Seoul ‘Bridge of Life’ Still Attracts Suicide Attempts

November 8, 2013, 1:07 PM

Seoul ‘Bridge of Life’ Still Attracts Suicide Attempts

JAEYEON WOO

The message on the Mapo Bridge reads, “Aren’t you tired?”

The city of Seoul is standing by its efforts at calling attention to bridges over the Han River that are suicide hotspots, despite evidence that the attention is leading to more, not fewer, suicide attempts. Last September, one of the most notorious suicide spots, Mapo Bridge, was given a makeover, with its gray guardrails festooned with LED lighting, complemented by comforting and inspirational messages and pictures. Pedestrians’ movements are detected, prompting slogans to appear: “The most shining moment of your life has yet to come” or “Your worries will feel like nothing when you get older” or “A difficult moment will eventually flow like the river below.”The results have been mixed. In the first year since its renovation, 65 people attempted to kill themselves on the Bridge of Life, as the government has nicknamed Mapo Bridge, according to data from the Seoul Metropolitan Fire & Disaster Headquarters. That’s more than four times the 15 attempts in the previous year.

Kim Ki-yong, an official with the city’s bridge management team, disputed criticism that the bridge’s rebranding has been a failure, saying the number of deaths over the past year has fallen to two from six the previous year, crediting the city’s strengthened monitoring and rescue operations for the reduced fatality level.

But the increased number of suicide attempts does indicate that publicity for Mapo Bridge, one of 31 bridges spanning the Han River, has increased its allure to people considering taking their own lives.

And then there was the high-profile case of Sung Jae-gi, an activist who in July jumped from the bridge in what many people believed was a stunt to attract financial support for the group he was running, Men’s Alliance, which advocates against laws promoting gender equality, arguing that they discriminate against men.

Mr. Sung’s body wasn’t found until four days later, despite the fact that members of his group and state broadcaster KBS documented his jump—he was reportedly planning to survive the dive and swim to shore.

Lee Hun-seung, a ruling New Frontier Party lawmaker told the National Assembly last month that more resources should be put into rescue and prevention efforts.

“Over the past five years, 901 people attempted suicide on Han River bridges…and the average rescue success rate is only 60.4%,” he said, requesting more closed-circuit TVs as well as increased patrol and rescue personnel.

The city is pressing forward with its approach to reducing suicides, which it said last month fell for the first time in six years in 2012 thanks to an expansion of its antisuicide programs.

Earlier this week, the city government unveiled a second “Bridge of Life.”

The bridge management team’s Mr. Kim acknowledged the urgent need for stronger physical deterrence. “We plan to install higher fence on Mapo by the end of this year,” he said.

Seoul’s suicide rate fell to 23.8 people per 100,000 last year from 26.9 in 2011, still nearly double the average of 12.5 for Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development member nations.