## 1 Introduction
### Research Scope and Previous Studies  
Based on the hypothesis that people's motivations for using senior citizen centers differ depending on the type of eldercare system, this study selected exemplary senior citizen centers located in Yeongdo-gu, Busan, South Korea, for empirical analysis. This selection was based on the region's characteristics and the increasing demand for welfare due to aging. Yeongdo-gu is one of the 16 administrative districts in Busan, with an area of 14.13 km\({}^{2}\) and a population of over 100,000 people. From 2011 to 2021, the total population of Yeongdo-gu steadily decreased, while the proportion of senior citizens aged 65 and older gradually increased [36]. As of 2022, the aging rate in Yeongdo-gu has exceeded 30%, which is a key reason for selecting this area as the primary focus of this study. In addition, many centers in Yeongdo-gu have been recognized as exemplary senior citizen centers by the Korean Senior Citizens Association for three consecutive years, namely, from 2021 to 2023 [37; 38; 39], indicating that these centers are relatively well managed compared to those in other regions. Therefore, the research focused on exemplary senior citizen centers in Yeongdo-gu (Table 1) to investigate the relationship between older adults' motivations for using these centers and the eldercare system. The review of prior research on senior citizen centers focused on studies published in domestic journals and on Google Scholar, specifically those related to older adults. The review was conducted from 10 May to 10 June 2024. The main search keywords included eldercare services, nursing facilities, motivations for using senior citizen centers, and elderly-friendly, with priority given to studies published since the 2000s that were highly relevant to the current study's focus on senior citizen centers. This timeframe was selected for two reasons. First, South Korea transitioned into an aging society around 2000, leading to changes in the operation of senior citizen centers and the needs of older adults. Therefore, research conducted after 2000 is more likely to take these changes into account. Second, since the 2000s, the Korean government has pursued various policy reforms to address the aging population, such as revising the Welfare of Senior Citizens Act, expanding employment opportunities for older adults, and introducing community care policies. Consequently, articles published after this period are expected to address these different policy directions and research topics. In recent years, several studies have been conducted on the role and significance of social service systems for older adults in an aging society [40; 41; 42]. Research on various welfare programs aimed at improving the quality of life of older adults and supporting their healthy aging has been conducted based on the unique institutional and policy contexts of different countries and regions [43; 44; 45; 46; 47]. In South Korea, senior welfare policies have been gradually expanded to address the aging society issue [48; 49; 50], and, as shown in Table 2[24; 25; 26; 27; 28; 29; 51; 52; 53; 54; 55; 56; 57; 58], senior citizen centers play a crucial role as welfare facilities. In addition, these centers fulfill welfare functions beyond providing places for leisure and social interaction by addressing older adults' physical, emotional, and social needs.