The current status and future prospects of sports participation by the elderly in Korea

Abstract

Demographically, Korea has become the most rapidly aging country in the world. Within 4 decades, one out of every three people will be 65 years or older. Because the mortality rate of the elderly and the fertility rate of women have been distinctively decreasing, by 2050 the elderly will account for 34.4% of Korea`s entire population, which will be almost as 5 times the figure of 2000. This drastic transition translates into a decrease in the population size as well as the labor force and problems involving social welfare for the aged. Today, social welfare for the elderly has become a major issue in governmental policies and in academic fields including sport studies and sport sciences. With this regard, this study attempts to analyze involvement in sports activities by the elderly, in terms of comparison by age groups and by countries. This paper also examines participation patterns of the types of activities, facilities used, coaching and/or instruction, membership fees, and club involvement. Documented studies from national surveys are employed for this paper. The results show that the participation rate of Korea`s elderly in sports is quite low compared to younger generation groups and their counterparts in other countries. Korea`s elderly tend to spend long leisure hours in passive activities such as TV watching and taking naps, rather than in active and dynamic forms of physical activities. This study reveals that even though they are involved in physical activities, their patterns are simple and unorganized; their sports activities amount to walking, jogging, and hiking, but are not typically related to organizational services that include facility use, coaching instruction, or club participation. To promote more sports participation, some alternatives sport scientists and physical educators should focus upon in their research and in the training of their students are suggested as the following for public sports policies: a) sports facilities exclusively for the elderly should be expanded; b) organized sports programs for the elderly need to be provided and developed; c) well prepared professional instructors in the field of the sports for the elderly should be produced; and d) sports policies for the aged should be prioritized along with other social welfare programs including pensions and medical care. Finally, this study argues that the promotion of sports-for-all should be centered on the development of sports for the elderly and that social inequality in sports by aged should neither be allowed nor tolerated.

Key words: population aging, sports involvement by the elderly, patterns of sports participation, public sports policy