ID :
187082
Wed, 06/08/2011 - 03:56
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/187082
The shortlink copeid
Local theater provides all-around comfort for elderly
By Kim Hyeh-won
Contributing Writer
SEOUL (Yonhap) - Won Tong-sik, a retired high school teacher who suffers from herniated discs in his neck and spine, used to spend his daytime taking a nap. He sometimes went out to meet friends, but all he did with them was drink.
Lately, he has found something new to enjoy that helps alleviate his physical trouble: watching movies.
The Cheongchun (Youth) Theater, which opened in October in Seodaemun in downtown Seoul, has completely changed Won's lifestyle. He now visits the theater four times a week and watches films that he missed out on when he was young. There, he meets friends and even gets health checks for free. For US$2, he can spend a whole day, watching a movie, eating popcorns and drinking coffee.
"It is a new life for me," Won, 75, said.
The Cheongchun Theater has drawn fresh public attention as it aims to help senior citizens, whose growing population has become a major social and political issue in South Korea.
South Korea is fast becoming an aged society, with more than 11 percent of its total population of 49 million aged over 65. In Seoul, such senior citizens number 940,000, or 9.4 percent of its population of 10 million. The number is expected to reach 2 million in 20 years.
The 600-seat Cheongchun Theater is run by the metropolitan government exclusively for elderly people. It admits only those over 55 years old and their companions. The number of visitors averages 500 a day on weekdays and 800 a day on weekends, but its overall occupancy rate, 54 percent, is much higher than the 30 percent of ordinary movie theaters in Seoul.
The Cheongchun Theater screens only classic films. Hollywood movies and other foreign films are shown from Monday through Wednesday, and Korean classics from Thursday to Saturday.
Once inside the theater, you may feel as if you were back in the 1960s or 1970s. The hallways are decorated with the posters of Hollywood and Korean classic films, such as "Ben-Hur," "Jaws" and "Random Harvest." Pictures of senior Korean actors and actresses, including Kim Ji-mi and Shin Young-gyun, hang on the walls.
Everything over there is reminiscent of the old days that have been fading in the memories of visitors. A woman in her 60s with the family name Kim said that while watching films that feature actors and actresses she had admired so much, she felt as if she had become a schoolgirl again.
"In those days when the entertainment industry was not much developed, to go to a movie was a luxury," she said.
The program changes every week. Recent films included "The Hunchback of Notre Dame," "The World in His Arms" and Korean classics such as "Romance Papa" and "The Daughters of Kim Yak-guk."
Foreign movies are more popular, according to theater officials. Among the most popular films shown recently were "Dr. Zhivago" and "Waterloo Bridge," they said.
"When I was young, we were attracted more to Hollywood movies than to Korean films," the theatergoer, Kim, said.
To many senior citizens, the theater itself is a big comfort. One of them, Shin Du-hyeon, 60, said a visit there was his first outing to a movie theater since retiring recently.
"I will surely come here again whenever my favorite movies are screened," he said.
Many early birds start their day at the theater at 10 a.m. with pastries served for free. Some spend a whole day there, watching the same movie twice. Several nearby restaurants offer big lunch discounts to customers who come with theater tickets.
The theater has enough space to rest, including a cafe and a lounge with sofas and bookshelves. There is even a music box where a disc jockey plays the music requested by customers. A counselor dispatched by the city government stays all day long to help them.
During the weekdays, the theater, with the help of volunteer doctors, provides free health checks, gymnastics lessons, lectures and sing-along classes. The programs often include performances by pop and classic music singers and acrobatic shows. In June, a singing contest will be held.
All 30 of the theater's officials, except the counselor, Bak Yeon-sun, are aged over 55, a careful move aimed at making visitors feel more comfortable. Bak said most of her customers seek advice on family matters, mostly related to their children.
"Some of the male customers come to ask for the arrangement of girlfriends," she said with a laugh.
Encouraged by the success of the Cheongchun Theater, the Seoul city government plans to open additional similar facilities in other parts of the city in the near future.
There is another theater for the elderly in downtown Seoul, the Silver Theater near the Tapgol Park at Jongno, formerly known as the Hollywood Theater, but this facility is privately run with some support from the city government.
The Songpa-gu District Office in southeastern Seoul also screens classic films at its cultural center every Thursday for senior citizens.
kkhhww@gmail.com
(END)
Contributing Writer
SEOUL (Yonhap) - Won Tong-sik, a retired high school teacher who suffers from herniated discs in his neck and spine, used to spend his daytime taking a nap. He sometimes went out to meet friends, but all he did with them was drink.
Lately, he has found something new to enjoy that helps alleviate his physical trouble: watching movies.
The Cheongchun (Youth) Theater, which opened in October in Seodaemun in downtown Seoul, has completely changed Won's lifestyle. He now visits the theater four times a week and watches films that he missed out on when he was young. There, he meets friends and even gets health checks for free. For US$2, he can spend a whole day, watching a movie, eating popcorns and drinking coffee.
"It is a new life for me," Won, 75, said.
The Cheongchun Theater has drawn fresh public attention as it aims to help senior citizens, whose growing population has become a major social and political issue in South Korea.
South Korea is fast becoming an aged society, with more than 11 percent of its total population of 49 million aged over 65. In Seoul, such senior citizens number 940,000, or 9.4 percent of its population of 10 million. The number is expected to reach 2 million in 20 years.
The 600-seat Cheongchun Theater is run by the metropolitan government exclusively for elderly people. It admits only those over 55 years old and their companions. The number of visitors averages 500 a day on weekdays and 800 a day on weekends, but its overall occupancy rate, 54 percent, is much higher than the 30 percent of ordinary movie theaters in Seoul.
The Cheongchun Theater screens only classic films. Hollywood movies and other foreign films are shown from Monday through Wednesday, and Korean classics from Thursday to Saturday.
Once inside the theater, you may feel as if you were back in the 1960s or 1970s. The hallways are decorated with the posters of Hollywood and Korean classic films, such as "Ben-Hur," "Jaws" and "Random Harvest." Pictures of senior Korean actors and actresses, including Kim Ji-mi and Shin Young-gyun, hang on the walls.
Everything over there is reminiscent of the old days that have been fading in the memories of visitors. A woman in her 60s with the family name Kim said that while watching films that feature actors and actresses she had admired so much, she felt as if she had become a schoolgirl again.
"In those days when the entertainment industry was not much developed, to go to a movie was a luxury," she said.
The program changes every week. Recent films included "The Hunchback of Notre Dame," "The World in His Arms" and Korean classics such as "Romance Papa" and "The Daughters of Kim Yak-guk."
Foreign movies are more popular, according to theater officials. Among the most popular films shown recently were "Dr. Zhivago" and "Waterloo Bridge," they said.
"When I was young, we were attracted more to Hollywood movies than to Korean films," the theatergoer, Kim, said.
To many senior citizens, the theater itself is a big comfort. One of them, Shin Du-hyeon, 60, said a visit there was his first outing to a movie theater since retiring recently.
"I will surely come here again whenever my favorite movies are screened," he said.
Many early birds start their day at the theater at 10 a.m. with pastries served for free. Some spend a whole day there, watching the same movie twice. Several nearby restaurants offer big lunch discounts to customers who come with theater tickets.
The theater has enough space to rest, including a cafe and a lounge with sofas and bookshelves. There is even a music box where a disc jockey plays the music requested by customers. A counselor dispatched by the city government stays all day long to help them.
During the weekdays, the theater, with the help of volunteer doctors, provides free health checks, gymnastics lessons, lectures and sing-along classes. The programs often include performances by pop and classic music singers and acrobatic shows. In June, a singing contest will be held.
All 30 of the theater's officials, except the counselor, Bak Yeon-sun, are aged over 55, a careful move aimed at making visitors feel more comfortable. Bak said most of her customers seek advice on family matters, mostly related to their children.
"Some of the male customers come to ask for the arrangement of girlfriends," she said with a laugh.
Encouraged by the success of the Cheongchun Theater, the Seoul city government plans to open additional similar facilities in other parts of the city in the near future.
There is another theater for the elderly in downtown Seoul, the Silver Theater near the Tapgol Park at Jongno, formerly known as the Hollywood Theater, but this facility is privately run with some support from the city government.
The Songpa-gu District Office in southeastern Seoul also screens classic films at its cultural center every Thursday for senior citizens.
kkhhww@gmail.com
(END)
