South Korea seniors face widening digital divide

South Korea is expanding digital training for older residents as smartphones, kiosks and apps become increasingly necessary for transport, tickets, payments and public services in the fast-ageing country.

At a government-organised class in Suwon, south of Seoul, 79-year-old Hwang Sun-hee practised placing an online order. “You can't do anything without smartphone apps or a kiosk machine... It's too much for old folks,” she said.

A state survey last year found that 60% of South Koreans over 60 struggle to use public and commercial services because of limited digital skills, compared with 6% of those under 40.

Officials now provide nationwide training for the “digitally vulnerable” on mobile devices, apps and AI. Vans equipped with devices and mock kiosks visit community centres and regional festivals popular with older people. In 2025, more than 65,000 sessions were held for about 650,000 people over 60.

The divide has affected everyday activities. Several baseball clubs last year began reserving a small number of tickets for on-site sales after reports of older fans asking younger people at stadiums to buy tickets from machines. A survey showed nearly 90% of taxi drivers use ride-hailing apps, but more than 80% of South Koreans over 60 still hail cabs by hand.

Kim Jeung-kun, a professor of senior business at Kangnam University in Seoul, said South Korea's intergenerational digital divide appears wider than in other places because the country's industrialisation was compressed into a few decades. South Korea is now the world's 15th largest economy, according to the IMF, and the UN classifies it as a “super-aged society”, with more than 20% of its population over 65.

Experts say the digital gap can also expose older people to online scams or limit access to medical services. Hwang said repeated lessons had improved her confidence, but added that she was envious of younger people who use the tools easily.