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South Korea Expands Nationwide Digital Training for Seniors
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Expanding Digital Training for Seniors
The South Korean government has intensified a public-tech program that brings mobile devices, mock kiosks and AI assistants to community centres and regional festivals frequented by older adults. Mobile vans travel across the country offering two-hour “digital survival” classes that teach participants how to place online orders, pay hospital bills and use voice assistants. The effort follows reports that many seniors still rely on cash and hand-hail taxis despite the country’s pervasive app-based services.
Demographic and Technological Context
South Korea, home to roughly 52 million people, is classified by the United Nations as a “super-aged society,” with more than 20 % of the population over 65. Rapid, “intensely compressed” industrialisation has left many elderly citizens who grew up without electricity, landline phones or formal schooling. Consequently, a 2025 state survey found that 60 % of those over 60 struggle to use public and commercial services digitally, compared with just 6 % of people under 40.
Scale of the Initiative
Since the program’s launch in 2020, the government reports that more than 65,000 training sessions have been held, reaching about 650,000 seniors. In a typical session, a group of around 30 neighbours practices tasks such as ordering online, interacting with a robot dog and asking a voice assistant for the weather. Participants like 79-year-old Hwang Sun-hee describe the classes as boosting confidence, though they also note envy toward younger generations.
Official Perspective
Kim Jeung-kun, professor of senior business at Kangnam University, observes that South Korea’s intergenerational digital gap “appears wider than elsewhere.” The government frames the training as essential to protect seniors from high-tech scams and to ensure access to medical and civic services.
Verbatim Quotes
- “You can’t do anything without smartphone apps or a kiosk machine... It’s too much for old folks,” — Hwang
- “The intergenerational digital divide (in South Korea) appears wider than elsewhere,” — Kim Jeung-kun, professor of senior business at Kangnam University in Seoul