‘No senior zone’: South Koreans see red as more businesses turn away old people
- Cafes, restaurants and guest houses are among businesses preferring to cater to the younger generation, with some people claiming seniors are ill-mannered or noisy
- The practice comes even as South Korea is ageing and the age gap between young and old is ever-increasing, an expert notes
In a notice he put up last year on an online booking site, the owner said the decision was “agonising” but inevitable, citing “inconveniences” that arose by mixing young customers with seniors in the small bed and breakfast with three dorm-style rooms and 12 beds in total.
“Young customers like to stay up late, chatting and drinking, while senior customers go to bed early,” said the owner, who is in his 30s, and requested anonymity. “Young people and seniors don’t like to mingle with different age groups and this creates an awkward mood.”
He dismissed suggestions that he was discriminating against seniors. “It’s something like this. Young people like to play football and old people like to play gate ball [similar to croquet]. This is not a matter of discrimination but is related to cultural differences between different generations,” he said.
Article 11 of the Korean constitution states that “there shall be no discrimination in political, economic, social or cultural life on account of sex, religion or social status”.
Nevertheless, Jeombonei is one of many guest houses – small facilities that often provide customers with dinner parties – in Jeju that only serve customers in their 20s and 30s.