Seongbuk-gu's Efforts to Create a Dementia-Safe City

Seongbuk-gu Dementia Safety Center and 'Dementia Safety Village' Sign Business Agreement for Dementia Awareness Improvement, Prevention Projects, and High-Risk Case Management... Early Dementia Prevention Walking Event Held... '2021 Seongbuk-gu Hanmaeum Dementia Overcome Walking Event' Open to All

Memorandum of Understanding Ceremony for Creating a Dementia-Friendly City between Lee Sun-mi, General Team Leader of the Dementia Safety Center (left), and Lee Dae-hyun, Head of Seokgwan-dong

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] Seongbuk-gu (Lee Seung-ro) is striving to create a city where residents can live with peace of mind, free from dementia.

On the 20th, Seokgwan-dong Community Center and Seongbuk-gu Dementia Safety Center signed a business agreement to establish a ‘Dementia Safe Village.’ The ‘Dementia Safe Village’ project aims to create an environment where elderly people with dementia and their families can maintain their dignity while living in the community where they have spent their lives.

Through this agreement, dementia awareness improvement and prevention projects will be carried out targeting residents of Seokgwan-dong, which has the highest number of elderly living alone in the area. Case management will also be applied to high-risk dementia individuals identified within the community.

Additionally, there are plans to focus on mutual interaction with the elderly during the case management process.

The Seokgwan-dong Community Center has also been caring for residents through its self-operated ‘Online Resident Communication Room’ (group KakaoTalk chat room). Through this communication room, there was a case where a lost elderly dementia patient was quickly identified and safely returned to their family, indicating that the establishment of the ‘Dementia Safe Village’ will be effectively implemented.

Lee Dae-hyun, head of Seokgwan-dong, said, “Through close cooperation with the Seongbuk-gu Dementia Safety Center, we will do our best to create a happy Seokgwan-dong where elderly dementia patients and residents can live together with peace of mind.”

Seongbuk-gu is not only focused on creating a village where elderly dementia patients can live well but also puts effort into early dementia prevention. The Dementia Safety Center will hold the ‘2021 Seongbuk-gu One Mind Dementia Overcoming Walking Event’ as part of the ‘2021 Seoul One Mind Dementia Overcoming Walking Event,’ which welcomes participation from all residents.

The event period is from the 26th of this month to May 9th and will be held online to prevent the spread of COVID-19. The event aims to promote the importance of dementia prevention through walking, which helps prevent dementia, and to spread dementia awareness and dementia overcoming campaigns.

Any Seongbuk-gu resident interested in walking can participate through the mobile app ‘WalkOn.’

To join WalkOn, search for ‘WalkOn’ in the Play Store or App Store, install it, register with the nickname ‘SeongbukOOO,’ and then select participation in the ‘2021 Seoul One Mind Dementia Overcoming Walking Event’ challenge.

During the event, participants who achieve 20,000 steps and upload a verification photo taken at designated photo zones within Seongbuk-gu ? including ▲parks (Gaeunsan Exercise Yard, Wolgok Lawn Field, Odong Neighborhood Park), ▲local cultural heritage sites (Seongbuk Fortress Wall, Uireung, Jeongneung), and ▲local streams (Seongbukcheon, Jeongneungcheon, Jungnangcheon) ? on the Seongbuk-gu Dementia Safety Center website will be entered into a draw to receive gifticons for 1,000 people. Those who achieve 50,000 steps will be eligible for additional gifts through a Seoul city lottery.

For more details about the event, please check the announcements on the Seongbuk-gu Dementia Safety Center website or contact them by phone.

Besides this, the Seongbuk-gu Dementia Safety Center conducts various dementia safety projects, including dementia prevention and awareness improvement programs, dementia prevention and registration management, support for dementia treatment and diagnostic testing costs, wandering prevention services, and provision of care supplies.

Lee Seung-ro, mayor of Seongbuk-gu, said, “As the elderly population increases, the number of dementia patients is rising, increasing the burden on their families. Therefore, local governments must continuously develop ways to reduce this burden and provide care together. We will make Seongbuk a place where both patients and their families can live happily even if they have dementia.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.