons, travel, and singing. Women tend to have more diverse activities through neighborhood community involvement, while men reportedly repeat library visits on weekdays and hiking on weekends. It is also helpful for seniors who sometimes don’t know how to enjoy themselves.

Leisure life also requires experience. Playing well is a skill that requires practice. Even if one dreams of lifelong activity and looks for "work," there must be a proper mix of "things to do" and "things to play." Leisure is an experiential good, making it difficult to try if one has never done it before. Also, personalization?focusing on "my" satisfaction rather than "others" and how to apply it to one’s life?is important. Therefore, one goes through stages of growth, and it is better to engage regularly in activities that suit oneself rather than doing them sporadically. Playing is a positive activity and is said to be good for dementia prevention.

In times when life expectancy was not long, life after retirement was considered the remaining life, or "yomyeong (餘命)." It was thought acceptable to rest and pass time leisurely. However, for seniors living in 2022, even roughly estimating from retirement in their 50s to needing care in their 80s, more than 100,000 hours are given. This "third act of life" is a long period where one cannot just play or just work, offering another opportunity to pursue the "true self" and "quality of life."

Having lived for family and organizations until now, many people do not know themselves after retirement, leading to lethargy, alienation, "empty nest" syndrome, depression, or feeling overwhelmed by free time. At this time, leisure planning is important. Leisure is free time. It is the time left after working and excluding essential activities such as eating and sleeping from the 24 hours in a day. During this free time, one decides independently and engages in activities that fit social conditions (time, economic status, health level). According to the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism’s "National Leisure Activity Survey," leisure is classified into cultural and artistic participation and viewing activities, tourism activities, rest activities, sports participation and viewing, and social and other activities.

There are 347 senior comprehensive welfare centers nationwide, mainly used by people in their 70s. There are 64,568 senior centers, mostly used by those aged 80 and above. Facilities for people in their 50s, who have just retired and need guidance, are relatively lacking. Although there are organizations like the 50 Plus Foundation, Life School, and community groups, it is necessary to consider hobbies and build emotional savings from a young age.

Recently, on a program called "Sing for Gold," I encountered the songs and stories of a middle-aged and senior choir in Cheonan. I also learned that the voice is the part that can delay aging the most. Last weekend, I met an 80-year-old drummer at the Sinchon-dong Community Center. Change has already begun.

A life balanced with "work, things to do, and things to play" varies in ratio for each person, so standardized guidelines are difficult to establish. Nevertheless, the reason for emphasizing this triple balance and discussing "leisure (things to play)" is that not only in Korea but worldwide, the question of "what is a happy life" has become important in the era we live in.

Lee Boram, CEO of Third Age

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