Korea aims to save seniors lost in digital age

Suwon, Gyeonggi Province — A 79-year-old woman named Hwang Sun-hee gained a small measure of hope after successfully completing an online purchase during a digital training session in Korea. The nation, renowned for its cutting-edge smartphone and memory chip industries, is grappling with an alarming digital divide among its aging population. Age-related disparities in digital proficiency have become a pressing global issue, and Korea's situation has become particularly acute.

Government-backed initiatives are underway to bridge this so-called "grey digital divide," which has widened dramatically in the country's hyper-connected, rapidly aging society. Hwang lamented during a senior community center event in Suwon, located south of Seoul, that modern life has become almost impossible for older individuals without smartphones or kiosk machines.

The consequences of this digital split are evident across various aspects of Korean life. Last year, several baseball clubs started reserving a limited number of tickets for on-site sales following reports that elderly fans, armed with cash, sought assistance from younger people at stadiums who managed to purchase tickets from automated machines.

A significant majority, nearly 90 percent, of taxi drivers now rely on ride-hailing apps for their livelihood, yet more than 80 percent of Koreans over the age of 65 struggle to navigate these digital services.