Visitors order drinks via unmanned kiosk-mediated services at the Seoul Metropolitan Government-operated digital assistance center for older adults in Yeongdeungpo District, Dec. 26, 2023. Yonhap

The government will introduce an outreach program to teach how to use kiosks to older adults in rural areas to ensure that older, less digital-savvy people are not alienated from the growing use of technology.

The measure announced on Monday is part of the Ministry of Education's plans for 2024 to offer literacy education for adults.

A total of 6.73 billion won ($5 million) has been earmarked for the plans, including 185 digital literacy educational programs and 400 classes to teach basic literacy skills and arithmetic.

The outreach program comes as the use of digital platforms and devices, such as kiosks, delivery and shopping apps, have become common outside big cities as they are one of the most effective cost-cutting measures businesses adopt.

The program will utilize a bus equipped with relevant devices and materials that will visit centers for older people or village halls in underserved areas to bring services closer to where they live.

"I have found the use of kiosks inconvenient as I am not used to it. But these days, not many shops offer in-person services even in locations outside Seoul," a 65-year-old Gwangju resident said.

"I hope that the government will offer more educational programs on digital devices for older adults, and at the same time, I hope that companies will refrain from excessive expansion of digital services."

In a similar move, the Seoul Metropolitan Government held a launching ceremony on Tuesday for 145 "digital guides" who will work at major subway stations, large supermarkets or parks in the capital to assist senior citizens with the use of digital devices.

Beginning from Wednesday through the end of June, these guides wearing orange vests will work in pairs from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on weekdays to help those who experience difficulties using kiosks or booking train tickets and calling taxies via smartphone apps.

Since the city government started the digital guide program in the second half of 2022, some 400 guides have participated, assisting about 270,000 citizens. User satisfaction reached 98.6 percent, according to the city.

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Meanwhile, the education ministry will also carry out the first-ever survey this year to look into the digital literacy of people aged 18 or older. The door-to-door survey will then be conducted every three years.

"We will support people who experience rapid changes and continue their learning under difficult conditions," Choi Eun-hee, in charge of human resources management policies at the ministry, said.

"We will continue to expand digital literacy educational programs and actively find those who need such education."

According to the National Institute for Lifelong Education, the number of adults who are not literate and thus need learning at the elementary school level has reached some 2 million, accounting for 4.5 percent of the entire population.

The education ministry has offered similar programs since 2006 and began providing digital literacy education last year.