Koreans choose Dance to Beat Loneliness

The elderly in South Korea are giving senior citizen centres a miss and choosing to visit colatecs instead. These colatecs, are a portmanteau of cola and discotheque, have arisen to serve South Korea’s aging population, as a growing number of lonely, impoverished and ailing people rediscover ways to entertain themselves after decades of hard work. Kim Sa gyu, 85 call it his play ground.

What else would I do all day? My family keeps busy with work. I hate going to senior centres as all they do there is smoke, said Kim, as he sat at the edge of a dance floor decorated with fairy lights.

The entrance fee is 1,000 won a fraction of what swanky clubs in Seoul’s affluent Gangnam charge. There are nearly 1,000 such families around the country and almost 2,000 people visit on a weekend day, said the owner of one such colatec.