Goyang Special City is strengthening its support system for citizens’ mental health and suicide prevention. Mayor Lee Dong-hwan plans to promote psychological stability for citizens through customized mental health management and early detection systems, expand life-respecting safe villages, and build a cooperative network with related organizations to reduce the suicide rate and strengthen the mental health safety net.
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[Korean Today] Goyang City, strengthening mental health support services… “We will create a city with healthy minds” © Reporter Seung-ju Ji |
Goyang Special City (Mayor Lee Dong-hwan) announced that it is continuously strengthening mental health support services and infrastructure to solve citizens’ mental health issues and prevent suicide.
According to the ‘National Mental Health Status Report 2023’ released in October 2024, 27.8% of adults in Korea experience mental health problems at least once in their lives, but the mental health service utilization rate is only 12.1%. In particular, the suicide problem in Korea, which has the highest suicide rate among OECD countries, is considered a serious social issue.
As of 2023, Goyang City’s suicide rate is 23.4 per 100,000 people, which is lower than the national average (27.3), but still high. Accordingly, Goyang City is actively strengthening mental health services and establishing an integrated response system to prevent suicide.
Mayor Lee Dong-hwan emphasized, “We will increase accessibility to mental health services that can help alleviate the psychological and emotional difficulties experienced by citizens, and create a healthy Goyang City through systematic mental illness management.”
Early detection and personalized management system
Goyang City is operating various programs to detect and comprehensively intervene in mental health issues of children and adolescents in particular. It is cooperating with daycare centers, kindergartens, and schools in the city to create an environment where students with mental difficulties can seek help. It is also helping children and adolescents grow into healthy members of society through stress management, eating disorder, and school violence prevention programs.
Customized support for young people is also being strengthened. Psychological support is provided through the on-site counseling service ‘Youth Mind Talk Talk’ and the 1:1 counseling program ‘Secret Counseling Center’, and the chronicity of mental illness is prevented through youth work groups and mental health seminars.
Enhancing accessibility and expanding digital services
In order to increase citizens’ access to mental health services, the ‘Todak Todak Bus’ and the digital mental health platform ‘Mind Habit HALF’ are also being operated. The ‘Todak Todak Bus’ visits vulnerable groups through stress measurement, mental health checkups, and participatory programs, and is operating 3-4 times a week, receiving great responses from citizens.
‘Mind Habit Half’ is a mental health support program that utilizes digital technology to help citizens develop a positive attitude toward life. It lowers the threshold for solving mental health problems through online services such as KakaoTalk notifications and motivational challenges.
Expanding the safety net for respecting life
Goyang City is expanding the ‘Life Respect Safe Village’ project for suicide prevention from the existing 14 districts to 18 districts. The project aims to establish a suicide prevention safety net at the local level through various activities such as identifying high-risk suicide groups, training life guardians, and blocking suicide means.
In 2022, Goyang City collaborated with 132 organizations to identify 221 people at risk of suicide, a 26.2% increase from the previous year. This year, the city plans to further strengthen cooperation with related organizations to build a more robust suicide prevention and mental health management system.
Establishing a mental emergency response system
Goyang City operates a cooperative network with related organizations such as the Mental Emergency Council and the Suicide Prevention Council to respond quickly to emergencies due to mental health issues. Through this, it responds practically to emergencies and supports continuous treatment and rehabilitation to help citizens return to society in good health.
The city plans to continue to work to improve the psychological stability and quality of life of citizens by expanding mental health management services, strengthening suicide prevention projects, and strengthening customized mental health programs.
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