Samsung serves seniors on 'Happy Bus Day'
Kim Kyeong-soon, an instructor of Happy Bus Day, teaches simple activities to senior citizens on the bus at Deoksan in South Chungcheong Province, Aug. 1. / Courtesy of Samsung Electronics
By Baek Byung-yeul
When the entire country was engulfed by a scorching heat wave on Aug. 1, a group of senior citizens rode on a blue bus in Deoksan, South Chungcheong Province, a backwoods town about 130 kilometers south of Seoul.
The bus called “Happy Bus Day” is a moving social welfare facility designed to provide recreation programs for the elderly living in rural areas, where social welfare services are limited.
The bus has a relaxing all-wood-interior and during the hour-long program, participants participate in stimulating activities that help them deal with Alzheimer's disease including dance, meditational breathing and puzzle games.
The Happy Bus Day program kicked off in 2016 when Samsung Electronics initiated a contest seeking to fund the best social welfare projects by nonprofit organizations here.
Teaming up with the Community Chest of Korea (CCK), Korea's largest charity organization, Samsung chose the fund winners including the Happy Bus Day project.
Seen is a bus for the Happy Bus Day social welfare project. / Courtesy of Samsung Electronics
Kim Yoon-jin, a social welfare worker who designed the Happy Bus Day project, said he decided to launch this project in a bid to help underprivileged seniors support themselves by providing more systematic programs.
“When we first launched the Happy Bus Day project, we were concerned about how to promote this project to seniors but the program went viral among them, so we didn't need any promotional activities,” Kim said.
The project embarked on a journey after Samsung promised to invest 350 million won ($316,000) for three years.
The Happy Bus Day project can promote positive change in seniors.
When 93-year-old Ha Taek-jin rode on the bus for the first time, she was an ailing old woman who found it uncomfortable to even perform simple activities like clenching and unclenching her fists.
However, after attending the Happy Bus Day class, Ha has now become a master of stacking plastic cups. “On the Happy Bus Day, I always put time aside to ride on the bus,” Ha said.
Kim Kyeong-soon, an instructor of the Happy Bus Day, praised Ha as a great example of making positive changes through the program.
“At first, Ha was slow to learn the program, but she has shown remarkable improvements,” Kim said. “The program is comprised of things that can increase cognitive abilities of participants.”
The instructor said the program even helped her to feel fulfilled. “I have instructed seniors at various facilities but I have never felt a sense of achievement like I have with this program.”
As well as the health programs, but also the Happy Bus Day project also features various programs such as singing lessons, watching movies together and building friendships with each other.
When asked about the goal of this project, Kim Yoon-jin said he wants to expand this project outside the bus so that it can be a self-funding one.
“I would like to expand this project outside the bus and connect local residents and underprivileged senior citizens to build up a love-filled town,” Kim said.