Let's Run Park Busan Gyeongnam Expands Social Contribution with 'Horse Therapy' for Emotional Healing

Expansion to Include Seniors and Emotional Laborers

Participation in Neulbom School Program Linked with Busan Office of Education

Korea Racing Authority, the only organization in Korea dedicated to the horse industry, is spreading positive influence throughout society through a variety of unique and differentiated social contribution projects centered around horses and horseback riding, which are its core businesses.

Since 2005, Korea Racing Authority has been operating rehabilitation horseback riding programs that leverage the exceptional bonding abilities of horses to help tens of thousands achieve emotional stability and improve physical abilities. Healing horseback riding, launched in 2018 to support the emotional well-being of social service workers, has since expanded its target audience to the entire nation, allowing more people to experience horses.

In particular, Let's Run Park Busan Gyeongnam has gone a step further from traditional horseback riding-based social contribution activities by expanding the scope of its programs to utilize the very presence of horses, thereby contributing to the creation of a healthier local community.

LetsRun Park Busan Gyeongnam, which operates a therapeutic horseback riding program for citizens.

One flagship program is "Horse Therapy," which Let's Run Park Busan Gyeongnam introduced and has been operating since 2022, the first of its kind in the region. "Horse Therapy" refers to a healing method in which people and horses interact and emotionally connect, using the psychological stability and stress relief gained in this process as therapeutic benefits.

Let's Run Park Busan Gyeongnam has been running this program for three years, using small and gentle pony breeds about the height of an adult's thigh, targeting long-term patients in local hospitals and elderly residents in nursing homes. These "four-legged therapists," small but full of vitality, have comforted the hearts of patients and their families, inspired a renewed will to live, and brought about positive changes for program participants.

Last year, the Let's Run Park Busan Gyeongnam Social Contribution Horseback Riding Team took "Visiting Horse Therapy" to hospice wards and remote island medical volunteer sites, directly experiencing the demand for horse therapy programs in an aging society. They are now working to establish a horse therapy business model through private riding stables.

This year, the program has expanded to include social service workers such as firefighters, police officers, and social workers?those responsible for public safety and exposed to physical and mental risks?and their families, offering them emotional stability.

Additionally, this year, the target for social contribution projects through horses has been broadened beyond people with disabilities or marginalized groups to include general childcare and education. In April, Let's Run Park Busan Gyeongnam signed a business agreement with the Busan Metropolitan Office of Education to provide Neulbom School educational programs. Through the Neulbom School program, Let's Run Park Busan Gyeongnam introduces various horse industry careers such as horseback riding, farriery, and stable management, supporting children's physical development and social skills through career exploration and horseback riding experiences.

Let's Run Park Busan Gyeongnam is also preparing programs to support the younger generation in response to the current social issues of marriage and childbirth, using horses as a medium. Starting in the second half of the year, the program (Masaengyeonbun) will provide single men and women of marriageable age with opportunities to meet through horseback riding, with recreational activities designed to help them form meaningful connections. For couples who find the high cost of wedding and family photo shoots burdensome, Let's Run Park Busan Gyeongnam will offer unique memories with wedding and family snapshots taken with horses?a special experience only they can provide.

There are also healing programs designed to help women of different age groups cope with physical and psychological changes. Programs are planned to help women who have lost confidence due to career interruptions from pregnancy, childbirth, and parenting regain their self-assurance and reduce emotional burdens, as well as horse therapy programs to relieve depression and stress in menopausal women.

Um Youngseok, head of Let's Run Park Busan Gyeongnam at Korea Racing Authority, said, "I hope many people will experience the strong vitality and connection that horses provide, as well as the improvement in physical abilities and vitality in daily life that horseback riding brings," adding, "Let's Run Park Busan Gyeongnam will continue to strive to become more approachable and familiar to local residents through healing and therapy with horses."

LetsRun Park Busan Gyeongnam is operating the Neulbom School program in collaboration with the Busan Metropolitan Office of Education.