Seoul Metropolitan Government has launched the second phase of the 365 Seoul Challenge to ease loneliness by turning ordinary outings into a bingo game. Participants complete 16 of 36 simple tasks, upload proof for points, and can convert those points into local digital currency. The city says the program builds on a first trial of 9,000 people, where most survey respondents reported feeling less isolated and going out more often. The initiative will expand this autumn through partnerships with brands including Aladin, Baedal Minjok and Olive Young.
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When one resident signed up for a municipal outdoor initiative earlier this summer, taking a walk in the rain was not part of the plan. But after checking off a challenge to visit a nearby neighborhood garden, the experience offered a rare moment of solace.
“If not for the challenge, it’s a place I never would have stepped foot in,” the participant later recalled in a city survey. “Stepping out into the rain with an umbrella felt unexpectedly wonderful, and watching others enjoy their stroll made me realize I need to get out of the house far more often.”
That quiet epiphany is precisely what municipal officials are aiming for.
