Seoul invests millions to become 'city without loneliness'

SEOUL, South Korea -- Sixty-five-year-old Jung Young-taek introduced himself as a life coach as he knocked on the doors of people who have voluntarily locked themselves up in their homes, not making contact with anyone.

Just last year, he was one of them. He had kept his apartment door firmly shut after a business he devoted his life to collapsed, followed by a divorce and disconnection from family members. He returned to society after Seoul's welfare center gave him a hand, he said, and now wishes to do the same for other lonely souls in Seoul.

Jung checked off many boxes of being a lonely middle-aged male in crisis last winter. He regained confidence after completing the 8-weeks-long training session at the Seoul Welfare Foundation. Through the "Everybody's Buddy" program run by the Seoul Metropolitan Government, volunteers and social welfare workers tour neighborhoods, hanging goody bags with small gifts and a number to dial when anyone feels too lonely.

"I know what it feels like to be alone because I experienced isolation firsthand," Jung told ABC News. "If I can become a connecting link that helps even one person rejoin society, that would mean something to me."

South Korea reported 3,661 lonely deaths in 2023. Lonely deaths, also called "godoksa" in Korean, refer to people who die cut off from society and who remain undiscovered for extended periods. The country's bustling central city saw this phenomenon as a social problem linked to disconnection and plans to spend around $327 million over the next 5 years to make Seoul a "city without loneliness."

For starters, Seoul city is about to launch a 24/7 loneliness counselor hotline. There will be offline spaces where volunteers who already experienced loneliness and are nearly disconnected from society meet with those vulnerable to talk and form a community.

About 40% of households in Seoul city are single-person ones, and this proportion is steadily increasing. Among them, over 60% of these individuals report experiencing loneliness according to the Seoul Development Institute's research. The 25 Single-person Households Support Centers in Seoul provide socializing activities to invite people who live by themselves.

To ensure thorough and systematic implementation of the programs, the Care and Loneliness Policy Bureau of the Seoul Metropolitan Government functions as the control tower, developing and executing detailed policies to address challenges effectively.

"The bureau's initiatives comprehensively tackle issues ranging from loneliness, social isolation, and even solitary deaths. Our efforts span from prevention to post-management," Director General Song Kwang-Nam of the Care and Loneliness Policy Bureau, told ABC News.

Seoul city plans to collaborate with private enterprises to make sure every single citizen in Seoul is connected.

"We are seeking ways to collaborate with laundromats and convenience stores so those industries closely related to people's daily lives could become a window of communication between isolated people and society," Song said.

Loneliness is considered a health threat at a global level. In November 2023, the World Health Organization announced a commission on social connections to analyze how important social connections are to people's health. The WHO's Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus explained in the announcement that "people without enough strong social connections are at higher risk of stroke, anxiety, dementia, depression, suicide, and more."

"Loneliness and isolation are not just individual problems anymore, these are challenges that society as a whole must address together," Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon said in a press conference in October.

The United Kingdom was the first to appoint a Minister for Loneliness in 2018, other industrialized countries like Japan, Australia and Scotland have also come up with government-funded measures to tackle loneliness.