Sharing Happiness: “Two Heads Are Better Than One”

 It would be much more comfortable to live alone. But it is not much fun to live alone. Recently, a new member of household has emerged.

  *First, senior citizens (who live alone)
 Like many countries, Korea has a low birthrate and we are becoming an elderly society. Because of this present state, there are many senior citizens living alone. Of course, the number of senior citizens who live alone is growing. 
 Shockingly, according to the KBS documentary 'Solitude', Korea has the highest suicide rate of senior citizens who live alone. Maybe they choose to take their own life because of their solitude. Or maybe they don't want to take their own life, but they had an accident (like losing their footing and suddenly falling) and nobody finds out about that for a long time. 
 A lot of senior citizens are frightened to live alone. Maybe they are not frightened of death but of being alone. For this reason, shared house has been developed by senior citizens who live alone. For example, there is a shared house which is filled with different people who were living alone. 
 In a senior citizens' shared house, almost five grandmothers live together. They live together, but they are not a real family. They are neighbors, but live together like a family. Grandmothers have difficulty moving around. And their husbands died a long time ago. They lived alone, but they were frightened alone.
 When it's time for a meal, they prepare the meal together and eat together. Sometimes, they play games together, they even work together like farming and household affairs. When they finish their daily work, they go to bed together. 
 This shared house system helps grandmothers feel less lonely and more happy. Because they aren’t alone, they eat meals and move strenuously. They are glad they're together. They said that "Better than my son and daughters who live a long distance away." "Thanks for my sisters, sticking with me!" in their interview.

  *Second, young man
 Recently, there are many students who cannot afford their house price. They also lodge at a shared house. House owners do not live together. They just rent a house with a specific sum of money (relatively cheap price) to some students (about 3-4 person). This shared house gives new and fresh energy. 
 A student who come a long distance said, "I came a long way, so I didn’t have friends. but while I lived here, I have friends. We eat meals together and sometimes we go out and watch a movie together. We care about each other.
 Before last year, I rented a room alone and lived apart from my family. The house was like a prison. It was very small and not comfortable. The deposit was ten million won. I also paid a monthly rent of five hundred thousand won. But this shared house is cheaper and more comfortable. I'm not alone.“
 In the case of students, they also feel loneliness when they are alone. So, they prefer the shared house. Most students, especially those who came a long distance, said that they are very happy because they are together.

  *Last, mixed senior citizen-young man
 This is a new one from among these. It solves both of the two problems above. Two problems mean first, young men are suffering from the hardship of life (house price). And  second, senior citizens are committing suicide because of loneliness. 
Senior citizens who have their own house, can apply 'Home repair'. After repair, they accept a young man who suffered from the hardship of life for living together. This will help solve two of society’s problems such as using proper money for students and solitude of each other. 
 It isn't none of my business. You know what they say, “Shared joy is double joy and shared sorrow is half-sorrow.” Why don't you try talking to any of your surrounding  friends and family about shared housing.
  "I am very happy because we are together.“

L.L.F reporter Hye-Jin Jeoung