Focus Experience
#5
Title
The Bitgoeul Senior Health Town
Basic data
City: Gwangju Country: Republic of Korea Number of inhabitants: 1.460.000 Topics: culture and leisure, health and sports, personal development, weltare Principles of the Charter of Educating Cities: 1, 2, 4, 10, 11, 14, 15
Summary
A health project for the Gwangju senior citizens
Gwangju Metropolitan City has an aging society, with those over 65 years old accounting for 9.1% (132,915) of the total population (1,460,000). It is forecasted to become an ageddominated society by 2018 and a super-aged society by 2026. To deal with social problems related to the fast growth of the senior population, the City Council of Gwangju created the Bitgoeul Senior Health Town in which elderly people are able to receive quality medical treatment and enjoy recreation, sports and leisure as well. Dedicated to helping seniors to live a happy and wholesome life, this facility is regarded as an effective measure to prevent geriatric disorders, such as Alzheimer's disease, as well as to mitigate the government's health care burden. For this reason, it is increasingly attracting worldwide attention.
Objectives
-To provide welfare, culture, sports and medical facilities to the elderly. -To promote a healthy life. -To foster social relationships and to enrich quality of life.
Methodology
The Bitgoeul Senior Health Town has three differentiated spaces: the Welfare Center, the Cultural Center and the Sports Center. Each building has two stories. A total of 163 classes are offered per term, beginning in September 2009. The Welfare Center consists of a physical therapy clinic, an emergency room, a counselling office, a billiard room and ample space for sport activities, such as dancing.
Dance workshop
The Culture Center contains a natural therapy room, an art and play therapy room, a calligraphy room, a language laboratory, a music hall, a karaoke, a craft room, a janggi and baduk room and a performance hall. The Sports Center is equipped with a swimming pool, an ondol room for yoga and exercise in general, a fitness space, a multipurpose gymnasium, a multimedia hall, a circular track, a table tennis court and an indoor jogging track. The “measurement� room carries out body composition and physical strength tests and assists people in finding systematic exercise programs that fit their needs. A golf course was recently opened in April 2010. The Restaurant and Spa Building Hall includes a restaurant, a spa and a beauty salon.
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People aged 65 and above are admitted to the swimming pool for a fee of Euros 1.3 (Won 2,000) per day. Lessons are also available for a Euros 19.50 (Won 30,000) monthly fee. Opening hours are between 10:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. The free fitness facility opens from 9:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. The indoor jogging track covering a surface area of 1,140m2 can be used free of charge from 9:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. The elastic urethanecoated floor is helpful in protecting ankles and knees.
Play therapy room
Approximately 400-500 people use the Sports Center each day. People over 65 years old are entitled to use most of the sport facilities at no or low cost and are welcome to join programs that take place at the Welfare Center and the Culture Center. During the first month after its opening approximately 100,000 people visited the Bitgoeul. On average nearly 4,000 people visit this facility every day. Utilized as a significant venue for a wide array of events, it is also conducive to promoting unity and harmony among community members. Social networks in collaboration with hospitals, colleges and the silver industry facilitate the supply of volunteers. In addition, for retirees who are willing to work, it provides the opportunity to participate in the program’s management.
Social and urban context
Gwangju is a South Korean city located in the southwest of the country. The city has 1,460,000 inhabitants and a surface area of 501.36 km2. The Bitgoeul Senior Health Town is located in a residential area near the shopping district and is very convenient to reach by public transport. Thus, this seniors’ town ensures easy access for elderly users and offers a comfortable, independent environment.
Assessment
The Bitgoeul Senior Health Town is an ideal complex for elderly people who wish to receive the benefits of lifelong learning, recreation, sport and cultural activities. Various educational and cultural opportunities enhance their mental and physical well-being and foster a sense of belonging and fellowship; these involvements broaden the scope of their abilities and enrich their quality of life. Senior clubhouses and resident centers of Gwangju were not able to accommodate the growing number of senior citizens and satisfy their intellectual needs as well. Thanks to the Bitgoeul Center their diversified needs and expectations are being met. The Bitgoeul Center is striving to become Korea's largest senior care facility.
Aerial View of Gwangju
Dance workshop
Future proposals: -To respond to the needs of an aging society, the Gwangju City Council is developing a new senior-friendly hall in the Bitgoeul, which is nowadays opened temporary and that will be completed in August 2012. This space has more than two hundred senior-friendly products which the elderly can experience personally (electronic sink, training machine for preventing Alzheimer’s disease, measuring instrument of blood vessel, etc.). -Another senior complex is under construction in the northern part of Gwangju to better serve senior citizens.
Contact
Organisation: Gwangju Metropolitan City Contact: Ms. Kim Myeong-shin Human Resources Development Division—Creativity City Policy Planning Email: light6802@korea.kr Phone: +82 62 613 2372 Web: http://eng.gjcity.net
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