Click here for more articles by Kormedi.com. Older Koreans have generally shown reluctance toward institutional care. During the COVID-19 pandemic, nursing facilities accounted for a significant share of deaths, further heightening concerns about institutional care. Family members often take on the role of caregiver. In a latest survey, 73.5 percent of centenarians selected their children or spouses as the people they would prefer to care for them. Respondents could choose multiple answers. Some 35.6 percent said they would use a paid caregiver. In the past, daughters-in-law often cared for sick parents-in-law. That tradition, however, is steadily disappearing as fewer families live in three-generation households, while dual-income families have become the norm. Many older people also prefer to be cared for by their daughters or sons, with whom they may feel more comfortable. At the same time, an increasing number of elderly couples are caring for each other — a phenomenon often referred to as "elderly caring for the elderly." Spouses may continue to care for a partner even while suffer