Handok and the Seoul Metropolitan Government (SMG) have teamed up together to organize this year’s Memory Café Campaign, starting at Hongik University on May 15.

The Memory Café Campaign began in 2018 to raise and improve public awareness of senile dementia. Seniors diagnosed with mild cognitive impairments or mild forms of senile dementia participate in the campaign as special baristas making coffee and beverages in food trucks. The rule for all participants is to accept and understand even if they are served drinks different from what they ordered. The campaign is intended to help participants understand senile dementia better and accept the fact that many seniors with it can continue to function as active members of society.

This year’s campaign was drastically expanded to include the participation of university students and other members of the general public. After a first stop on the campus of Hongik University in partnership with the Seoul Metropolitan Center for Dementia Gangseo branch on May 15, the food truck carrying senior baristas will show up at Sookmyung Women’s University on the 27^th, in Gwanghwamun Plaza on the 30^th, and at Seoul Bamdokkaebi Night Market (Banpo) on the 31^st to meet as many young people and families as possible. Visitors are encouraged to participate in a variety of activities in exchange for their chances at ordering free drinks, including a true-or-false quiz hosted by the Gangseo Senile Dementia Care Center and playing in exercises for remembering their long-forgotten friends. The drinks are free, and guests are welcome to make donations, which will go toward helping seniors living alone or with spouses who struggle with senile dementia.