Kim Rahn is the managing editor of The Korea Times. Since joining the company in 2003, she has covered various beats including the presidential office, Seoul city government, the Bank of Korea and the tourism industry. In 2014, she won the Society of Publishers in Asia (SOPA) award for her coverage of the ordeals of migrant women in Korea.
Seoul to deter sucide attempts on Mapo Bridge
By Kim Rahn
“Do you have anyone who you want to meet now? Anyone come to mind — friends, or family members — just think about them. Their eyes, nose, mouth and laugh. Don’t you miss them? What about going to see them now instead of just thinking about them?”
This message will be displayed at Mapo Bridge in Seoul, where the most suicide attempts occur.
Seoul City said Tuesday it will be turned into a “bridge of life” by setting up electronic boards that will offer warm and touching messages.
“If someone is planning to commit suicide by leaping from the bridge and sees such a message, he or she may be shaken and may give up the plan. The system is based on this idea,” a city official said.
Korea has the top suicide rate among OECD nations. In Seoul, 1,301 people attempted to kill themselves by jumping off bridges over the Han River in the last five years. Of them, 108 leapt off Mapo Bridge and 48 of them died.
Under the system, sensors will detect walkers’ movement and present friendly messages on the boards installed at spots where suicide attempts frequently take place.
“People planning suicide need attention and affection. The emotional messages will appear as if someone is talking to them,” the official said.
Four different messages will appear in four spots on the bridge. In one section where a suicide-prevention counseling “Life Phone” is set up, the message will be: “Do you have a secret? Do you have something you haven’t told anybody because it hurts so much or you feel ashamed? Now get it off from your chest. Here is a phone, go on.”
Photos will also appear, which will show the joys of daily life, such as a bath scene of a father and a boy, boiling ramen and “jajangmyeon” (noodles in black bean sauce).
The city will also build a statue in the middle of the road. “The statue will look like a man about to leap from the bridge and another man holding his leg to stop him. We think those attempting suicide may want somebody else to stop them like that,” the official said.
The city will set up the signs by September and run a pilot operation for one year. Samsung Life Insurance is sponsoring the system after signing a memorandum of understanding with the city government.