| Title |
A Study on Industrial Trends Related to Home Modification for the Elderly - With a focus on a comparison of the cases of Korea and Japan - |
| Authors |
Kwon, Oh-Jung ; Kim, Dong-Sook ; Lee, Yong-Min |
| DOI |
http://dx.doi.org/10.5659/JAIK_PD.2016.32.5.39 |
| Keywords |
Home Modification ; The Elderly ; Industry Home Modification ; Industrial Trends of Home Modification |
| Abstract |
This research has as an objective to examine industrial trends of the home modification industry for the elderly in Korea and Japan, thus investigated literatures on policies and situations regarding home modification in both countries. Through visits and interviews of the groups and organizations which are leaders in research and tasks in the field and through materials and information obtained from visits to fairs, it includes an analysis of current industries involved in home remodeling. As a result, most of Korea's home modification products were relying on imports. In addition, home modification-related products provided by the long-term care insurance system were limited to handles and solutions for any unevenness caused by steps, which are categorized into equipment in this study. Therefore, they had a narrow product range and their development was slow. For this reason, the supply market related to home modification for the elderly was not being facilitated. In contrast with this, Japan was developing a variety of devices, equipment, and products related to home modification, which can guarantee the elderly's independent life, by identifying a series of movements based on the elderly's daily activities with a good understanding of their body and psychology with regard to the elderly's home-based life. Moreover, while Japanese companies were actively participating in the development of home modification-related products, Korea's relevant systems and policies remained inadequate, which hindered the research & development and investment of companies. This suggests that the Korean government should establish various governmental support systems and Korean companies should make active research & development efforts. |