Stop Saying "Youth is Pain"... "Sick Youth Need Treatment!"

Published 18 Apr.2022 21:10(KST)

Updated 10 Aug.2025 11:40(KST)

Mobile Counseling Services Conducted: Youth Counseling at Pohang Cheongchun Center, Local Universities, and Social Service Personnel

Youth Mental Health! Let's Start Again with a Fresh Youth!

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Dongguk Lee] The Pohang City Buk-gu Health Center Mental Health Welfare Center will conduct customized psychological support extensively for local youth aged 18 to 34 starting this year.

Recently, due to the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic, economic recession, employment instability, and job seeking, depression, anxiety, and high suicide ideation among youth have emerged as serious issues.

According to the National Medical Center, last year the proportion of patients in their 20s visiting the emergency room due to self-harm or suicide attempts was 30.5% (5,567 people), an increase of 1,275 people (14.6%) compared to previous years. Internal data from the Mental Health Welfare Center shows that last year, the number of suicide-related consultations for people in their 20s was 120, a 13% increase from the previous year, accounting for about 40% of all consultations.

Accordingly, starting with Gyeongbuk Vocational School on the 6th and the Employment Welfare Plus Center on the 13th, the center conducts mobile counseling every Wednesday visiting local youth, providing free psychological tests and counseling to young people experiencing psychological difficulties such as stress or depression due to anxiety about employment and interpersonal relationships. Mobile counseling is scheduled to be held at the Pohang Youth Center on the third Wednesday of the month.

In addition, to raise awareness of mental health among local university students and to detect and intervene early with high-risk youth, the center is conducting a mental health survey and mental health awareness campaigns in cooperation with local universities.

Starting with Sunlin University on the 21st, the survey will be conducted at three local universities including Pohang University and Handong University. Psychological tests and mental health education are also provided to social service agents and conscripted police serving locally, and treatment cost support is offered for youth who face economic difficulties in accessing therapeutic interventions.

Lee Jaesuk, Director of Health Management at Buk-gu, said, “When a mental health warning sign appears, it is like a yellow traffic light turning on. It is necessary to respond appropriately before it turns red without missing this signal.” He added, “In the second half of the year, the first ‘Youth Early Intervention Center’ in Gyeongbuk will be established under this center, and through cooperation with local institutions, various projects such as customized mental health education for youth, group programs, and a university student mental health expo will be implemented to support youth mental health. We will strive to be a center that brings hope to young people experiencing psychological difficulties in the region.”