Soul ‘convenient stores’ fighting loneliness

She does this-kung giggles when she goes to Soul’s new “warm minded store”.

In the 5th year, it is probably not the case that most people would have imagined the latest efforts to deal with the loneliness of the South Korean capital.

But this-Kunad every day spends hours to catch free instant Ramen noodles and chat with other visitors and social workers.

“I tell myself, ‘the next day, one more rescue because of loneliness,” says this-Kung.

The teenager, who is running away, is no longer talking to anyone in her family. Friends who met her online through the shared love of K-Pop Group Superjier and they live far away. Currently the unemployed, there are no work companions to chat with her.

She lives alone and spends time watching a video of cute animals on her phone while lying on the floor.

“If there is no (store) I have no other place to me.”

This-coil is one of the 20,000 people to visit the four stores opened in March. The city was expected in the first year.

This particular place in the northeast district of the city of Dongadamun in the city sees around 70 to 80 visitor.

Most are in their 40s and 50s, but the only young man is the only young person entering the store’s services.

According to a study of 2, approximately 5,000 5,3 young people in the city – between the ages of 3 and 39 – are either socially different or closed. According to the same study, the share of the people of the alone person in the capital has reached almost 1% – who has tried to reverse the birth and marriage rate.

On the day the BBC visited, almost dozen visitors – men and women, young and old – were sitting on the bench or drowning in the beanbag, watching movies together.

“We have a movie day to encourage low-level bonding,” Kim Se-Hen is whispering in the city’s loneliness councilor department.

The store is designed to give a warm, cafe -like environment. In one corner in, an elderly woman closed her eyes because she drowned in an automatic massage chair. In the other, there are stacks of noodles.

Kim explains, “Ramen in South Korea is a symbol of comfort and warmth.”

While waiting for the noodles to cook, visitors are asked to conduct a brief survey about their mood and living conditions.

There is a growing number of people who are trying to reach the city.

South Korea’s change is earthquake: In one generation it has gone to the economy developed from the war -dominated agricultural community.

A few decades ago, it was normal for a large family with six to eight children to live under the same roof. But in many years of migration in the cities, families have declined and have changed in metros scattered in places like Soul.

Abandoned homes, increasing costs, and annoying hours, more and more young people caused marriage or parenting or both rejection. At the other end there is an aging population that neglects the racing children to continue.

“You know that the lowest tasty meal is you alone. I ask old people who ask the old people who are fine if they are fine. They will tear down, just this question is being asked,” the consultant to the store says Lee in-Suu.

Divorce and her older children understand how she feels lonely after leaving home.

For the first time, this – Kung – who is around the age of Suke’s daughter – when she came to the store, she immediately grabbed her eye.

Like many visitors, this-kung was quiet on the first day, only talking to others. When she arrived at the second second, she began to talk to the in-law.

This was the increasing number of “lonely deaths” that cared enough to act the officials of Soul’s officials. Older people were dying alone at home and their body was not discovered after days or weeks.

That goal soon expanded to deal with loneliness. But Soul is not the first.

In 2018, the UK appointed a minister for loneliness. Japan followed this example and established an agency to solve this problem, which is all over the country (or continent) of CotyID -1.

There is a phenomenon of withdrawing from society as a whole Japan has enough normal that its name is: Hickikomori?? Even in South Korea, the growing numbers are young people Voluntarily eliminating themselves from a highly competitive and constant society??

“Perhaps this is the case with this, with all across the country (or continent),” Le You-Jiong, who manages one of the Loneline events of Soul.

She mentioned how her children bury their smartphones when their friends visit. “People express how difficult it is to have friends today. The loneliness has become something that needs to be dealt with as a society.”

The first step was opening the hotel for those who needed to talk to. In a survey across the country in 223, a third of Korean adults does not ask for help for homework either for homework or if it is sad.

His consultants offer a 40 -minute call to discuss any topic. Park Sang-We are calling three calls a day from her cubicle.

“I am surprised to see that many young people need these sessions. They want to share the burden on their chest, but often a power with parents or their friends. So they come to us.”

Following the “warm -hearted stores” rapidly, a physical location where the lonely was welcomed.

The location of the Dongademun was chosen by the closeness of homes with low -income houses, where residents live in a small, run -up apartment alone.

The 68 -year -old Sohan visits the store to watch the movie once a week and leave his narrow home.

They say, “(store) should be opened before my birth. It is best to spend only two to three hours,” they say.

Sohan has spent more than five decades of his life to take care of his mother, who was suffering from brain anorexam when he was young. As a result, he never married or had children.

After her death, the cost of dedication became clear.

Many years ago, walking with pens and sticks since the brain bleeding, he says that there are not many places for him.

He says, “Place has to spend money, it costs to go to cinema.”

Store manager Lee Bo-Yun explains that the store was specially designed to welcome those who are not welcome in other places.

They go beyond the room and beyond the film – offering air conditioning in the most popular months of summer who cannot get less at home.

This is a place where people alone can overtake the stigma of asking for help. Name selection – “convenient stores” – they were deliberately trying to keep them from psychiatric clinics, in a country still contrary to the demand for mental health – especially among the old residents.

And yet, some of their reservations can be seen for the first time while walking through the door because of their isolation experience.

Store manager Lee says that visitors are often uncomfortable to talk to another person or eat together in the beginning.

“Typical loneliness, if those days, months and half a year are repeated, it is now more than emotions,” Lee explains.

“These people begin to avoid space with people. Many people ask us that they will not eat with others so they can go to Ramen?”

Lee will tell them that they don’t have to talk. They can just sit on the same table and take noodles.

It has been a few months since he-Kung is a quiet new arrival.

So, has it made a difference? In-suke reminds her conversation with her local paper. When she brought her daughter up, she suddenly felt the pain and her voice broke.

“I’m going to hug you.”

She went to the other side of the room and hit the in-big in-in-clay.