Gwangmyeong City Incorporates Seniors' Voices into Senior Policies

More Than 70 Policy Suggestions from the Mayor's Senior Committee Reflected in City Measures
Expanding Beyond Simple Jobs to Experience-Based and Self-Reliant Employment Opportunities

Gwangmyeong City in Gyeonggi Province is stepping up its efforts to strengthen customized policies that reflect the voices of senior citizens. The city aims to move away from supplier-oriented policies for the elderly and instead create sustainable living conditions through demand-driven, targeted measures.

Haekyung Park, Director of the Social Welfare Bureau of Gwangmyeong City, is explaining the city's senior citizen policies during a policy briefing on the 30th. Photo by Gwangmyeong City

On the 30th, Gwangmyeong City held a policy briefing in the main conference room at City Hall, where it announced its vision for customized senior citizen policies in this direction.

Haekyung Park, Director of the Social Welfare Bureau of Gwangmyeong City, said, "In line with the changing urban landscape, such as the Gwangmyeong Siheung New Town and Gwangmyeong Siheung Technovalley, we will create not only a physically but also a socially age-friendly urban environment." She added, "We will continue to implement comprehensive support policies so that seniors can lead vibrant and dignified lives as the main agents of their own lives."

Incorporating Seniors' Voices into Policy

This year, the city allocated 155.7 billion won for senior-related policies, accounting for 9.8% of the total budget. As of the end of August, residents aged 65 or older made up 18.4% of the city's total population, and the city intends to continue increasing the budget proportion accordingly.

The city has identified four core pillars for its policies: expanding social participation, promoting economic self-reliance, improving health, and ensuring a dignified end of life. In particular, to make policies more systematic and efficient, the city is directly incorporating seniors' input into policy development.

The main channel for gathering opinions on senior policies is the "Senior Committee," which operates directly under the mayor. Established in November 2020 as the first of its kind in the country, the committee consists of three subcommittees: Social Safety Net, Health Promotion, and Job Creation.

To date, the committee has proposed 170 policy suggestions, of which the city has adopted more than 70. Notable initiatives include the "Senior Cafe" operated by elderly baristas; the "Smart Exercise Equipment Support" program for senior centers; the "Life Garden," an indoor multisensory garden to enhance cognitive health; and the "Senior eSports Tournament," where seniors can experience digital technology together.

Eliminating the Digital Divide

Gwangmyeong City is also focusing on enhancing digital literacy among seniors.

Elderly residents at a senior center in Gwangmyeong City are enjoying leisure programs through a remote video system. Photo by Gwangmyeong City

To this end, in January this year, the city established "Smart Senior Centers" by connecting all 112 senior centers in the city with a remote video conferencing system. Through these Smart Senior Centers, seniors can participate in a variety of customized regular programs-such as singing classes, dementia prevention classes, health exercise classes, and digital literacy classes-without any spatial or temporal constraints.

In July this year, the city also introduced "Smart Farms" at the Soha and Haan Senior Welfare Centers. Seniors and participants in senior job programs are now able to grow and distribute crops using smart technology, thereby expanding their opportunities for social participation.

The city is also strengthening educational programs to help seniors adapt to the digital environment. The Soha and Haan Senior Welfare Centers offer a wide range of digital courses, from basic smartphone usage to Excel, ChatGPT, and YouTube content creation. In collaboration with Bankit, Woori Financial Future Foundation, and the Senior Financial Education Association, the city is also providing digital financial education for seniors. The city additionally supports "Silver Clubs," where peer instructors teach smartphone skills directly to other seniors.

Expanding Social Participation and Customized Jobs

Job opportunities to promote economic self-reliance among seniors have also been significantly expanded. As of the end of August, 3,384 seniors were participating in 55 different job programs for the elderly, an increase of over 65% compared to 2021.

The "Gwangmyeong Senior Club," an institution dedicated to senior employment, serves as a hub for expanding quality job opportunities for the elderly. The club operates cafes such as "Cafe 20" and "Cafe Reposo," as well as the salad shop "Saladia," after conducting professional market analyses to promote market-oriented job programs.

A city official explained, "While the proportion of 'public service activity' jobs that offer temporary employment is decreasing each year, the share of 'skills-based' jobs-where seniors can more actively utilize their experience and capabilities-has increased from 15% in 2022 to 24% in 2025."

Next year, the city plans to establish a digital vocational training center in Gwangmyeong-dong to foster senior digital experts.

Strengthening the Safety Net with Customized Care

The city is also investing in a safety net for senior health. It operates the "Emergency Safety and Reassurance Service" for rapid response to emergencies, provides free shingles vaccinations for low-income seniors, implements a senior human rights protection system, and runs mobile traditional medicine clinics, among other initiatives.

In particular, the city offers "Well-Dying" special lectures and the "Life Note" autobiography writing program to help seniors prepare for a dignified end of life. These programs have received positive responses, with an average of more than 1,700 seniors participating each year.

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