Mapo District's "Hyodobapsang" Selected as a Best Practice Case by International Organization

Featured in ASEM Global Ageing Center Special Edition

The "Resident-Participatory Hyodobapsang" program of Mapo District in Seoul (headed by Mayor Park Kangsu) has been featured as a best practice case from Korea for promoting the rights of older persons in the "2025 Issue Focus Special Edition" of the ASEM Global Ageing Center (AGAC), an international expert institution on the human rights of older persons.

Park Kangsu, Mayor of Mapo District, is checking on the well-being of a senior using the Hyodobapsang service. Provided by Mapo District.

According to Mapo District on February 4, the Resident-Participatory Hyodobapsang was selected as one of six outstanding cases included in the AGAC special edition. Hyodobapsang is a one-stop welfare service that provides lunch meals, health care, and legal and tax consultations for seniors aged 75 or older, regardless of their income level.

Due to rapid population ageing and the increase in single-person households, the number of seniors who find it difficult to prepare their own meals is growing. However, most meal support policies are limited to low-income older adults. According to the 2023 Survey on the Living Conditions and Welfare Needs of Older Koreans by the Ministry of Health and Welfare, 30.7% of seniors with an income at or above 150% of the median income were found to require attention to, or improvement in, their nutritional management.

Mapo District operates the program mainly through donations from residents, institutions, organizations, and companies for food ingredients, and has established two "side dish factories" capable of large-scale cooking to deliver meals to each meal service institution, thereby building a hub-based mobile meal service system. Currently, about 3,000 seniors are using the service at 58 meal service institutions within the district.

AGAC highly evaluated the program for selecting beneficiaries based solely on age to close welfare blind spots, and for strengthening social solidarity through the voluntary participation of the local community. It also noted that securing stable financial resources through donations from the early stages of the project will provide important implications for other local governments' meal service policies for older adults.

Park Kangsu, Mayor of Mapo District, said, "It is very meaningful that Hyodobapsang, created through the warm hearts of residents for seniors, has been recognized as a best practice for promoting the rights of older persons," adding, "We will continue to do our utmost to ensure that all seniors can enjoy a healthy and dignified old age, regardless of their income or living environment."

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