'Silver' Starts to Boom in South Korea

Many Western families undoubtedly would be pleased to see their elderly parents move into a luxurious retirement village. But for Lee Beom Hong and his wife, moving into La Vie D'Or, a first-class retirement home on the outskirts of Seoul, was tinged with embarrassment.

"We worried about hurting our children's feelings when we moved because they face social disgrace and might be accused of having abandoned us," Mrs. Lee said. "But they accepted our decision because at La Vie D'Or I can enjoy leisure activities with my husband instead of struggling with housework, be less lonely and be cared by professionals for our daily needs and medical emergencies."

The Lees are part of a small but growing group of upper-middle-class senior citizens in South Korea who are casting away the tradition of living with their children's family in favor of retirement homes.

So far the trend is limited to the affluent, but as the nation gets wealthier and the number of elderly continues to increase — from 3.5 percent of the population in 1975 to 9.4 percent by 2010 — analysts say more families are likely to follow suit.

In the face of this trend, South Korean companies large and small have rushed in to grab a share of the market. According to the Ministry of Health and Welfare, there are over 13 South Korean conglomerates, or chaebol, planning about 60 "silver business" projects. These include comprehensive retirement communities, called silver towns, as well as "silver" hot springs and "silver" golf courses.

Companies are encouraged about the promise of this market in part because they are getting in on the ground floor. The current older generation is the first large group of wealthy retirees in the nation's history, having benefited from South Korea's rapid economic growth and the dramatic rise in land values over last 30 years.