Seoul announced in early February that “House Sharing Program” will be conducted to help solve society’s chronic problems such as aging and student housing simply by allowing students and the elderly to live together. Through the program, university students who desire to find space to reside at a low cost will be able to satisfy their needs by sharing space with the elderly who in return will be provided with daily aids.
“Our goal is to provide a solution for the student housing problem as well as a comfortable environment for the elderly,” said Kim Jin-ki, Team Leader of Economic and Cultural Innovation at Seoul.
Both the students and elders will be provided with benefits that are not easily offered ordinarily. Participating students will be provided a separate room in an elder’s house at a price significantly cheaper than the current rent rate compromised by both the students and the elderly. The space-provider, elder, will in turn be provided with the aids by the lenders with daily conveniences such as cleaning, grocery shopping, and technology utilizing; thereby considerably improving the overall quality of life.
Moreover, additional aids such as a small amount of money to repair rooms to be lent for the students will also be provided by Seoul.
Since the program is only at its start, 10 experiment cases will first be conducted before further expanding the business. Once a student and an elder have been matched, the decision to withdraw or continue the project will depend solely on themselves.
“The House Sharing program could promote greater generational integration through students and elders sharing home,” said Cho In-dong, Director-General of Seoul Innovation. “Plans for various programs for this integration will also come into action in the near future.”
Seoul has allowed willing participants to apply all throughout February. University students mostly from rural regions currently enrolled in or temporarily taking time off school located in Seoul applied via e-mail. The elderly living near campus areas with stable living space and a separate room to lend applied by contacting Wooyang Welfare Foundation. Among them, one group is currently matched and 10 more groups will be selected.