[One Day Ten Thousand Steps, One Day Thousand Characters] Awakening the Senses Through Artistic Expression... Dementia Society's 'Daily Praise'

The Korean Dementia Association launched a campaign called "Daily Praise" in 2012, the 10th anniversary of its establishment, to improve awareness of the importance of daily living abilities among dementia patients. In the first year, activities included ▲ Daily Praise Spring Picnic ▲ a survey on the awareness of daily living abilities of dementia patients targeting caregivers. In 2015, the Dementia Association signed a memorandum of understanding with the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art (MMCA) to operate an art appreciation program for seniors with mild cognitive impairment and their families. The program aims to provide various artistic experiences that stimulate imagination and creativity through contemporary art, bringing vitality to the daily lives of both dementia patients and their caregivers.

This year, an art-dance fusion program titled will be held at the Seoul and Gwacheon branches. At the Seoul branch, a fusion program linked to the MMCA special exhibition 2023 "Back to the Future: Exploring the Contemporaneity of Korean Contemporary Art," which opened on the 16th, will be held three times on June 28, July 6, and July 13. The program consists of an art appreciation and creation workshop with contemporary artist Choi Jeonghwa and a sign language and movement workshop with dancer Myung Nari. The main artwork selected is Choi Jeonghwa’s (2015), an exhibition piece, where participants create their own ‘flower sculptures’ based on the artwork’s form, and engage in movement activities expressing the theme of ‘flower’ with their whole body to awaken various bodily senses. While previous programs focused on memory and reminiscence for seniors with mild cognitive impairment, this program emphasizes discovering the everyday value existing in the present moment through the formal qualities of artworks.

On June 28, artist Choi Jeonghwa and participants are having a conversation at held at the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Seoul. [Photo by Korean Dementia Association · National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art]

The first workshop held on the 28th at the Seoul branch concluded with participants creating sculptures using flowers, expressing ‘flower’ through sign language and gestures, and naming each other as ‘You are a flower,’ allowing the museum and participants to discover the beauty of ‘today’ together. At the Gwacheon branch, a fusion program involving rest and movement will be presented, where participants sense the form of outdoor sculpture park artworks through bodily gestures accompanied by musical melodies. This will be held approximately three times between September and October. In December, a video documenting the program conducted at both the Seoul and Gwacheon branches will be released on the MMCA website and YouTube channel. The on-site sketch video will vividly showcase participants’ diverse activities based on space, nature, and artworks.

On June 28, a sign language and movement workshop with dancer Myeong Nari was held at the ＜Praise of Everyday Life - Museum Made Together＞ event at the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Seoul.
[Photo by Korean Dementia Association and National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art]

The Dementia Association and MMCA developed educational materials titled so that dementia patients and their families can experience museum collections at home. The materials include four teaching aids classified by difficulty levels (1 to 4, with lower levels being easier), allowing participants to appreciate artworks and engage in a process connecting ‘memory - conversation - expression’ using keywords from the artworks. Level 1 involves remembering and drawing Kim Whanki’s (1961). Level 2 uses Yoo Youngkuk’s work for a puzzle-like matching activity. Level 3 involves expressing with one’s own colors based on Oh Jiho’s , and Level 4 involves recalling memories and expressing them through Kim Joonghyun’s .

Yang Dongwon, Chairman of the Korean Dementia Association and Professor of Neurology at Catholic University Seoul St. Mary’s Hospital, said, "This year, with the full lifting of social distancing, we are pleased to meet more patients and caregivers through an expanded Daily Praise program compared to last year." He added, "The association will not only expand the campaign to prevent dementia patients and caregivers from suffering due to the disease but will also take the lead in research, academics, education, and policy development."

Integrated cognitive programs, including music therapy, art therapy, and cognitive training for dementia patients, improve patients’ cognitive and daily living abilities and help alleviate depression. This was demonstrated in a research paper titled "The Effect of Integrated Cognitive Programs on Cognitive Function in Patients with Cognitive Impairment," by Professor Jung Younghee (Neurology) and Professor Lee Soyoung (Art Healing Center) from Myongji Hospital, which won the Best Paper Award at the 2021 Korean Dementia Association Spring Conference.

The study was conducted over five years from 2014 on 59 students of the Baeksecheongmyeong School, a cognitive training, art therapy, and music therapy program for seniors with mild cognitive impairment operated by Myongji Hospital. Dementia patients who received integrated cognitive therapy showed clinically significant improvements in daily living abilities, emotional anxiety, depression, cognitive impairment, and dementia compared to before treatment.

Yang Dong-won, Chairman of the Korean Dementia Association, is discussing exercise, dementia, and brain health in a research lab at Seoul Catholic University College of Medicine. Photo by Younghan Heo younghan@

Regarding treatment effects by assessment items, improvements were seen in the evaluation of daily living abilities, which assesses complex cognitive functions along with items related to daily activities such as telephone use, cooking, and outings. The shortened Geriatric Depression Scale (S-GDS), which measures emotional anxiety, also improved. Professor Jung Younghee stated, "In our rapidly aging society, active management and treatment of dementia are essential," adding, "The proven effectiveness of integrated cognitive therapy, including cognitive training, art, and music therapy, will greatly aid in the prevention and management of dementia in the future."

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