[10,000 Steps, 1,000 Characters a Day] Steps That Illuminate Life... Suicide Prevention Campaign "Together Go Walk"

The Lifeline Social Welfare Foundation is launching a suicide prevention campaign through walking.

Lifeline is conducting the 2024 suicide prevention campaign "Together Go Walk" to raise awareness about the severity of youth suicide rates and the need to spread a culture that values life.

This campaign, now in its 19th year, was introduced in 2006 by adopting the "OUT OF THE DARKNESS COMMUNITY WALKS" campaign from the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. As of 2023, a total of approximately 330,000 people have participated in the campaign, and the cumulative donations have reached about 4.386 billion won.

The campaign began on May 3 and will continue until May 19, taking place in a non-face-to-face format. This year, 2,000 participants will each walk 7.2 kilometers-a distance chosen to reflect the youth suicide mortality rate-at a location of their choice. Participants are encouraged to show their support for youth by uploading a verification photo with the required hashtags (#SuicidePreventionCampaign #TogetherGoWalk #Lifeline) to their personal social networking service (SNS) accounts in front of elementary, middle, high schools, or universities nationwide.

To encourage meaningful participation, Lifeline provides a suicide prevention guidebook ("My Mind Diary") containing accurate information about suicide prevention, as well as a verification flag (mission card) and other materials.

This year's campaign participation donations will be used for suicide prevention projects, including: ▲ awareness improvement initiatives ▲ 24-hour suicide prevention counseling ▲ suicide prevention education and crisis support services for youth by group ▲ support for suicide loss survivors.

In June and July, the "Together Cheer Up" campaign will also be held, in which supporters will directly visit youth to deliver messages of encouragement. This campaign targets schools and related organizations interested in suicide prevention and will offer programs such as the "Life Pharmacy" stress self-assessment and the "Life Message" program for youth.

Meanwhile, suicide has been the leading cause of death among teenagers in Korea for the past 12 years. As of last year, the suicide mortality rate among Korean teenagers was 7.2 per 100,000. According to the Ministry of Health and Welfare's youth health behavior survey, the number of middle and high school students who reported having attempted suicide in the past 12 months has been steadily increasing since 2020.

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