'Monday Afternoon Fever' in the ROK

Clockwise from top: a couple dance at a 'colatec' in Seoul. [Photo/Agencies]

As the mercury outside plunges to -10 C on an ice-cold Monday afternoon, the dance floor inside the Kukilgwan Palace is packed with grey-haired Korean couples moving to the rhythms of high-volume disco.

"I come here every day of the week, except for Saturday and Sunday," says 81-year-old Jun Il-Taek as he danced beneath the giant disco balls and brightly-colored string lights decorating the venue in central Seoul.

Jun was one of around 200 men and women on the floor－all engaged in the same, rather static, knee-bobbing dance routine, with the odd slow-motion twirl to liven things up.

The sedate nature of the dancing is in stark contrast to the decibel level of the music, which slowly envelops the ascending elevator as it approaches the ninth-floor dance club.

"Nothing keeps me healthier than dancing ... I can't live without this place," Jun says, deftly leading his 75-year-old female partner into a slow turn.

The army veteran is one of thousands of retired South Koreans hitting the dance floors at "Colatecs"－special discos for the elderly that are flourishing across the country.

South Korea's rapidly ageing population may be a major headache for policymakers, but its members are determined to enjoy themselves, dancing the years away at clubs where 50-year-olds are turned away for being "too young".