From 'END' to 'AND'... Chapter 2, Out into the World!

Yongsan-gu's 'Chapter of Biographies: Seclusion and Isolation' Lecture Successfully Concluded... Held in 3 Sessions Since the 7th for Local Isolated and Reclusive Youth... Instructors Recovered from Isolation and Seclusion Participated to Foster Empathy... Participants Shared Stories and Created 'My Life Story' Time

Recently, the Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs estimated that there are 540,000 ‘isolated youth’ who have significantly reduced social activities and find it difficult to receive help in urgent situations, among whom 240,000 are ‘reclusive youth’ who confine themselves to limited spaces without engaging in social activities.

Yongsan-gu, Seoul (District Mayor Park Hee-young) views the worsening issue of isolated and reclusive youth as largely due to weakened social relationship safety nets following COVID-19, and has actively stepped up support to help them come out of their own spaces into the world.

Accordingly, ahead of the year-end, the district held a total of three sessions on the 7th, 12th, and 14th at the Yongsan-gu Lifelong Learning Center, conducting the lecture series titled ‘Chapters of Biographies: Reclusion and Isolation’ for about 10 local youth who have experienced isolation and reclusion.

This lecture series was planned in collaboration with the local specialized organization ‘Happiness Sharing Foundation’ (located at 60 Jangmun-ro, Yongsan-gu) to aid the recovery and reintegration into the community of isolated and reclusive youth who fall into the new welfare blind spots.

In particular, instructors who themselves have recovered from isolation and reclusion shared their actual experiences, fostering empathy among participants and presenting desirable role models.

The first session involved a basic understanding of isolation and reclusion, followed by a presentation of cases by a reclusive expert and sharing participants’ stories and impressions. The second session included mentoring by the reclusive expert and a time to write ‘My Life Story’ to organize their own states of isolation and reclusion.

The final third session concluded the writing of their own ‘Biography, My Life Story’ through mutual interviews among participants. They ended ‘Chapter 1,’ the life’s dark history of reclusion, and conducted a self-reflection workshop moving forward to ‘Chapter 2’ after recovery.

One participant said, “I thought I could never come outside alone, but I gathered great courage to join this lecture,” and added, “Hearing stories of people who had the same worries as me and recovered, I want to try again for my dreams.”

Earlier, in October, the district also conducted a total of six sessions of the lecture ‘Parent Communication Methods for Sharing and Solving Together’ for parents and families of isolated and reclusive youth to help intergenerational communication.

Park Hee-young, Mayor of Yongsan-gu, said, “This lecture was established with the heart of encouraging isolated and reclusive youth who have confined themselves to their own spaces to come out into the world,” and added, “We will actively support our youth who have bravely taken the first step so that they can become proud members of the local community.”

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