"One Meal Seven Side Dishes"... Mapo-gu Mayor Who Set Up a 'Filial Piety Table' Ends Up Creating a 'Side Dish Factory'

One Year of Filial Piety Meals, Created a Side Dish Factory Last Month
Operating with 1 Billion Won in Donations to Cover Budget Shortfall
Park Gang-su, District Mayor, "We Will Create a Nationwide Model System"
"If Proper Measures for Super-Aged Society Are Not Made, Major Chaos Will Ensue"

Park Kang-su, Mayor of Mapo District, is explaining to reporters on the 21st about Mapo District's integrated elderly welfare services, including the Hyo-do Bapsang and the side dish factory. Provided by Mapo District.

"Having seniors eat only one day a week is not very helpful. They need to eat every single day without missing any to maintain their health. This program is not funded by the national government or supported by the Seoul city budget. It has grown thanks to a small portion of the district (gu) budget and the collective contributions of Mapo residents."

"By next year, we will enter a super-aged society. By 2050, 50% of the total population will be elderly. Being ranked first among OECD countries in elderly poverty rate and suicide rate is an absurd outcome. The mentality of endlessly giving to children is also problematic. When all inheritance is left to children, the elderly are abandoned. We will continue the 'Hyo' series such as Hyo Meals, Hyo Lodging Senior Centers, and Hyochang-gu."

Park Gang-su, Mayor of Mapo-gu, Seoul, who made "free meals for seniors aged 75 and older" a key pledge in the local elections two years ago, has taken action. After struggling to secure the district budget, he launched the 'Hyo Meals' program in April last year. Due to labor costs being two to three times higher than the cost of side dishes, a 'side dish factory' was built and completed last month. The program receives sponsorships from companies and organizations, and a significant portion of the necessary workforce is supported by volunteers.

On the morning of the 21st, Mayor Park called reporters to a senior center next to the Ssamji Madang (park) in Mangwon-dong, Mapo-gu, where the Hyo Meals are served. We heard about the results achieved so far by this basic local government with a 300 million KRW district budget and 1 billion KRW in donations. The following is an interview based on Mayor Park’s remarks and conversations with reporters.

Q. Could you briefly explain the Hyo Meals program?

"The nation’s first 'Resident-Participatory Hyo Meals' is a service providing balanced lunch meals six days a week to seniors aged 75 and older. While serving food, it also offers a one-stop integrated senior service including wellness checks, health management, and consultations related to legal and tax matters. It started in April last year, so it has been just over a year."

On the 21st, elderly residents visiting the Hyodobapsang Senior Center in Mapo-gu for lunch are having their blood pressure and blood sugar checked under the guidance of public health center staff. Provided by Mapo-gu.

Q. So the purpose is not just the meal?

"The meal is not the goal but the means. Through the meal service, if a senior suddenly stops attending, we check on them by phone or visit. Seniors who come to eat feel a sense of community and make friends here. Visiting nurses from the public health center come on scheduled days to provide health consultations and check diabetes and blood pressure."

Q. Where are the meals served?

"When we first started last year, we could only serve 160 homebound seniors at seven meal institutions within Mapo-gu. Now, the number of meal institutions has increased to 33, and about 1,000 people use the service daily. We plan to increase this to 1,500 in the second half of the year. Meals are served six days a week, with one day (Saturday) offering alternative meals such as meal kits. Continuous daily meals are necessary for health benefits."

Q. Can any elderly person come and eat?

"No. Among Mapo-gu’s population of 360,000, there are 27,000 seniors aged 75 and older. Priority is given to homebound seniors who can move around and are at risk of missing meals. Couples living alone are second priority. Those who wish to participate are selected and registered in advance. We do not exclude anyone based on assets or living conditions."

Q. Since it’s free, it must require a lot of funding.

"Budget was a big issue. We tried to start with national, city, and district funds but hit a wall and almost gave up. However, residents actively participated and raised about 1 billion KRW in donations in just over a year. We use these donations to run the Hyo Meals program. Some individuals donated 100 million KRW, and some pledged to donate their entire estate after death. We are also grateful to the many small donors who support quietly (Mapo Welfare Foundation is recruiting supporters to sponsor one seat per person for Hyo Meals)."

Park Kang-su, Mayor of Mapo District, is looking at the sponsor signboard erected in front of the side dish factory within Mangwon Yusuji Sports Park on the 21st. Photo by Kim Min-jin enter@

Q. Budget issues seem to be an ongoing challenge.

"About 40 to 50 local governments nationwide have visited Mapo-gu to benchmark the Hyo Meals program, but I have not heard of any other place actually implementing it yet. Budget constraints make it difficult to start. We intend to keep improving the program with the mindset that we must overcome budget limits and make Hyo Meals a success."

Q. You also built a side dish factory.

"At first, we bought side dishes for the meals, but we realized that labor costs accounted for a huge portion of the side dish expenses, so we built a side dish factory on the site of Mangwon Yusuji Sports Park. Here, we prepare, cook, and package the food, then deliver it to each meal institution. Many meal institutions are churches, temples, community centers, and senior centers.

To ensure stable food supply, we signed a contract with CJ Freshway, a large corporation, which also offered significant discounts as part of their social contribution. There are 320 Hyo Meals volunteers. This program is possible because of them."

For tasting on the 21st, the 'Hyodobapsang' provided to reporters included one meal with seven side dishes, including soup. Photo by Minjin Kim enter@

Q. There are as many as seven side dishes.

"We increased the variety of side dishes so that seniors can enjoy meals that suit their tastes and are healthy. Sometimes children living far away contact the district office to thank us, saying their parents look happier and they feel reassured. That gives us a sense of fulfillment.

We are preparing a smart farm on the rooftops of 16 community centers. Since food costs are significant, we plan to grow and provide vegetables ourselves. If people who cannot harvest their weekend farm plots on time contact us, the Hyo Meals volunteer team will harvest and include the produce in the meals. We are exploring various methods."

Q. How far do you plan to expand this program?

"By the end of this year, we aim to serve about 2,000 people daily. If the government or city provides some budget support in the future, we believe we can expand even further.

If we do not properly develop senior policies, the super-aged society will bring tremendous chaos to us. We will work even harder to make this a nationwide model of a one-stop senior welfare system."

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