Gangbuk-gu Holds Seminar on 'Understanding Advance Medical Directives' for Seniors

Applications Accepted by Phone for Interested Institutions and Groups

Gangbuk-gu, Seoul (District Mayor Lee Soon-hee) announced on the 12th that it held a ‘Visiting Advance Directives Explanation Session’ amid high interest from the elderly to help them properly understand advance directives, which are part of preparing for the end of life.

A visiting advance medical directive briefing session is being held for the elderly at Gangbuk Senior Club. Provided by Gangbuk-gu.

An advance directive is a document in which anyone aged 19 or older expresses their intentions regarding life-sustaining treatment and hospice care in preparation for a future situation where they may become a patient in the terminal stage.

From the 25th of last month to the 5th of this month, the district held five explanation sessions for 570 elderly participants involved in the Gangbuk Senior Club job program, and also conducted a session at the Opaesan Senior Citizens’ Center within the district.

During the sessions, information was provided about the life-sustaining treatment decision system and how to complete advance directives, along with promotion of organ donation registration. There was also a Q&A session addressing questions that participants had. At the Opaesan Senior Citizens’ Center, counseling and registration for advance directives were also conducted.

Meanwhile, Gangbuk-gu was designated as an advance directive registration institution on May 24, 2023, becoming the first in the northeastern health center area to provide counseling and registration services for advance directives. As of March this year, the cumulative number of registrations reached 1,641.

To assist residents who find it difficult to visit the health center, the district has been conducting ‘Visiting Advance Directives Explanation Sessions’ since last month and plans to expand these sessions based on demand. Institutions or groups of 10 or more wishing to apply can do so by phone through the Gangbuk-gu Health Center.

District Mayor Lee Soon-hee said, “I hope that through these explanation sessions, the process of preparing for a dignified end of life, known as well-dying, will become an opportunity to connect to well-living, which finds meaning and value in life.”

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