62% of Single-Person Households in Gwanak-gu, Tailored Policy Design Through Survey

Survey on Living Conditions and Policy Needs of Single-Person Households in Gwanak-gu Through 11 Areas and 106 Items... Initiating Mid- to Long-Term Support Measures

Gwanak-gu (Mayor Park Jun-hee) conducted a survey to design customized policies for single-person households and announced the results.

Last year, the registered population of South Korea was 51,325,329, a decrease of 117,309 compared to 2022. This marks a decline for four consecutive years since 2020. However, while the population is decreasing, the number of single-person households is increasing, resulting in a rise in the total number of households. Single-person households accounted for 41.6% of all households.

In particular, the proportion of single-person households in Gwanak-gu steadily increased each year: 59.9% in 2021, 61.3% in 2022, and 61.6% in 2023. This is among the highest nationwide and the highest among Seoul’s autonomous districts.

Accordingly, the district conducted a survey on single-person households to accurately understand the growing number and to prepare mid- to long-term support measures.

The survey was conducted face-to-face on a one-on-one basis with adult men and women aged 20 and over residing in the area, consisting of 106 questions across 11 categories.

The district set the sample numbers evenly by gender and age group to ensure objective results.

The survey results showed that 85.9% of respondents were satisfied or neutral with their current life, indicating a positive attitude toward living alone. Notably, women showed higher satisfaction than men.

Regarding the most difficult aspects of living alone, the responses ranked as follows: economic difficulties, loneliness, concerns about emergencies, and difficulties in housing management and repairs. Men cited economic difficulties, loneliness, and challenges in daily activities such as meals, while women selected economic difficulties, safety concerns, and worries about emergencies, revealing different perspectives by gender.

Differences were also observed by age group. In the survey on satisfaction with residential safety, the groups were divided into elderly, middle-aged, and youth, with youth reporting the lowest satisfaction. Youth and middle-aged groups identified ‘residential location’ as a source of anxiety, whereas the elderly pointed to a ‘lack of safety facilities’ as a concern.

Regarding policy needs, different views emerged by age group. Youth responded that ‘activity programs’ were the most needed policy in the social network area. Middle-aged and elderly groups most frequently selected ‘support for small groups,’ showing a different opinion from the youth.

When asked to identify the most urgent policy areas, youth ranked ‘housing’ and ‘safety’ first, while middle-aged and elderly groups chose ‘physical health promotion’ as their top priority. In terms of whom they would ask for help in difficult situations, the order was self-resolution, friends, and parents.

The district plans to distribute the results of this single-person household survey to each department, community service centers, and related organizations to utilize them for discovering new projects and improving existing ones.

In particular, considering that many single-person households try to overcome crisis situations alone without support regardless of gender or age, the district intends to devise corresponding countermeasures.

Detailed results of the single-person household survey can be found on the Gwanak-gu Office website (Information by Field → Administrative Information → Administrative Publications).

Mayor Park Jun-hee stated, “The increase in single-person households is a continuing social phenomenon that requires mid- to long-term policies. We will do our best to develop and implement life-centered customized policies reflecting the results of this survey.”

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