Gyeonggi Province Operates 'AI Salon' in Super-Aged Village With No Hospital... 3,000 Visitors in One Year

# Mid-November at the "Gyeonggi Province AI Salon" located in Gwanin-myeon, Pocheon City. Unlike other senior centers where only the sound of the TV fills the silence, this place is filled with applause and laughter. Five elderly people, all over the age of 80 on average, sit around a table and engage in a heated debate over the answers on the "Smart Touch Table." On one side, a senior is so absorbed in the "Step Exercise Mat," stepping on the illuminated blocks as if dancing, that they momentarily forget the pain in their knees and back.

Im Jeongsun (female, 82), who used to spend most of her time in her room due to health issues, began visiting the AI Salon last July at her son's suggestion. Now, from Monday to Friday, Ms. Im spends time at the salon with friends, participating in dementia prevention programs and other activities. Kim Seongja (female, 84), who was sitting next to her, said, "Every day, I diligently spend my time here from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. It helps prevent dementia, and it motivates me to try to live youthfully."

The number of visitors to the "AI Salon," which Gyeonggi Province opened at the Gwanin-myeon Small Library in Pocheon City on December 3 last year, surpassed 3,000, reaching 3,010 as of the end of November this year.

Elderly visitors at the AI Salon are playing a picture-matching game while looking at the screen. Provided by Gyeonggi Province

Gyeonggi Province previously established the AI Salon in a 99-square-meter space on the second floor of the Gwanin Small Library. The salon is equipped with multimedia devices, such as a smart touch table and a step exercise mat, so that seniors can enjoy activities indoors, prevent dementia, and improve cognitive thinking skills. There is also an "augmented reality exercise learning system," which uses motion recognition and camera detection technology, allowing users to see themselves in a virtual space on the monitor and play games. In addition, an educational kiosk has been provided for seniors who have difficulty with contactless ordering or unmanned payment systems in restaurants.

This year, the AI Salon conducted 20 health programs using multimedia devices in the first half of the year. Twelve smartphone education sessions were also held for 180 people to improve seniors' digital literacy (the ability to understand and use digital tools).

The population of Gwanin-myeon, where the salon is located, includes 1,205 people aged 65 or older, accounting for 48.5% of the total population of Gwanin-myeon. This is the highest proportion of elderly residents among all towns and townships in the province. It is also 2.8 times higher than the overall elderly population ratio in Gyeonggi Province (17.5%). In particular, since Gwanin-myeon has no hospital and only one public health center and one pharmacy, there was a desperate need for health and emotional support centers like the salon.

Since last year, Gyeonggi Province has been promoting various elderly care projects utilizing artificial intelligence technology, such as the AI Salon. One of the main projects, the "AI Elderly Companion Service," is a service in which artificial intelligence calls elderly residents aged 65 or older in the province who need regular check-ins once a week at a set time. If a crisis sign is detected during the AI call, or if the call is not answered more than three times, an employee from the Gyeonggi Social Service Center attempts to contact the person directly and connects them to welfare services if necessary. This year, the service aims to reach 6,500 people. From last year to the end of November this year, the service has been provided 376,972 times.

The "AI Senior Guardian" is an artificial intelligence care service for abused seniors. Since July last year, it has targeted 150 high-risk individuals for repeated abuse. In the event of a crisis, the AI speaker detects the situation by voice and makes an emergency call to 112 or the Senior Protection Agency. The province selects high-risk individuals through monitoring and ensures that professional psychological counseling is provided through the Gyeonggi Province Senior Comprehensive Center. So far, 106 cases have been handled, including transporting seniors who suffered falls to the hospital and connecting those experiencing depression to professional psychological counseling centers.

The "AI Technology-Based Elderly Care Project" is a program that provides care robots equipped with artificial intelligence technology. AI care robots can remind users to take medication, eat, and maintain healthy sleep patterns, and they also provide emotional support through friendly conversations, like those with grandchildren. They have 24-hour activity monitoring capabilities and can make emergency calls in case of an emergency. This year, as a new initiative, the province is providing AI care robots to 545 seniors in six cities and counties.

Kim Dongyeon, Governor of Gyeonggi Province, said at the "Senior Citizens Day Ceremony" on September 30, "We are committed to using AI technology to provide companion services to lonely and struggling seniors, and to eliminate gaps in care by enabling emergency calls in difficult or crisis situations through AI care projects. I am grateful that we have been able to keep this promise."

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