생활공간으로서의 농촌마을의 특성과 노인들의 상호작용 : 강원도 지역 3개 마을 사례연구

Abstract

Previous research on rural elderly has focused on the negative aspects of rural life in terms of social and economic disadvantage in rural areas, ignoring the possible positive aspects of rural community as a context of everyday life of the elderly people. In order to overcome this limitations of previous research, this study attempts to explore the possible positive influence of rural community on the quality of life of elderly and to examine the linkage among ecological characteristics of the communities, social interaction and quality of life of rural elderly at the community level. Using qualitative, case study method, this study attempts to provide thick and comprehensive description of everyday life of old people in rural area and their social interaction in their community context. The data were collected from the elderly in three Korean rural villages, using participant observation method and in-depth interviews (person-to-person, group interviews). All the interviews were tape-recoded and transcribed verbatim for the analysis. The data was analyzed using the reflective qualitative analytic technique. Our results show that the patterns of social interaction and the nature of everyday life of the rural elderly vary depending on the ecological characteristics of each community. It was also shown that not only current economic, geographic, and structural conditions of the community but also the history of relationship among the community members affect the social interaction of elderly members at present. The results also reveal that certain characteristics of rural communities such as strong bond among community members due to low geographical mobility have "positive or protective aspects" for the active social interaction and participation of the elderly people, thus enhancing the quality of life of the elderly. More detailed findings and their implications for further study are discussed.