Gangbuk-gu Ranks 3rd Nationwide in Suicide Prevention Cities... 1st in Seoul Area

2020 National Assembly Suicide Prevention Award, Evaluation of Suicide Prevention Activities and Related Projects by Local Governments Nationwide... Recognition for Contributions in 'Suicide Rate Changes', 'Suicide Prevention Organizations and Budgets', and 'Specialized Projects'

[Asia Economy Reporter Jong-il Park] Gangbuk-gu (Mayor Park Kyum-soo) has been honored as the 3rd place nationwide and 1st among Seoul autonomous districts in the 2020 National Assembly Suicide Prevention Awards.

The Suicide Prevention Award is given to organizations that have made efforts to prevent extreme choices. It is hosted by the 'National Assembly Suicide Prevention Forum' and organized by the 'Safe Living Practice Citizens' Coalition' and the 'Life Insurance Social Contribution Committee.' The award evaluates suicide prevention activities and related projects of 229 local governments nationwide to determine the rankings.

In this evaluation, the district scored a total of 83.5 points by quantifying and scoring 'change in suicide rate,' 'organization and personnel,' 'budget,' and 'projects.' This is only 1.5 points behind the top city nationwide, which scored 85 points. In the change in suicide rate compared to the past three years, it received a perfect score of 30 points. Among the 10 grade levels, it recorded 4.8%, which corresponds to Grade 1 (below 2%). It also received relatively high evaluations in the organization and personnel areas, including public-private councils, the ratio of regular employees, the proportion of suicide prevention budget, and dedicated organizations.

So far, the district has undertaken various mental health projects to spread a culture of respect for life. These include prevention education and campaigns, installation of logoprojectors (LED landscape lighting), and the creation of the 'Life Love Mental Health Forest Trail.'

In particular, when installing lights with suicide prevention messages, big data was utilized. A full survey of suicides over the past five years was conducted, and suicide rates and regional characteristics were extracted. Based on these results, installations were focused on high-risk areas.

The district also took the lead in customized prevention activities targeting residents of apartment complexes struggling with 'Corona Blue (depression).' Suicide prevention counseling information and various services needed in crisis situations were posted on apartment elevator bulletin boards. If the evaluation results determined that a resident belonged to a risk group, crisis counseling was conducted and necessary resources such as welfare and livelihood support were connected.

Additionally, this year the district expanded the 'Life Love Mental Health Forest Trail' to deliver warm messages of comfort and encouragement to residents visiting parks and walking paths. The existing Opaesan Barrier-Free Trail received high resident approval, so the trail was widely extended to cover the entire Odong Park and the Bukhansan Dulle-gil.

Park Kyum-soo, Mayor of Gangbuk-gu, said, “I believe the best prescription for people at the crossroads of extreme choices is to activate a strong psychological defense network along with warm words of comfort,” and added, “We will strive to carry out various projects to reduce the suicide rate and deliver light of consolation and hope to residents.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.