Government to Heal Public Loneliness Through Cultural Policies

Korean Psychological Association Signs MOU... Hwang Hee "Actively Supports 'Social Healing'"

The government is concretizing policies to alleviate the public's sense of social isolation and loneliness. On the 25th, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism signed a business agreement with the Korean Psychological Association for appropriate response measures. According to the agreement, both parties will raise social awareness about isolation and loneliness and promote related research and surveys.

Minister Hwang Hee of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism stated, "The government operates Student Mental Health Centers, Family Centers, and Mental Health Welfare Centers to care for the mental health of students and families and support citizens at risk of developing mental illnesses." However, he pointed out, "Ordinary citizens who feel loneliness and social isolation are in a policy blind spot." He added, "Taking this agreement as an opportunity, we will expand our role in addressing the public's loneliness and social isolation, and actively support 'social healing' by spreading the value of culture, arts, and humanities mental culture."

Following the signing ceremony, Minister Hwang shared the necessity of policy responses and exchanged various opinions with experts at a roundtable meeting. According to experts, as non-face-to-face activities increased due to the spread of COVID-19, the proportion of citizens feeling loneliness or social isolation rose from 20.5% in 2019 to 22.3% in 2020.

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