This article is by Cho Jung-woo and read by an artificial voice.

Lee Geum-ok, a 74-year-old resident of western Seoul, confidently orders an iced Americano through a kiosk screen on a Tuesday afternoon. It isn't at a cafe or restaurant. Instead, it's a senior center in Sinwol-3-dong, Yangcheon District, in western Seoul.
"We all need to learn how to use these machines since almost everywhere has them now, even restaurants," Lee said.
"Old people like us tend to forget how to use them, so we keep practicing," she added with a laugh.
For older people today, digital literacy is no longer optional. As public services, transportation systems and even basic dining increasingly rely on smartphones and automated kiosks, older people who are not familiar with such technology risk being left behind.
Like Lee and many other older Yangcheon residents, the first place they learned to use digital kiosks was at the center, at what the government calls a "smart senior center." These centers are equipped with digital devices and technologies that offer both educational programs and entertainment.
The Sinwol-dong center is one of 24 smart senior centers in Yangcheon District. In 2023, 10 were opened, and 20 more were added this year. Of them, six are still under construction but are expected to open by the end of the year, according to a district official.
As Korea officially entered a super-aging society this year - meaning that more than 20 percent of its population is 65 or older - and as digitization continues to accelerate, such centers are expanding not only in Seoul but nationwide.

Bridging the digital divide
In 2021, the Ministry of Science and ICT launched a project to convert senior centers into digital learning spaces. Since then, more than 2,000 such centers across the country have been equipped with digital devices.
The initiative comes as nearly 2.9 million out of Korea's 10 million older adults are registered members of senior centers, according to ruling Democratic Party Rep. Park Hee-seong, citing data from the Ministry of Health and Welfare. As of last year, there were 69,260 senior centers nationwide.
Yet , a gap remains. The National Information Society Agency reported last year that the digital capability index for those aged 55 and older stands at 55.4, compared to 100 for the general population.
A 2023 survey by the Ministry of Science and ICT found that nearly one in three older adults felt anxious using digital tools without help. Some have skipped meals or avoided errands because they could not navigate touch-screen menus or mobile payment systems.
In response, public institutions and private companies have launched training programs in recent years. S1, a security company under the Samsung Group, opened a digital academy for older adults in 2023.

At the Sinwol-dong center, Lee said the practice has already made a difference.
"I can confidently order a cup of coffee at a cafe now, thanks to the practice I had here," she said with a smile, tapping through menus on the kiosk. The machine includes simulations for applying for certificates at government centers, booking train tickets and ordering food.
"But ordering hamburgers and such, I'm still not used to that, since I don't usually eat them," she said.
However, as centers expand nationwide, some advocates say the programs need to go further.
During a National Assembly audit last month, the Korea Senior Citizens Association called for broader upgrades to the smart senior center model.
"Too much focus has been placed on simply installing the equipment," said Choi Woon, policy committee chair for smart senior centers at the Korea Senior Citizens Association, who appeared as a witness at the audit.
"We need a fundamental shift to expand AI caregiving and offer more diverse and meaningful content."

Maintaining health, digitally
When the center's doors opened the afternoon of Nov. 4, some 20 older adults were chatting and spending time at the center as they waited for...

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