Seoul battles loneliness with festivals, bingo

A promotional material for the 365 Seoul Challenge / Courtesy of the Seoul Metropolitan Government

Seoul is offering citizens points, festivals and even bingo cards in an ambitious attempt to tackle one of urban life’s most stubborn modern problems: loneliness.

Beginning Thursday, the Seoul Metropolitan Government will launch the first round of its 2026 “365 Seoul Challenge,” a citywide participation program designed to encourage residents to leave their homes, reconnect socially and build healthier daily routines through outdoor and community activities.

Under this year’s slogan, “Let’s Go Outside and See the Sun,” participants can choose from 31 challenges ranging from park workouts and walking trails to visits to the Seoul International Garden Show and Han River festivals.

City officials say the initiative has become one of Seoul’s signature anti-isolation policies after early surveys showed measurable changes in participants’ behavior and emotional well-being.

Seoul residents age 14 and older are eligible to join the program, with registration opening at 9 a.m. Thursday through the official challenge website.

Participants can create personalized bingo boards by selecting 16 activities matching their interests and difficulty levels.

Points ranging from 400 to 1,000 are awarded for each completed challenge, while finishing a bingo line earns an additional 1,500 points.

Participants can accumulate up to 20,000 points, which can later be converted into Seoul Pay for everyday purchases.

The city said nearly 18,000 people created bingo boards during last year’s program, while collaboration events with private companies including Kyobo Book Centre, Karrot and Baedal Minjok attracted roughly 62,000 participants.

In a survey of 4,746 participants, 77.5 percent said they experienced reduced feelings of isolation.

Another 74.6 percent said their frequency of going outside increased by at least two or three times, while 61.4 percent said opportunities for communication with others had grown.

Seoul officials have increasingly framed loneliness and social isolation as a public policy concern rather than a purely personal struggle.

Kim Hong-chan, director general of Seoul’s loneliness and isolation policy bureau, said the city seeks to expand programs helping residents regain energy and social connection through shared experiences.

This article was published with the assistance of generative AI and edited by The Korea Times.