[Senior Trend] Senior Self-Development Is Currently Underway

Reasons Why Seniors Learn

I met an old acquaintance over the weekend. They had been struggling with the challenges of turning forty for a while but found their way after work. Since last year, they have been majoring in Chinese Language and Literature at Korea National Open University and say they enjoy learning. It helps them relieve stress from work and meet a variety of people they never expected to encounter. The students come from diverse professions, ages, and reasons for studying, with a particularly large number of senior generation participants. Some have been attending school for over ten years, completing the Chinese major and then moving on to History. There are also those who are both professors and students, as well as foreigners. When they see seniors who are proficient with the online lecture system and present confidently, their worries about the future momentarily fade away.

A few years ago, Japan's largest travel agency JTB reported that sales of 'short-term study abroad programs for those over 50' have been increasing annually. These programs, mainly in Europe and the United States, involve staying for two weeks to learn and immediately apply the language. In Korea, short-term language study trips after retirement to places like Spain, the UK, and the US, as well as study abroad for hobbies such as wine, gardening, and cooking, are on the rise. Comedian Jeon Yu-seong, who is over 70, said on the TV program 'I Will Go Study Abroad' that he wanted to vent his frustrations with English. In an interview, he said, “For those over sixty, try everything you couldn’t do because of what others might say. We are no longer at an age to worry about others’ opinions. Write down the things you postponed when you were young or couldn’t do in life, then challenge and enjoy them.”

Until now, adult education was mainly about job training to meet promotion requirements or obtain certifications, but why do seniors study? There was an analysis in the book 'New Gray' from Mirae’s Chang that I received as a gift last week, and I want to share the parts I resonate with. “The senior generation holds onto the deficiencies that were not fulfilled in their youth. This desire includes actions done simply because they enjoy them without any special reason. They are trying to find their true selves.” In fact, pure curiosity for learning might be our instinct. In the East, Confucius said early on in the Analects, “Is it not a pleasure, having learned something, to try it out at due intervals?” In the West, the French monk Serit Yangju conveyed in 'The Studying Life' that intellectual work, like all other callings, is engraved in our instincts, and he shared the joy of lifelong learning. Age is trivial in the realm of learning.

In Japan, there is the TSUTAYA bookstore. While many large and small offline bookstores are disappearing everywhere, this place is an exception. It has expanded to China and Malaysia and has a broad fan base. The founder says, “In Japan, where the population over 60 continues to increase, if we fail to attract the sophisticated premier age seniors with purchasing power and cultural refinement, wouldn’t that become an ultimate crisis?” In the quiet neighborhood of Daikanyama, where wealthy retirees lived, TSUTAYA became famous not as a ‘senior bookstore’ but as a ‘customer experience space’ selling a lifestyle. The seniors’ desire for self-development does not age, and this is a case showing what success is possible when services and experiences that satisfy this are provided.

Last week, through various media, I came across the story of Korea’s oldest doctorate degree recipient, Teacher Lee Sang-sook (92). When asked about her feelings before graduation, she replied, “I have never particularly thought about my age, and I am just grateful that others recognize, help, and encourage me to study even at this age.” When asked about her plans after graduating from Sociology, she spoke about the charm of continuing to study itself and said her calling would come. It was a calm but resonant statement.

My mother, who became a university freshman in her seventies and is about to start her second semester, often says, “Daughter, learning without any reward brings immense joy and fulfillment, so I hope you live a happy life studying the field you wanted to pursue very late.”

The opportunity to realize the dream of learning, which had to be postponed due to busy work and household chores, has now been given. How about starting something you hesitated to do? From modeling, cooking, and alcohol to movies, the realm of learning has no limits, and I believe seniors deserve it.

Lee Boram, CEO of Third Age

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