The "Seongdong Sanghoe Seongsu-dong Memory General Store" project took top honors at a competition hosted by the Seoul Metropolitan Dementia Center, presenting a new care model that reframes people with dementia and their families as active participants rather than passive recipients of protection.
The Seongdong-gu Dementia Care Center's "Seongdong Sanghoe Seongsu-dong Memory General Store" project has won the grand prize at the 2026 Outstanding Program Competition for the Daily Well-being of People with Cognitive Impairment and Their Families, the Seoul Metropolitan Government said.
The Seoul Metropolitan Dementia Center hosted the competition, with Eisai Co., Ltd. as sponsor. It was designed to identify exemplary programs that help people with cognitive impairment and their families maintain meaningful, community-connected lives. Dementia care centers across Seoul's autonomous districts participated, and entries were evaluated on creativity, sustainability, community linkage and potential for broader replication.
The award-winning "Seongdong Sanghoe Seongsu-dong Memory General Store" is a participatory, dementia-friendly project designed to support social engagement and role recovery among family caregivers of dementia patients, people with mild cognitive impairment and those with early-onset dementia. It was conceived to help realize Seongdong as a dementia-friendly city where people with dementia can live alongside their neighbors.
The project centers on programs in which participants make and package goods while interacting with local residents. It runs through three units: "Maeum Hanko Gongbang," a crochet workshop for family caregivers of dementia patients; "Memory Lab," where people with mild cognitive impairment create memory-themed goods such as a memory mother-of-pearl magnifying glass; and "Chorok Sangsa," where participants with early-onset dementia handle product packaging. Each participant takes on a role suited to their individual strengths, building a sense of achievement and self-esteem while broadening their experience of social participation.
The grand prize recognized the project's proposal of a new dementia-friendly model — one that views people with cognitive impairment not as subjects requiring protection but as full members of the community, supporting their ongoing social participation and role fulfillment.
Goods produced through the project will be showcased at the "Seongsu-dong Memory Pop-up," a community event where residents can write messages of support for people with dementia, learn about dementia-friendly businesses and take part in dementia-awareness experience programs. The event aims to deepen public understanding of dementia and contribute to the spread of a dementia-friendly culture.
"This grand prize recognizes the excellence of a new model that repositions dementia patients, their families and program participants as agents of participation and role recovery," said Kim Hee-jin, director of the Seongdong-gu Dementia Care Center. "We will continue to expand a range of participatory programs so that our participants can enjoy their daily lives as proud members of the community."
seouldream01@heraldcorp.com
