Data-Driven Assessment of Digital Age Inclusion: Topic Modeling Seoul’s Digital Governance Platform to Evaluate Elderly Representation

Abstract

This paper examines the intersection of population aging and digital civic government in Seoul, South Korea. As cities worldwide digitize and age simultaneously, understanding elderly citizens' representation in digital governance platforms becomes critical for inclusive urban governance. As a leader in both aging and urban technologization, Seoul serves as an ideal case study. Combining computational analysis of civic queries with qualitative interviews, this study investigates whether elderly residents' concerns are adequately represented in Seoul's e-government platform. Comparing these datasets reveals significant disparities in how elderly concerns are represented digitally: despite Seoul's technological sophistication and digital inclusion efforts, substantial gaps remain in representing elderly citizens' concerns in governance forums, signaling gaps that may undermine age-inclusive development. This research contributes to theoretical understandings of digital democracy and urban aging while offering practical insights for designing more inclusive systems that address the realities of dual urban phenomena—aging and digitization—as they coalesce in cities.