“An escape of loneliness”: Seoul stores fighting isolation

A lively and colorful pedestrian street in Seoul, full of vibrant pedestrian steps designs, exclusive stores and an lively activity. A woman, with a winter jacket, is in the middle of a zebra crossing and carries the poster "Exhaust room, half price". — Photo foot, The poster says “Exhaust room, half price” in a popular pedestrian street in Seoul: the city has been put as a mission to fight against the growing loneliness of its inhabitants.

- Author, Jake Kwon
- Author's title, BBC News
August 18, 2025

Hee-Kyung smiles while entering a new “kind store” by Seoul.

With 29 years, people would not think that he is a lonely person or that benefits from a campaign in the capital of South Korea to combat loneliness.

But Hee-Kyung visits the store every day. Eat instant -free ran noodles and spend hours chatting with other visitors and social workers.

“I tell myself: 'Another day, another way to escape the feeling of loneliness,” explains Hee-Kyung.

She is a young woman who no longer has communication with anyone from her family, because when she was a teenager she escaped from her home.

The friends he has met them online, thanks to their passion for the Superjunior K-Pop group, and live far away.

In addition, as it is currently unemployed, it has no co -workers.

Live alone and spend his time lying on the floor watching videos of animals on his phone.

“I would have no other place to go if it were for (this store).”

Hee-Kyung is one of the 20,000 people who have visited four stores of this type since they opened in March.

The city expected only 5,000 visitors during the first year.

This particular place, in the district of Dongdaemun, northeast of the city, receives between 70 and 80 visitors per day.

Most are between 40 and 50 years old, but Hee-Kyung is far from being the only young man who goes to the store.

A 2022 study revealed that approximately 130,000 young people in the city (between 19 and 39 years old) are socially insulated or confined.

That same study also found that the proportion of unipersonal homes in the capital had reached almost 40%, which alarmed a government that has been trying to reverse the fall of birth and marriage rates.

People sitting on chairs and pufs watching a movie, — Photo foot, The stores, which resemble the living room of a house, offer comfort and company.

The day the BBC visited the place, around a dozen visitors (men and women, young people and old people) were sitting in banks or curled up in Pufs, watching a movie.

“We have cinema days to foster emotional ties,” Kim Se-Heon, the director of the City Loneliness Division.

Stores are designed to offer a warm atmosphere, similar to that of a cafeteria. In a corner, an older woman closes her eyes while sinking into the automatic massage chair.

In another corner, there are lots of noodles.

“Ramen is a symbol of comfort and warmth in South Korea,” says Kim.

While waiting for noodles to be cooked, visitors are asked to complete a brief survey about their mood and living conditions.

This is just a small group of the growing number of socially isolated people to which the city is trying to arrive.

The change that South Korea has experienced is seismic: in a generation, it has gone from an agrarian society devastated by war to a developed economy.

A few decades ago, it was common to see large families with six or eight children living under the same roof. But years of migration to cities have reduced families and converted places like Seoul into expanding metropolis.

Insequible housing, the increase in costs and expansion working hours have led to more and more young people reject marriage, fatherhood or both.

On the other hand, it has an aging population that feels abandoned by their children who are running so as not to fall back in such a demanding society.

Lee In-Sook, counselor at the convenience store. — Photo foot, Lee In-Sook works as a counselor in the convenience store.

“Do you know the saying that the least tasty food is the one you eat alone? The elderly people who come ask if they are eating well. They are filled with tears only with that question,” says Lee In-Sook, the store's adviser.

After a divorce and that her adult children left home, she understands what it is to be alone.

The first time Hee-Kyung, who is more or less the age of his daughter, arrived at the store, immediately caught her attention.

Like many visitors, Hee-Kyung remained silent on the first day, just talking to others.

The second time he came, he started talking to In-Sook.

Lonely deaths

It was the growing number of “solitary deaths” that worried the authorities of Seoul enough to act.

The elderly died alone at home and their bodies were only days or until weeks later.

That mission soon expanded to address loneliness itself. But Seoul is not the first to do it.

In 2018, the United Kingdom appointed a minister for loneliness. Japan followed the example and created an agency to address the problem that, he said, had sharpened during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The phenomenon of completely isolation of society is so common in Japan that it has a name: Hikikomori.

Also in South Korea, a growing number of young people has voluntarily isolated from a highly competitive and demanding society.

“Perhaps it was the pandemic that caused this,” reflects Lee Yu-Jeong, who manages one of Seoul's loneliness programs.

He points out how their children remain absorbed in their phones when their friends visit them. “Today, people expresses how difficult it is to have a network of friends. Loneliness has become something that we must address as a society.”

Four men sitting in a row in an area of public seats at a subway station and sailing on their mobile phones in Seoul, on April 8, 2025. — Photo foot, A study shows that more and more South Koreans feel socially isolated.

The first step was to open a direct line for those who need to talk to someone. A national survey conducted in 2023 revealed that a third of South Korean adults do not have who to ask for help with home tasks or who to talk to when they feel sad.

Their counselors offer a 40 -minute call to talk about any subject.

Since its cubicle, Park Seung-Ah has been calling three times a day.

“I was surprised to see that many young people wanted these sessions. They want to share the load they carry on their shoulders, but there are often a dynamic of power with their parents or friends. That is why they go to us.”

The “kind stores”

The “kind stores” appeared quickly, a physical place where lonely people are welcome.

The Location of Dongdaemun was chosen due to its proximity to low -income homes, where residents live alone in small subdivided apartments.

Sohn, 68, visits the store once a week to watch movies and escape his narrow home.

“The stores should have opened before I was born. It is good for me to have a good time even if it is only two or three hours,” he says.

Sohn dedicated more than five decades of his life to the care of his mother, who suffered a cerebral aneurys when he was a child. Therefore, he never married or had children.

The cost of his dedication was clear when his mother died.

Without money and walking with a cane since he suffered a cerebral hemorrhage several years ago, he says that there are not many places for him.

“The places cost money, going to the cinema costs money,” he explains.

Two men play Janggi, sometimes called Korean chess, on a Seoul street, on July 1, 2025. — Photo foot, The aging population of South Korea affirms more and more feeling alone.

The stores were created especially to welcome those who are not welcome in other places, explains the manager of one of the stores, Lee Bo-Hyun.

They offer more than a little space and a site to see a film: they have air conditioning during the hottest months of summer, something that can be very useful for those with low income that cannot afford it at home.

It is also a space where lonely people can avoid stigma to ask for help.

The choice of name – “convenience stores” – is a deliberate attempt to distance them from psychiatric clinics. This is important in a country where there is still a stigma when it comes to asking for help in mental health issues, especially among older people.

At first, visitors feel uncomfortable when speaking or eating with another person, Lee explains.

He assures that typical loneliness, if extended over time, becomes more than a feeling.

“People begin to avoid places with other people. Many ask us if the ramen can be used because they do not usually eat in front of other people.”

Lee tells them that they don't need to talk. They can simply sit on the same table to eat noodles.

Months have spent since Hee-Kyung was one of those shy and silent people who just arrived.

Has something changed since then? In-Sook remembers that during a conversation he had with a local newspaper he mentioned his daughter, he felt a sudden stab and his voice broke.

“I'm going to hug you,” he exclaimed then seeing her Hee-Kyung. Then he walked from the other side of the room and hugged In-Sook.