Birds Leave Empty Nest

Written by Yoo Sung-Ho

288 pages; 8,000 Won; Published by For-The-Future Inc.

A professor in the Sunmoon University who studied sociology on senior citizens wrote this book. The author advises on various strategies to live happy in old age.

The author advises parents not to over invest in grown up children, to give inheritance with strategy following the offspring`s value system since the pain facing in older age can be reduced by money.

Even giving inheritance at once results in negligence by offspring, so inherit properties in several occasions and have money hidden from sons and daughters. If a daughter-in-law caring for you were given some money, she may come daily and care you well when you are old and sick.

The author says that old aged people should be `TONK`, which is an acronym of `Two Only No Kids`, meaning a senior couple that is independent from offspring and living its own old age life style.

According to the author, senior citizens should not feel sorry as children become independent economically and psychologically and do not care for parents, but should think it is natural that they leave, as they are already grown-ups.

The attachment includes contact points of senior citizens` welfare center, volunteer service center, senior citizens` sanitarium, employment center, sick nurse dispatch facilities, dementia related facilities, and remarriage information center.

Mun-Myung Huh angelhuh@donga.com