Instant noodles, foot spas and counsellors: Seoul tackles loneliness with ‘mind convenience stores’

In Seoul, a city of nearly 10 million people, human contact appears to be increasingly fragmented as the number of single-person households surges. Photograph: Alex Barlow/Getty Images

On the third floor of a community centre in Dongdaemun in Seoul’s east, a massage chair hums gently at the entrance to an airy room – a cool refuge from the sweltering summer heat.

Inside, the space buzzes with quiet activity: soft bleeps from a touchscreen board game, muted chatter from the cooking area, the rustle of turning pages.