Seoul Lonely: How a city fights isolation with ramyeon, one bowl at a time

At 'convenience stores' in community welfare centres, the socially isolated can warm their hearts over a simple meal.

- Wendy Teo

SEOUL - As with many Koreans, Ms Kim Seo-jin (not her real name) finds instant ramyeon to be the ultimate comfort food. It is something she eats daily as she lives alone and does not cook. "I love noodles more than rice, just give me kimchi and ramyeon and I'm happy," she told The Straits Times in a soft voice, her head bowed and eyes shyly avoiding contact.

The 63-year-old, who suffers from bipolar disorder and panic attacks, was a social recluse for more than 10 years, rarely leaving her apartment as she spent her time surfing the internet on her computer. A traumatic experience with "someone bad" in her youth had left her crying all the time and unable to catch her breath. Whenever her family tried to get her out of the house for some fresh air, she would have the delusions that it was raining heavily, making it impossible for her to leave the house.

"Eventually, my late stepmother realised that my condition was really not okay and she contacted a social worker for help," said Ms Kim, whose condition was severe enough to qualify her for government disability benefits as she was unable to hold down a job.

After both her parents died, Ms Kim fell out with her step-siblings over money and plunged even deeper into dark solitude.

Over a year ago, with the help of a social welfare counsellor, Ms Kim, who has never married, slowly began to come out of her shell.

When she started visiting the community social welfare centre in Seoul's Gwanak district where she lives, Ms Kim would dress in dark colours, and wear a hat and a mask as she did not want to be recognised.

These days, although it is still hard for her to leave the house, she tries to visit the centre at least once a week to chat with her neighbours over a bowl of noodles.