Video links connect online and offline cheering sections across smart senior centers
Elderly residents of Wonju drew attention with an oversized game of yut nori — the traditional Korean board game — at a Chuseok-themed smart senior center event held just before the holiday break.
According to Wonju city officials, the tournament featured online preliminary and semifinal rounds conducted via video conferencing before the final was played in person at a smart senior center.
The four teams that advanced to the final represented Hakseong-dong Gwangmyeong, Dangu-dong Segyeong 5-cha, Musil-dong Kolon and Haenggu-dong Hyundai senior centers.
The yut sticks were made of lightweight material but were roughly the size of two baseball bats fastened together. Teams of four each threw one of the oversized sticks in turn, producing the full range of traditional scoring outcomes — do, gae, geol, yut and mo.
The final venue and all participating smart senior centers were connected by video link, allowing seniors across the city to watch and cheer together, fostering communication and camaraderie between centers.
The result was an unusual spectacle: a hybrid online-offline cheering event unfolding simultaneously across the smart senior center network.
Every moment four players combined to produce a single score brought laughter and cheers. In dramatic fashion, a single late-thrown stick repeatedly swung the outcome — landing on do in one instant, mo in the next.
The event also featured a special performance by Yun Su-min, who won a prize at the Gangwon Province smart senior center singing competition held last spring, adding to the festive atmosphere.
Wonju has steadily expanded its smart senior center program since being selected for a government pilot project in 2023, bringing the total number of installed smart senior centers to 64 this year.
The centers use video conferencing systems to offer programs four times a week, including singing classes, health exercise sessions, laughter therapy and dementia-prevention cognitive health programs — all aimed at supporting seniors' leisure and social engagement. Health monitoring equipment is also available on-site, allowing seniors to check vital signs such as body temperature and blood pressure as part of their daily health management.
"Smart senior centers are a community-based welfare infrastructure that supports not only health management but also a wide range of leisure activities and social interaction for seniors," said Choi Jin-seon, head of Wonju's information and communications division. "We will continue to operate diverse programs that seniors can enjoy, helping them lead healthy and vibrant lives in their later years."
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