'Walk, Write, Create' Asia Economy Dunnae Health School Opens on the 9th

National Dementia Prevention and Brain Health Campaign 'Haman Hacheon' Launches Educational Institution
Closed School in Dunnae-myeon, Hoengseong County Repurposed to Revitalize Local Economy
Programs for Physical, Brain, and Mental Health Include Nordic Walking, Transcription, and Woodworking

"Let's protect our physical health, brain health, and mental health by walking, writing, and creating."

‘Dunnae Health School,’ established to provide concrete education and practice for the ‘Haman Hacheon National Health’ campaign that Asia Economy has been promoting for the past two years, officially held its opening ceremony on the 9th in Yeongrang-ri, Dunnae-myeon, Hoengseong-gun, Gangwon-do, and began operations. The ‘Haman Hacheon National Health’ campaign is a public interest campaign by Asia Economy aimed at preventing dementia among middle-aged and elderly people and promoting healthy aging by encouraging “writing 1,000 characters a day and walking 10,000 steps a day.”

Asia Economy Dunnae Health School officially held its opening ceremony on the 9th and began operations. The ceremony was attended by Lee Jae-o, Chairman of the Democracy Movement Commemoration Project; Kim Myung-gi, Mayor of Hoengseong County; Shim Young-taek, Director of Hoengseong Office of Education; Shim Eun-kyung, Head of Dunnae-myeon, Hoengseong County; Kim Heung-dae, President of the Youngho Elementary School Alumni Association; Jo Chang-ho, Village Chief of Yeongnang-ri, Dunnae-myeon; Lee Jung-sook, Chairwoman of the Yeongnang-ri Women's Association; Woo Byung-hyun, Advisor of Asia Economy; Seon Ju-seong, Principal of Dunnae Health School; Lee Jong-myung, furniture artist and supporter of the Health School; Park Hyun-ha, artist; members of ‘Hamanhacheon’ based on the walking app ‘WalkOn’; first-generation students of the Health School; and about 70 residents of Yeongnang-ri, Dunnae-myeon, celebrating the vigorous start of Dunnae Health School. Photo by Yoon Dong-ju

‘Dunnae Health School’ was established based on the closed school (Dunnae Elementary School Yeongho Branch) in Yeongrang-ri, Dunnae-myeon, not only to help our citizens with practical education for practicing Haman Hacheon National Health but also to contribute to revitalizing the local economy by utilizing a closed school in a region facing the crisis of regional extinction.

At the opening ceremony of the Asia Economy Dunnae Health School held on the 9th, Lee Jae-oh, Chairman of the Democracy Movement Memorial Foundation, delivered a congratulatory speech. Chairman Lee emphasized the necessity of 'Hamanhacheon,' saying, "Walking for more than two hours every day, reading about 50 pages of a book, and writing a diary are the secrets to maintaining a healthy body and brain." Photo by Yoon Dong-joo

The opening ceremony was attended by about 70 people, including invited guests such as Lee Jae-oh, Chairman of the Democracy Movement Memorial Foundation, Kim Myung-gi, Mayor of Hoengseong County, Shim Young-taek, Superintendent of Hoengseong Office of Education, 25 members of the Haman Hacheon community based on the walking app ‘WalkOn,’ and about 30 local residents.

At the opening ceremony of the Asia Economy Dunnae Health School held on the 9th, Kim Myung-gi, the head of Hoengseong County, is delivering a congratulatory speech. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo

At the ceremony, Woo Byung-hyun, an advisor to Asia Economy, said in his welcoming speech, “Maintaining a healthy brain and body is known to be the best way to prevent dementia,” and added, “Dunnae Health School was created as a social contribution project of Asia Economy to contribute to public health by educating and practicing walking 10,000 steps a day, writing 1,000 characters by hand daily, and handcraft activities such as drawing or making furniture.” He further stated, “We will strive to help revitalize the local economy by utilizing closed schools in areas suffering from rapid population decline and aging.”

At the opening ceremony of the Asia Economy Dunnae Health School held on the 9th, Shim Young-taek, Superintendent of Hoengseong Office of Education, delivered a congratulatory speech. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo

Lee Jae-oh, Chairman of the Democracy Movement Memorial Foundation, who also participated in the launch ceremony of the ‘Haman Hacheon National Movement Headquarters’ on June 15 two years ago, attended the opening ceremony in person and gave a congratulatory speech. He said, “I believe the secret to maintaining my physical and brain health compared to others is walking two hours every morning, reading more than 50 pages a day, and writing a diary,” and recommended including ‘reading at least 10 pages a day’ in the school program. He also said, “Since Dunnae Health School is located in Yeongrang-ri, Dunnae-myeon, which has clean air and good transportation, I expect many people from the local community as well as from Seoul and the metropolitan area to use it.”

At the opening ceremony of the Asia Economy Dunnae Health School held on the 9th, Woo Byung-hyun, advisor of Asia Economy, delivered a welcoming speech. Advisor Woo stated, "We will strive to make Dunnae Health School a platform for dementia prevention and health promotion for the public," and added, "We will operate programs to help the local economy, which is facing difficulties due to population decline." Photo by Yoon Dong-joo

Kim Myung-gi, Mayor of Hoengseong County, who came to celebrate the opening of Dunnae Health School, opened his congratulatory speech by expressing gratitude to Asia Economy for opening the health school by utilizing a closed school in an area struggling with regional extinction. Mayor Kim added, “We expect Dunnae Health School to contribute to dementia prevention and health promotion not only for local residents but also for the nation,” and said, “We will fully support health school activities such as creating walking-friendly paths so that many people from outside the area can visit and help revitalize the region.”

On the 9th, during the calligraphy program following the opening ceremony of the Asia Economy Dunnae Health School, the first cohort of Health School students participated as instructors alongside author Kim Ji-su, copying the contents of the book "Calligraphy is an Axe." Photo by Yoon Dong-joo

Following Mayor Kim, Shim Young-taek, Superintendent of Hoengseong Office of Education, said in his congratulatory speech, “I am very pleased that the Yeongho Branch of Dunnae Elementary School, which was closed in March 2008 due to a decrease in the number of students, is reborn as an educational institution after 17 years,” and added, “Since the school that once educated young sprouts has now become a school educating older adults, the Office of Education will also work together to ensure that Dunnae Health School is well established.”

After the opening ceremony, the ‘Dunnae Health School 1st Class’ education program was conducted. Author Kim Ji-soo, who wrote the book ‘Calligraphy is an Axe,’ shared the necessity and meaning of calligraphy with the 25 first-class students and spent time practicing calligraphy with the participants. Kim said, “Calligraphy is not only a method to improve brain health but also mental health,” and expressed confidence that the Dunnae Health School program would succeed, feeling the enthusiastic interest and participation of the first-class students.

Participants are learning Nordic walking from Principal Seon Ju-seong, the first domestic coach of the International Nordic Walking Federation, as part of the first cohort program of the Health School, which followed the opening ceremony of the Asia Economy Dunnae Health School held on the 9th. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo

After the first period of calligraphy practice, the first-class students had the second period learning and practicing Nordic walking. The principal of Dunnae Health School, Seon Ju-seong, who obtained the first Nordic walking coach certification in Korea from the International Nordic Walking Association (INWA) in 2005, led the second period. Nordic walking is an exercise using special poles to walk on paved or unpaved paths, offering much greater exercise effects than regular walking. Nordic walking develops not only lower body muscles but also upper body muscles, abdominal muscles, and back muscles, and has almost no risk of injury from exercise, making it a popular exercise for middle-aged and elderly people in Western countries and Japan.

At the opening ceremony of the Asia Economy Dunnae Health School held on the 9th, about 70 people including the first batch of health school students, residents, and invited guests applauded to celebrate the opening. In the front row, far right is Lee Jeong-su, head of the Yeongnang-ri Women's Association in Dunnae-myeon; to his left are Jo Chang-ho, head of Yeongnang-ri, and Kim Heung-dae, president of the Youngho Elementary School Alumni Association. Photo by Yoon Dong-ju

Jang Won-jun (54), a Haman Hacheon member based on the walking app WalkOn who participated in the training, said, “After trying Nordic walking, I definitely feel that it exercises the upper body muscles differently from regular walking,” and expressed, “I think I will continue to participate in the Dunnae Health School program, healing while breathing fresh air in the wide grassy exercise field.”

Principal Seon said, “Nordic walking is especially effective and safe for middle-aged and elderly people compared to younger people,” and added, “It will be a core program of Dunnae Health School, which aims at dementia prevention and health for middle-aged and elderly people.”

Meanwhile, Dunnae Health School plans to recruit the second class soon. The education program will include calligraphy and reading, learning Nordic walking, walking along the Jucheon Riverside Trail or village paths with Nordic walking, and group woodworking or drawing activities. Customized programs will also be operated in consultation with companies or organizations.

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