There are 65 people born in 1909 still in Jeollanam-do, and should everyone keep on as they've been keeping on, there will be 220 centenarians in the province this year. Of those 65---12 men and 53 women---Yeosu has seven, the administrative division with the most. Suncheon and Gwangyang have six each.
As it stands now, Suncheon has the highest number of centenarians in the province, at 27. Suncheon had, according to a 2006 article (reprinted below), the highest number of centenarians in the country in 2005.
South Korea had 961 people over the age of 100 as of November last year, the latest population and housing census said Wednesday. This is a 2.9 percent gain from 2000, the report compiled by the National Statistical Office (NSO) said. It added that the number of centenarians per 100,000 people came to 2.03 as of Nov. 1, 2005, up slightly from 2.02 in 2000. The census also said there were 857 female and 104 male centenarians, indicating that women lived longer than men, although the number of men over 100 jumped 26.8 percent compared to 2000, much higher than the 0.6 percent increase in women. Of the total, 394 were 100 years old as of last year, 199 were 101 years old and 54 were 104. The oldest persons alive as of late last year were two women born in 1894 who are 111 years old.
The oldest man alive is 107, while the census showed one married couple older than 100. The centenarians mainly worked in the agricultural sector. They also lived in a extended family structure made up of two to three generations living under the same roof. Reflecting the importance of healthy living habits, many ate moderately, did not smoke or drink and followed well-regulated daily activities. People who lived long usually had optimistic dispositions and enjoyed eating fruits and vegetables. Many lost their spouses to death, and very few through divorce. They also got married relatively young, with the average male taking a wife at the age of 21, while the women wed at 17.3. By area, 152 lived in Gyeonggi Province, followed by Seoul and South Jeolla Province. By city, Suncheon in South Jeolla Province had the largest number of centenarians with 18, followed by Jeju and Yeosu. The NSO report, however, said that of the 961 centenarians, 165 had been reported dead as of March 22.
9 comments:
Interesting. Population momentum and improving health standards in the past few decades means we should expect the number to grow and grow, such that this type of story will be much more routine (and the numbers significantly larger) in the coming years.
One of my immediate neighbors in Seoul lived to 101 or 102. I would see him shuffling around a kilometer from our street, near Namyŏng Station. My mŏn halmŏni didn't make it to 100, but she was still moving around quite handily until shortly before her death at 92. She lived in my house until until a few months before that, and she'd move furniture around when she was bored.
I can think of nothing more depressing than to be a Korean for 100 years. They must have pissed off a wizard.
nb wrote:
I can think of nothing more depressing than to be a Korean for 100 years.
Looking at the Koreans around you, I'm sure that's the impression you get. But are they miserable because they're Korean or because they're around you?
Seriously, dude, this knee-jerk negativity you have... it serves no good purpose for you and it probably just leads to a downward spiral.
I don't think life in Korea is all rosy, but I don't let negativity consume every fiber of my being and cloud every thing I see, like you seem to.
They must have pissed off a wizard.
I have to admit this was funny. :)
On a more serious note, I don't think being a Korean over the last 100 years would have been the best time to live for a century. My mŏn halmŏni's family nearly starved to death when Japanese authorities confiscated rice and other edible crops, and then a few years later her father and brothers — all clergy — were slaughtered by the communists.
I lol'd at the wizard comment.
My Korean's not good enough to wade through the statistics. The only reason I knew about that article was b/c I blogged about it last year. I ran some Naver searches and kept getting different figures for the number of centenarians in Korea over the years. Even an article about the death of the oldest living Korean in 2005 said there were like 1600 Koreans over the age of 100 . . .which contradicted the information in the article I posted.
Nice picture.
I knew women live longer than men, but it's eye-catching to see the numbers for people over 100: 12 men and 53 women. That's a hell of a difference.
I suspect, as in all other countries, war has had something to do with that.
Brian wrote:
I suspect, as in all other countries, war has had something to do with that.
War has something to do with it, especially in places like Vietnam or Korea where such a high percentage of the population was wiped out by war (certain parts of Europe, too, of course). But don't forget that civilians made up the majority of those casualties in Korea. Bombs and stray bullets don't discriminate based on gender.
Smoking may play some role, although smoking among women in the 1909 cohort often enjoyed significantly less stigma attached to them smoking than, say, the 1959 or 1969 or even 1979 cohorts.
When I get some time, I'll try to post a population pyramid for Korea so you can see that there is a gender balance until about 75 or so (which belies war as a primary explanation), when the female-to-male ratio takes off.
I'm wondering if I may have met one of those elderly gentlement from Suncheon when I first arrived in Korea in 2006.
I was out with a Korean family and we'd stopped for a snack. This old man wandered past us, dressed in traditional clothing that I'd only ever seen in a museum before... the real old hanbok, with red bauble-like buttons. His beard was long and white --
Unsure of the etiquette, I asked if I could take a photo with him. He sat with me, and we held hands (!!). I don't think I've ever met such an old person in my life.... and he was so calm and gentle. Just a wonderful experience to have so early on in my Korean experience.
No smoking or drinking? Enjoying vegetables? Still living with parents?
There's a quality vs quantity argument in there somewhere.
Each to their own. We'll all be dead someday anyway. Did they believe in God?
*snicker*
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