Seocho-gu launches solo-dining nutrition program for single-person households

Seoul's Seocho-gu district is launching a "Solo Dining! Nutrition Education" program to help young adults and elderly residents living alone improve their diets and maintain their health.

The program will run three times at the nutrition education room of the Bangbae Community Health Center — on June 17, July 1 and July 15. Participants may sign up for whichever date suits them. Each session centers on low-sodium, low-sugar cooking practice tailored to a specific theme. The first session, themed "Noodle dishes for occasional enjoyment," covers seafood stir-fried udon and mixed vegetable pickles. The second, "A bowl packed with nutrition," features mapo tofu rice bowls and tomato marinades. The third, "Going easy on salted seafood and kimchi," focuses on pollock roe, zucchini and tofu stew alongside cabbage and perilla kimchi. Follow-up sessions will also be offered after the main classes to help participants sustain healthy eating habits.

The program is open to approximately 24 registered single-person households and elderly residents living alone in Seocho-gu. Registration is open on a first-come, first-served basis and can be completed by calling the health promotion team at the Bangbae Community Health Center.

The Bangbae Community Health Center also runs a range of other nutrition and cooking programs, including "Knock Knock! Baby Food Cooking Education" for nutritionally vulnerable groups, the "Silver Cooking Class" for senior citizens, and "Dream Tree Healthy Snack Making" for preschool-age children.

"We will continue to expand tailored education programs so that single-person households, who are easily exposed to nutritional imbalances, can practice healthy eating in their daily lives," Seocho-gu District Mayor Jeon Seong-su said.

Seocho-gu became the first local government in the country to establish a support center for single-person households in 2019. The center, created to support single residents, runs programs covering health, safety, lifestyle and social care. In 2023, it relocated to an expanded space in the Yangjae public parking building.