Park Jong-chul, an 85-year-old in Seoul, recently decided it was time to move to a retirement home to secure the help he and his wife are starting to need. After viewing a presentation for VL Le West, a high-end apartment for seniors being developed by the conglomerate Lotte, he¡¯s ready to sign up for one of the few remaining rooms.
¡°This kind of senior home provides three meals a day,¡± he said, adding that it wasn¡¯t too expensive considering what it costs to hire a housekeeper.
He joins a growing number of South Korean retirees looking to spend their twilight years in self-paid retirement homes. In one of the world¡¯s fastest-aging countries, these residences are emerging in popularity with the likes of Lotte and Hyundai investing billions of dollars on new projects.
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