Seoul's Seocho-gu will operate the 2026 Seocho Cooling Center for six weeks from July 13 to Aug. 21 to help dementia patients and their families stay healthy through the summer, district mayor Jeon Seong-su announced.
The Seocho Cooling Center uses the space at the Naegok Ansim House within the Seocho-gu Dementia Care Center to provide a safe rest environment and health management programs for dementia patients during heat waves. Since opening in 2024, it has established itself as a comprehensive summer shelter for dementia patients and their families.
This year the center is shifting its approach from a passive shelter to an interactive one, allowing visitors to freely engage in cognitive activities throughout the facility, take part in heat-wave health management missions, and access caregiving information through family-oriented programs.
The center's main programs include "Cooling Brain Walk," a cognitive activity experience using calligraphy fan-making, transcription writing and other cognitive tools; "Cooling Forest," a forest-themed relaxation space offering music, aromatherapy and massage devices; and "Cooling Health Mission," which provides heat-wave health information and health management challenges. Participants in the health management missions will receive themed health-related souvenirs to encourage healthy summer habits and boost use of the center.
Education and healing programs for families of dementia patients will also be offered. "Cool Hearim Family Education," a caregiver education course, and a personalized picture-book-making program are designed to deepen participants' understanding of dementia, improve communication skills with elderly patients, and support emotional renewal and self-care. The Cool Hearim Family Education will run for eight sessions and the picture-book-making healing program for six sessions, both requiring advance registration.
Every Friday, a horticultural program called "Cooling Garden" will be open to anyone who registers in advance. The "Cooling Memory Café" — staffed by elderly participants with mild cognitive impairment serving as baristas — will offer cool summer beverages such as omija tea and misugaru. A special late-summer event will also treat about 80 visitors to dakgangjeong (sweet fried chicken) to help them enjoy a healthy summer.
The Ansim House, where the Seocho Cooling Center is held, is a purpose-built model home designed with indoor and outdoor residential environments to help dementia patients strengthen cognitive abilities in everyday settings. It was the first facility of its kind in the country when it opened in 2017. The district expects the home-like layout of the Ansim House to allow dementia patients and their families to rest and participate in programs in a more comfortable environment.
"I hope the Seocho Cooling Center will help elderly dementia patients and their families get through the summer safely despite the heat," district mayor Jeon said. "We will continue to build a dementia-friendly environment and provide tailored support to ease the caregiving burden on families of dementia patients."
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