[Report] Even 90-Year-Old Grandfathers Join 'Igeot'... Helping Prevent Dementia

Visiting the 'Saengmyeongsup 100se Healing Center'

Mr. Gilsung Hyun (90) is undergoing cognitive rehabilitation program training at the 'Saengmyeongsoop 100-Year Healing Center.'
Photo by Byun Seonjin

[Asia Economy Reporter Byun Seon-jin] "At this level, it's a piece of cake for me!"

On the afternoon of the 25th around 3 PM, at the 'Saengmyeongsup 100-Year Healing Center' of Dongducheon Senior Welfare Center in Gyeonggi Province, the oldest member of the center, Gil Seong-hyun (90), was playing a game on a tablet PC where he memorized the letters of words and then found the corresponding real-life pictures. The first game presented three words: 'mu' (radish), 'oi' (cucumber), and 'danggeun' (carrot). Mr. Gil chanted these words to make them easier to remember. After about 7 to 8 seconds, among more than 15 pictures of various objects, he had to find the pictures of mu, oi, and danggeun respectively, and he completed the task in just 3 seconds. After solving 10 similar problems, he got all answers correct and scored 100 points. Mr. Gil said, "I found out that I can prevent dementia for free, and it's also perfect for relieving stress," adding, "It's ten times more enjoyable than being alone at home." Nearby, Senior Social Worker Kim Seon-ok, who was watching, said, "Although he is elderly among the elderly living alone, he is still sharp enough to handle difficult memory tasks quite well."

'Saengmyeongsup 100-Year Healing Center' Becomes a Playground for Dementia Prevention for Elderly Living Alone

Operated by the Life Insurance Foundation, the ‘Saengmyeongsup 100-Year Healing Center’ has become a playground for dementia prevention among elderly living alone. Using 12 tablet PC-based cognitive rehabilitation programs such as matching pictures, word chain games, and memory elimination, it helps seniors enhance their short-term memory. According to the Central Dementia Center at the National Medical Center, the number of dementia patients aged 65 and older increased by 47.9%, from 625,259 in 2015 to 924,870 last year. Since April, when the population aged 65 and older first reached 9 million, the number of dementia patients is expected to rise further, making the provision of high-quality dementia prevention services increasingly important.

The Dongducheon Senior Welfare Center stated, "The pre- and post-tests of cognitive rehabilitation programs for 36 seniors at the Saengmyeongsup 100-Year Healing Center showed an improvement from an average score of 64 in the fourth week of April to 73.9 in the fourth week of June." Social worker Kim added, "After about six months, seniors tended to fully master the memory games," and "The response was so positive that they even requested new memory games."

There are 17 Saengmyeongsup 100-Year Healing Centers nationwide, including this one, and besides cognitive rehabilitation programs, they also offer programs to prevent social isolation through emotional and physical activities such as cooking classes, organizing and storage, music classes, senior Taekwondo, and stretching exercises. Jang Jae-moon, head of Dongducheon Senior Welfare Center, explained, "Social isolation can lead to severe dementia in old age," adding, "Cooking and enjoying activities with peers helps maintain social life and naturally prevents dementia." According to a paper published last April in the Journal of the Korean Dementia Association by Professor Choi Ho-jin of Hanyang University Guri Hospital and others, dementia patients who reduced physical activity after COVID-19 experienced a 66.7% worsening of symptoms, which was 24.4 percentage points higher than the 42.3% worsening seen in dementia patients who maintained their physical activity levels.

'Social Isolation' Leading to Dementia... Overcoming It Together with Peers

The elderly unanimously said, "Here, we could forget about social isolation such as depression and anxiety." Hong Guk-hyun (86) said, "At first, I was not good at the memory elimination game, but now I get all the answers right," adding, "I look forward to the days I come to the center. Just being with peers is a great comfort." Ko Young-gu (81) shared, "Eleven months ago, my lifelong partner passed away, and I suffered from severe depression to the point of having wrong thoughts," and said, "At the center, single people like me comforted each other and overcame it together."

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