By Oh Youong-jin
Staff Reporter
The number of people who commit suicide by jumping off bridges into the Han River is increasing, with Mapo Bridge having the highest number ofsuicides.
According to Seoul City officials and Councilwoman Ahn Hee-ok, by September this year, a total of 479 people had jumped to their deaths off Han River bridges. By the end of this year, the number is expected to reach 600.
Last year, the number of suicides resulting from jumping from Han River bridges was tallied at 475, a slight drop from 491 in 2007.
About 13 percent, or 191 people, of the total 1,445 who killed themselves by jumping off Han River bridges between January 2007 and September this year used the Mapo Bridge.
The bridge is the fourth oldest among 28 bridges spanning the Han River. It opened as the Seoul Bridge in 1970, but its name was later changed. It is 1,400 meters long with six lanes, linking Yonggang-dong to Yeouido.
The Han Bridge, the oldest one, has the second highest number with 151, followed by Wonhyo with 97, Seongsan with 85 and Yangwha with 83. The statistics defy one public myth that the Han Bridge is the bridge that sees most suicides, being often used as backdrop in a movie or a drama where a suicide scene appears.
The Yongdong, Tongjak, Seogang and Hannam bridges, which are linked to affluent areas in southern Seoul, have smaller numbers.
Councilwoman Ahn was quoted as saying, "City Hall should do something and very urgently to address suicides from the bridges."
This catches the city off guard because it plans to revitalize the Han River and its areas through the Han River Renaissance Project.
The project is aimed at turning the river into an eco-friendly, recreational zone for citizens, boosting its commercial viability.
The city plans to install more surveillance cameras in order to detect those who try to kill themselves early and take preventive measures.
However, the city is making progress in its efforts to bring down the number of suicides on the subway system. This is mainly due to the installation of the so-called "screen doors." The screen doors block access from the platform to the railway tracks. The number of emergency crews' dispatched for suicides reached 165 in 2007 but went down dramatically to 66 last year when the installation of these protective doors went into full swing.
By September this year, the crews had been summoned 47 times.
In 2007, 27 people killed themselves by throwing themselves in front of subway trains. Last year, the number was 26. By September of this year, 23 have died.