!["I think it could work if you do it this way … " Older adults are a sword still in its scabbard — seemingly idle, yet armed with formidable strengths that make them a national asset. [Herald DB]](https://wimg.heraldcorp.com/news/cms/2026/08/11/news-p.v1.20260811.06449fa5381a4b6ea79666aa61295f19_P1.jpg)
The vibrant knowledge and golden experience of those born in 1966 — now beginning to reach mandatory retirement age — remain as sharp as ever.
The four-plus decades of workplace know-how accumulated by those born five years earlier, in 1961, have not rusted either. The passion and crisis-management ability of the 1958 "Year of the Dog" generation — workers who stood at the heart of the "Miracle on the Han River" — are still very much alive.
A retired teacher can become an outstanding humanities lecturer for their community. A former banker can fill the investment blind spots that active colleagues are missing.
A former central government or political figure who has returned to their hometown still carries the networks needed to voice a region's long-standing needs and guide them to the right policymaker's door.
A sunbae from the tourism industry can help uncover a region's hidden charms, while one who spent years at a large conglomerate can pass on hard-won know-how on social contracts and negotiations that actually deliver results to younger people back home.
Those born in 1961 occupy an awkward middle ground: too young to be welcomed at senior community centers, where they might be told, "What's a youngster like you doing here?" With nothing to do and younger acquaintances who have inexplicably stopped calling, many spend their days in bewildering idleness despite possessing sharp energy, strong memory and solid professional ability.
Against that backdrop, the Gangwon Provincial Assembly has declared that "older adults are not a crisis to be managed but a precious asset" — and is now moving to enshrine that principle in law. It is a refreshingly original idea, and the right thing to do. One wonders why no one thought of it sooner.
Ahn Jeong-min, a Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker representing Wonju District 8 in the Gangwon Special Self-Governing Province Assembly, has proposed a "Gangwon sunbae citizen policy" to harness the experience and wisdom of older residents as a community asset, helping the province navigate the challenges of having entered a super-aged society.
At the "2026 Gangwon Sunbae Citizen Policy Concert" held Tuesday, Ahn delivered a keynote address on the province's aging demographics and the sunbae citizen policy. She introduced the process and content behind the Wonju City Sunbae Citizen Support Ordinance, which she had sponsored as a Wonju city council member, and said a province-level institutional support framework must now be established.
Ahn noted that as of July 2026, residents aged 65 or older account for 27.8 percent of Gangwon Province's population, and that all 18 cities and counties in the province have entered super-aged society status. She said a policy shift is needed — one that views the elderly not merely as recipients of care and welfare, but as active agents of their communities.
The Wonju City Sunbae Citizen Support Ordinance that Ahn sponsored covers support for education, community participation, program development, institutional linkages and instructor training for Wonju residents aged 65 and older.
She proposed expanding the framework across all of Gangwon Province, with the provincial ordinance incorporating four elements: building an integrated support system across all 18 cities and counties; enabling sunbae citizens to lead in identifying, planning and evaluating policy agendas; linking education, volunteer work and monitoring activities; and launching intergenerational projects in which sunbae and younger citizens participate together.
"The sunbae citizen policy is not about creating yet another welfare program for the elderly," Ahn said. "It is about redefining the role of older adults in a super-aged society. I will expand the thinking I began as a Wonju city council member to all of Gangwon Province and build the institutional foundation for sunbae citizens to stand as proud, active members of their communities."
There is, of course, a risk that the experiment could unravel if older adults use their sunbae status merely to strike a pose rather than roll up their sleeves.
That concern is probably unwarranted. Most retirees have naturally internalized the Korean proverb that the riper the rice, the lower it bows its head.
Seniors who are full of energy but find themselves idle are genuinely grateful to younger people who give their lives meaning — which means the odds of them getting along well with the 20-to-50 generation are close to 99 percent. And if they take on advisory roles, there is virtually no risk of overlap with youth employment.
abc@heraldcorp.com
