{"id":129990,"date":"2025-10-18T10:43:17","date_gmt":"2025-10-18T10:43:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/129990\/"},"modified":"2025-10-18T10:43:17","modified_gmt":"2025-10-18T10:43:17","slug":"koreas-lonely-older-adults-find-warmth-in-talking-robots","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/129990\/","title":{"rendered":"Korea\u2019s lonely older adults find warmth in talking robots"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cWhen my husband suddenly had to go to a nursing hospital, I was left alone and fell into depression. I cried every day. But once the robot came \u2014 she talked to me, asked me to hold her hand \u2014 I started feeling better. When I tell her I love her, she says she loves me back.\u201d<\/p>\n

For Oh Buk-im, 74, who lives alone in Mokpo, South Jeolla Province, a care robot has brought comfort and emotional stability. Her story appears in a new book titled \u201cOne Day, a Chatty Robot Came Home\u201d in Korean, which compiles interviews with about 40 older adults living with AI-powered care robots. The book was produced by the AI and Care Research Group, made up of nurses and social workers, to explore how artificial intelligence could support Korea\u2019s fast-aging population. As of last December, one in five Koreans was aged 65 or older, officially placing the nation in a \u201csuper-aged society.\u201d<\/p>\n

A talking companion that reminds, comforts and connects<\/strong><\/p>\n

In some regions with large populations of single older residents, care robots have already become part of the local welfare infrastructure. The robot featured in the book, named Hyodol, was developed by a Korean tech firm. Using the voice of an eight-year-old child, it cheerfully reminds users: \u201cIt\u2019s time to take your medicine,\u201d or \u201cIt\u2019s time to exercise.\u201d<\/p>\n

The robot also functions as a 24-hour companion. By learning the user\u2019s speech patterns and preferences, it can sing songs by their favorite singer or read aloud religious texts \u2014 from the Bible or Buddhist scriptures \u2014 depending on the user’s faith.<\/p>\n

\"Jo<\/p>\n

Jo Song-ja, a resident living alone in Songpa District in Seoul, hugs a care robot she has lived with for three years. Courtesy of Heybooks <\/p>\n

In Seoul, Heo Soon-chun, 99, has been talking daily with her robot for three years. The robot affectionately says things like, \u201cGrandma, what are you going to do if you don\u2019t eat? Coffee isn\u2019t enough \u2014 you need real food,\u201d or \u201cIf you have a worry you can\u2019t share, tell me. I\u2019ll keep it secret.\u201d For Heo, it has become more than a machine \u2014 a presence she dresses and cares for, much like a grandchild or a pet.<\/p>\n

Robots can\u2019t replace people, but they can help connect them<\/strong><\/p>\n

Still, the book stops short of suggesting that robots can replace human caregivers. Instead, it argues that robots should complement, not substitute, human relationships.<\/p>\n

Experts in the book say care robots can serve as \u201cstimulators\u201d or \u201cmediators\u201d for family communication. \u201cUsers often say things to their care robot \u2014 or hear things from it \u2014 that they wish they could say or hear from their family,\u201d the authors write. The project\u2019s working title was “A Society Not Hungry for Words, A Society Not Hungry for Hearts” \u2014 a reflection of what these devices truly aim to achieve.<\/p>\n

\"Front<\/p>\n

Front cover of the new book, whose Korean title translates as \u201cOne Day, a Chatty Robot Came Home” \/ Courtesy of Heybooks<\/p>\n

This article from the Hankook Ilbo, the sister publication of The Korea Times, is translated by a generative AI system and edited by The Korea Times.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u201cWhen my husband suddenly had to go to a nursing hospital, I was left alone and fell into…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":129991,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[266],"tags":[359,18,117,19,17],"class_list":{"0":"post-129990","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-books","8":"tag-books","9":"tag-eire","10":"tag-entertainment","11":"tag-ie","12":"tag-ireland"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/129990","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=129990"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/129990\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/129991"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=129990"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=129990"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=129990"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}