Seoul’s municipal health management application, Wrist Doctor 9988, has officially surpassed 3 million subscribers, according to figures released by the Seoul Metropolitan Government on the 8th.
The milestone means roughly one out of every three Seoul citizens now uses the app (Source: DBR).
Launched as a pilot project following Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon’s election victory in 2021, the application previously reached 1 million subscribers in June 2024 and 2 million subscribers in March of last year. As of the 1st of this month, the subscriber count reached approximately 3.038 million (Source: DBR).
Participation has been largely driven by office workers and daily commuters who find it difficult to set aside separate time for exercise, allowing them to easily check their step counts during daily activities. Users who walk more than 8,000 steps a day receive 100 points, which can be converted into Seoul Pay Money to spend like cash at affiliated merchants (Source: DBR).
To celebrate the app passing 3 million users, an event titled “Walking Turns into a Sports Day” was held at Yeouido Hangang Park in Seoul, drawing around 4,300 citizens. Among the attendees, approximately 2,500 turned on the application and completed a 4 km walking course. Additionally, the Korea Life Insurance Association donated KRW 7,000 per finisher, totaling KRW 17.5 million, to the Community Chest of Korea (Source: DBR).
Data compiled by the Seoul Metropolitan Government shows that the cumulative number of steps taken by users reached 10.5828 trillion as of last month. Based on an average adult stride length of 70 cm, this distance equals approximately 7.4 billion km, or enough to circle the Earth about 185,000 times (Source: DBR).
Public health indicators in the city have also shifted. According to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency’s Community Health Survey from last year, Seoul’s walking practice rate reached 69.0%, ranking first nationwide and exceeding the national average of 49.2%. Meanwhile, the adult obesity rate dropped from 31.0% in 2024 to 30.2% last year, marking a 0.8 percentage point decrease that represented the largest drop among the country’s 17 metropolitan cities and provinces (Source: DBR).
Building on its initial walking functions, the municipal government is expanding the service into a comprehensive health platform. A new “Healthy Weight Management Mode” begins today, allowing users to set target weights, monitor changes in weight and body mass index (BMI), and follow recommended meal plans (Source: DBR).
Furthermore, the city plans to provide sports facility vouchers worth KRW 50,000 each to 3,000 citizens who test with a BMI of 30 or higher at Seoul Physical Fitness Centers. Mayor Oh noted that reaching 3 million subscribers demonstrates that healthy habits are successfully taking root in everyday life (Source: DBR).
