[Anchor] As South Korea’s population ages rapidly, local senior employment policies are adapting. In Daegu’s Nam District, officials have piloted a model that pairs housing with jobs. Reporter Jeong Ji-hoon visited the site. [Reporter] This is Eroomchae, a senior job incubator center that recently opened in Nam District, Daegu. The center provides both housing and employment for single-person households aged 60 and older, with the building designed so residents can live and work under the same roof. Four households were selected to move in; residents may stay for between two and four years. The first floor functions as a shared workshop. \"Kwon Young-joon, head of Senior Job Myeongdeok Bakery\" Compared with younger workers, we may be slower on some tasks, but our experience more than makes up for it. That experience brings many advantages. The second and third floors are residential, allowing work and daily life to flow together naturally. Residents combine employment with daily routines as they establish more stable lives and plan for the future. \"Eroomchae resident\" My daughter has been very sick, and supporting her while looking for work and moving was difficult. I'm so grateful a place like Eroomchae exists. \"Eroomchae resident\" It gives me a chance to stand on my own again. Because they support us here, I feel stronger and more courageous… Eroomchae is the country’s first senior self-reliance model that integrates housing and employment. The initiative is intended to reframe older adults not as passive care recipients but as active workers. Each resident’s monthly rent of 150,000 KRW (about $112.50) is saved and returned as a \"self-sufficiency bonus\" when they move out. \"Cho Jae-gu, head of the Daegu Nam District Office\" We expect this to become an important new option in senior welfare policy, offering work, housing and mutual care for seniors who can and want to work. So far, only four households occupy the facility, so expanding the program remains a key challenge. Policymakers and observers are watching whether this housing-plus-work approach can scale and become a sustainable model for senior independence. This is Jeong Ji-hoon for Yonhap News TV. [Video footage: Choi Moon-seop] Yonhap News TV news tips and inquiries: KakaoTalk/Line jebo23 Jeong Ji-hoon (daegurain@yna.co.kr)
Revolutionizing Senior Employment: Discover Daegu's Innovative Housing-Job Model for Seniors
Jeong Ji-hoon | 2026.04.19
[Anchor] As South Korea’s population ages rapidly, local senior employment policies are adapting. In Daegu’s Nam District, officials have piloted a model that pairs housing with jobs. Reporter Jeong Ji-hoon visited the site. [Reporter] This is Eroomchae, a senior job incubator center that recently opened in Nam District, Daegu. The center provides both housing and employment for single-person households aged 60 and older, with the building designed so residents can live and work under the same roof. Four households were selected to move in; residents may stay for between two and four years. The first floor functions as a shared workshop. \"Kwon Young-joon, head of Senior Job Myeongdeok Bakery\" Compared with younger workers, we may be slower on some tasks, but our experience more than makes up for it. That experience brings many advantages. The second and third floors are residential, allowing work and daily life to flow together naturally. Residents combine employment with daily routines as they establish more stable lives and plan for the future. \"Eroomchae resident\" My daughter has been very sick, and supporting her while looking for work and moving was difficult. I'm so grateful a place like Eroomchae exists. \"Eroomchae resident\" It gives me a chance to stand on my own again. Because they support us here, I feel stronger and more courageous… Eroomchae is the country’s first senior self-reliance model that integrates housing and employment. The initiative is intended to reframe older adults not as passive care recipients but as active workers. Each resident’s monthly rent of 150,000 KRW (about $112.50) is saved and returned as a \"self-sufficiency bonus\" when they move out. \"Cho Jae-gu, head of the Daegu Nam District Office\" We expect this to become an important new option in senior welfare policy, offering work, housing and mutual care for seniors who can and want to work. So far, only four households occupy the facility, so expanding the program remains a key challenge. Policymakers and observers are watching whether this housing-plus-work approach can scale and become a sustainable model for senior independence. This is Jeong Ji-hoon for Yonhap News TV. [Video footage: Choi Moon-seop] Yonhap News TV news tips and inquiries: KakaoTalk/Line jebo23 Jeong Ji-hoon (daegurain@yna.co.kr)
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