The doll greets Bang when she returns home, sings to her when she feels bored, reminds her not to skip meals or medication - helping her maintain a routine - and tells her it loves her.
Bang has limited contact with her grown-up daughter, and fell into severe depression after major back surgery, spending hours alone staring at the ceiling in pain.
After a difficult divorce and years of hard work as a hairdresser and single mother, Bang told AFP that "at this age, there is nothing harder than being hurt by people".
But "when I'm with Hyodol, I never get hurt", she said, holding the cuddly doll with pigtails and a pink gingham dress, provided by her local municipality.
The doll "only makes me laugh", she added.
