Claim: The Suicide prevention movement in South Korea are meant to help the community to dismantle high suicide rates.

“I know it’s been hard for you” and “How are you today?”

Suicide. It's something hard for many of us to talk about. In South Korea, the government has been going through great measures for the intervention of suicide.

How do we treat the community to not treat suicide as a stigma?

Let's encourage victims to increase their self-esteem, to seek help

It is time to start unveiling the errors in the normalizing silence in top industries and common life.

Reportedly in South Korea, the

• “This has motivated South Korea’s government to develop intervention programs such as jump-barriers on bridges, glass doors along subway platforms, and 24-hour government-funded suicide hotlines. Though progress has been slow, some Koreans believe the traditional mindset to be flawed,”(psychologytoday site ...see below)
• “However, if we only view suicide through the mental health lens, we will be very limited in our ability to create systematic change. In fact, might be missing true opportunities that are driving the despair when we are only focused on what is going on at the individual level.”https://www.sallyspencerthomas.com/dr-sally-speaks-blog/5-actions-we-take-when-we-see-suicide-prevention-as-a-social-justice-issue
• We have a “grave imbalance” in our treatment to mental and physical health. “Because of this imbalance, people with mental health conditions often have a terrible time accessing adequate care. There are too few mental health treatment options and most of them are too costly for the average person. As my colleague Dr. Doug Johnson once said to me, “We have a psycho-social injustice problem. We have Americanized mental illness – by looking for quick fixes and ignoring the emotional impact of marginalization.” (same source as above).
• “The Korean government adopted a five-year plan of comprehensive measures on mental illness, covering the years 2016-2021.  The plan promotes early detection of mental illness and obligates the government to reduce co-pays for mental health care. The government also plans to develop a campaign to reduce prejudice against mentally ill people.  (Serving Up Worst Suicide Rate, Korean Government Adopted Mental Illness Comprehensive Measures, CHOSUNILBO (Feb. 25, 2016) (in Japanese).”(http://www.loc.gov/law/foreign-news/article/south-korea-five-year-mental-health-plan-aimed-at-reducing-suicides-adopted/)

Pathos

• “The “Bridge of Life” campaign is a typical example of the authorities’ misguided approach to the epidemic. Mapo Bridge, which cuts across the Han River in Seoul, had so many people throwing themselves over the side to their deaths that it became known as the “Suicide Bridge.” In 2012, the Seoul government and Samsung Life Insurance initiated a joint project to transform the “Suicide Bridge” into the “Bridge of Life.” An advertising firm invited the public to suggest greetings that were put on illuminated panels above the guardrails of the bridge. The panels would light up as people approached the railings, greeting pedestrians with phrases like, “I know it’s been hard for you” and “How are you today?”
  
  “A year later, the suicide rate of the Mapo Bridge was six times higher. Instead of deterring suicide, the “Bridge of Life” campaign attracted suicides.”(https://mobile.nytimes.com/2014/04/03/opinion/south-koreas-struggle-with-suicide.html?referer=https://bpr.berkeley.edu/2017/10/31/the-scourge-of-south-korea-stress-and-suicide-in-korean-society/)

Ethos

Delineate stigma that being mentally vulnerable as “untouchable” or state for shame

• “An interview with Kyooseob Ha, a psychiatrist with Seoul National University of Medicine, describes how Koreans are averse to seeking therapy, even for severe depression. Admitting to depression is seen as a character failure, shameful to the family. It is often concealed.” (https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/talking-about-trauma/201512/south-koreans-use-suicide-preserve-honour?amp)
• Psychologist Hyong-soo Kim at Chosun University says this public face holds such sway that even in cases where people choose to see a therapist, Koreans will pay in cash to avoid their insurance companies finding out.(same source as above)