Receive Free 'Smart Concerns' Consultation... Busan City’s Internet and Smartphone Overdependence Prevention and Resolution Project

Promotion of Counseling and Education for Overdependence at Busan Smart Rest Center

Smartphone Overdependence Counseling Flowchart.

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Yong-woo] Free preventive education counseling to stop smartphone addiction will be operated in Busan.

Busan City (Acting Mayor Lee Byung-jin) announced on the 8th that it will promote the "2021 Internet and Smartphone Overdependence Prevention and Resolution Project" to prevent excessive dependence on smartphones.

Busan City has been promoting this project since 2008, and since 2017, it has established the "Busan Smart Rest Center (Haeundae-gu)," a specialized counseling and education institution for responding to internet and smartphone overdependence, operating in cooperation with the Korea Intelligent Information Society Agency.

This year's smartphone overdependence prevention education is completely free of charge.

▲ Basic education for smartphone overdependence prevention called "Internet and Smartphone Lemon Class" and ▲ advanced education called "WOW Healthy Mentoring" courses will be provided. The program plans to conduct 495 sessions of overdependence prevention education tailored to each life cycle by visiting daycare centers, kindergartens, schools, and institutions.

For 85 individuals at risk of overdependence from vulnerable groups and general households, free utilization-centered counseling programs will be conducted by visiting homes and institutions, including education on proper smartphone use and career and aptitude exploration in the information and communication technology field. Mobile education and counseling linked to local festivals will also be provided free of charge six times.

Preventive education applications will be accepted throughout March 2021, with education conducted until December, and counseling programs can be applied for continuously throughout the year.

Applications can be made online for preventive education and overdependence counseling by accessing the website, and details can be confirmed through the Busan Smart Rest Center or the website.

A Busan City official stated, "The risk group of overdependence among infants and children is continuously increasing significantly, so this year we plan to expand preventive education for infants and focus on resolving smartphone addiction issues through support for various programs."

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