“사람이 그리워요”…콜라텍 임시폐쇄에 갈 곳 잃은 노년층들<br /><br />Entertainment facilities for older people in South Korea have been closed due to the recent COVID-19 outbreak at night clubs in one of Seoul's best-known entertainment neighborhoods.<br />Unfortunately, for those getting up there in years, enjoy being active and meeting other people their own age... they no longer have a chance to socialize.<br />Jang Taehyun reports.<br />Jeong Nam-poong is a retired tool store owner in his late eighties.<br />After his wife passed away some 20 years ago, he has spent countless hours dancing the days away at so-called 'colatecs', daytime discotheques specifically aimed at senior citizens.<br />This colatec reopened as the number of COVID-19 cases went down in South Korea, but was shuttered again after the outbreak in Itaewon clubs.<br />He needed to talk and dance with people, so Jeong and his friends from the colatec decided to meet at a park in Seoul.<br />With their face masks on, they let out their energy with some moves,... their bodies jigging along with the music.<br />"Dancing is amazing. K-pop It's like old school K-pop. Hopefully, I can dance, have fun and exercise my mind as well."<br />As elderly people are usually not accustomed to using mobile devices or other types of technology, they have to meet others in person to have a social life.<br />"Actually, colatecs are like playgrounds for people our age. So, closing them is just like killing us. I hope they reopen soon and we can get our energetic lives back."<br />In South Korea, people over the age of 65 account for almost 16 percent of the population,... but the number is rising rapidly.<br />Statistics Korea says, by 2045, that figure will be 37 percent, the highest in the world.<br />COVID-19 has naturally made many elderly people nervous, but some are crying out for some face-to-face interaction as loneliness is something that cannot be treated in a hospital.<br />Jang Tae-hyun, Arirang News.<br />
