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Korea Herald
01-06-2025
- Health
- Korea Herald
Can a city cure loneliness? Seoul is spending millions to try
In Seoul, you can call a city hotline at 3 a.m. just to say you feel lonely. You can walk into a 'Maeum (Korean for 'heart') Convenience Store' to eat free ramyeon and talk with someone about the emptiness you've been carrying for months. These are not gimmicks. They are part of a sweeping five-year, 451.3 billion won ($330 million) effort by the Seoul Metropolitan Government to confront a crisis few cities have dared to name outright: loneliness. South Korea is facing a growing epidemic of social isolation, with Seoul at its epicenter. People living alone now make up over 35 percent of all households in the capital. A recent Seoul Institute survey revealed that 62 percent of single-person households reported experiencing loneliness, while 13.6 percent were socially isolated. A separate study by the city in 2023 estimated that approximately 130,000 young people between the ages of 19 and 39 are living in near-total social withdrawal, a phenomenon also discussed under the Japanese-derived term 'hikikomori.' 'Loneliness in Seoul is no longer a private burden,' said Lee Soo-jin, director of the Seoul Isolation Prevention Center, the country's first public agency tasked with identifying and assisting socially withdrawn residents. 'We are witnessing a mental health collapse across age groups. But for many, especially young people and older men, there's simply no obvious place to turn.' Lee has spent the past year building outreach systems that can identify high-risk individuals who are often invisible to the formal social safety net. Her team uses data-sharing agreements with welfare offices, utility companies and delivery services to identify signs of withdrawal, such as uncollected mail or repeated solo food orders. Once flagged, individuals are contacted through phone calls, home visits or digital channels and offered tailored support like counseling, peer mentoring or community group referrals. The city's broader initiatives include a 24-hour support line integrated into the existing 120 Dasan Call Center, a chatbot for those uncomfortable with phone calls, and an online platform called Toktok24 that guides users toward counseling and community programs. Still, scholars and ordinary citizens have questioned whether public policy can meaningfully address a condition as personal and complex as loneliness. 'Loneliness is not the same as being alone,' said Byun Geum-seon, a social welfare professor at Ewha Womans University who co-authored a major 2024 study on youth isolation. 'For some, solitude is freedom. For others, it's suffering. Governments can detect behavior. But the feeling of loneliness must be acknowledged by the person experiencing it.' Byun's study, based on the Seoul Youth Panel Survey of over 5,000 respondents, identified seven distinct profiles of social isolation and loneliness. These ranged from economically disconnected youth to emotionally isolated individuals embedded within family or employment networks. Her research found a strong correlation between loneliness and mental health problems like depression and suicidal thoughts, even among those who weren't socially isolated in the traditional sense. 'In some cases, people are surrounded by others but still feel they cannot speak openly or be seen for who they are,' Byun said. 'This is especially common among young women living alone, and among men who feel they've failed to meet social expectations.' Shin Hye-jin, a 28-year-old graduate student who moved to Seoul from Daegu five years ago, recalled how her first year in the capital felt more isolating than she could have imagined. 'I lived in a goshiwon (a small dorm-like room) near campus. I never met my neighbors. Even in class, no one talked unless we had to, for group projects,' she said. 'There were nights I realized I hadn't heard my own voice for days.' Shin later joined a neighborhood 'Silent Walking' group she found on Danggeun Market, also known as Karrot, a hyperlocal app popular for trading secondhand goods that now hosts thousands of hobby-based social groups. 'It sounds silly, but walking silently next to strangers helped,' she said. 'It felt safe. No one expected anything from me.' Since 2023, participation in Danggeun's neighborhood clubs has increased 20-fold, according to the company. These communities are often low-pressure and centered around shared identities or interests, covering niche topics from ADHD support to bread tasting. For many, they provide more sustainable social bonds than formal city-run programs. Director Lee Soo-jin recognizes the limitations. 'Seoul City knows it cannot manufacture meaningful connections,' she said. 'What we can do is build the scaffolding. We can give people options for what to do when they realize they're struggling.' Part of that scaffolding includes spaces like the Seoul Maeum Convenience Store, a cross between a mental health center and a cafe, where people can drop in anonymously for free meals, information or just a moment of calm. The city is also expanding peer support programs such as "Everyone's Friend," where formerly isolated residents are trained to provide outreach and emotional assistance to others in similar situations. Professor Byun cautioned against a one-size-fits-all model. 'What reduces loneliness is not just connection, but continuity. You need to feel that you matter to someone, and that they will notice if you disappear.' This is why the government's role is less about delivering relationships and more about making them possible. 'If someone walks into one of these city programs and leaves with a phone number or a reason to leave the house again next week, that's a small win that is worth the effort,' said Lee.
Straits Times
22-05-2025
- Straits Times
Seoul's new AI ‘flags, requests removal of sexually abusive content in 6 minutes'
The AI-powered system will reduce the process time from an average of almost three hours to just six minutes. PHOTO: THE NEW PAPER SEOUL - The Seoul Metropolitan Government announced on May 21 that it had developed South Korea's first AI-powered system that automatically monitors, detects, reports and requests the removal of sexually exploitative content online within minutes. The city government plans to introduce the AI tool, which it says will reduce the time required from initial monitoring to filing deletion requests to just six minutes. Previously, the entire process took an average of almost three hours, as authorities had to manually locate illegal videos circulating on social media platforms, online communities and illicit websites, and then file deletion requests with the respective sites. Since 2023, the city government has worked with the Seoul Institute to monitor sexually exploitative content on social media websites, online communities and the dark web with AI, but the system wasn't able to do more than monitor. However, the newly developed AI tool is able to generate a report of its findings, after which the system automatically drafts an email requesting that the website operators delete the content. The email and report are then checked by an official in charge before it is sent to the website operators. Additionally, amid an increasing number of cases where sexually exploitative videos are uploaded to foreign servers, the city government added that it will also be able to monitor content posted overseas. The email sent to website operators can also be drafted in up to seven languages, such as English, Chinese, Japanese, Russian and Vietnamese. The city government's support centre for digital sex crime victims provides 'one-stop support' for victims, as it helps not only to remove sexually exploitative content but also provides investigative and legal support, psychological therapy and medical assistance for the victims. According to numbers provided by the city government, the center has received reports filed by up to 3,650 people between 2022 and March 2025 and has helped handle 64,677 cases. The majority of the victims were in their teens and 20s, with a significant increase in digital sex crime victims among children and teenagers over the last few years. The center recorded as many as 50 such cases in 2022, a number that increased to 624 in 2024. THE KOREA HERALD/ASIA NEWS NETWORK Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Korea Herald
21-05-2025
- Korea Herald
Seoul's new AI flags, requests removal of sexually abusive content in 6 minutes
The Seoul Metropolitan Government announced Wednesday that it has developed South Korea's first AI-powered system that automatically monitors, detects, reports and requests the removal of sexually exploitative content online within minutes. The city government said it would introduce the AI tool, which will dramatically reduce the time required from initial monitoring to filing deletion requests to just six minutes. Previously, the entire process took approximately two and a half to three hours, as authorities had to manually locate illegal videos circulating on social media platforms, online communities and illicit websites, and then file deletion requests with the respective sites. Since 2023, the city government has worked with the Seoul Institute to monitor sexually exploitative content on social media websites, online communities and the dark web with AI, but the system wasn't able to do more than monitor. However, the newly developed AI tool is able to generate a report of its findings, after which the system automatically drafts an email requesting that the website operators delete the content. The email and report are then checked by an official in charge before it is sent to the website operators. Additionally, amid an increasing number of cases where sexually exploitative videos are uploaded to foreign servers, the city government added that it will also be able to monitor content posted overseas. The email sent to website operators can also be drafted in up to seven languages, such as English, Chinese, Japanese, Russian and Vietnamese. The city government's support center for digital sex crime victims provides 'one-stop support' for victims, as it helps not only to remove sexually exploitative content but also provides investigative and legal support, psychological therapy and medical assistance for the victims. According to numbers provided by the city government, the center has received reports filed by up to 3,650 people between 2022 and March 2025 and has helped handle 64,677 cases. The majority of the victims were in their teens and 20s, with a significant increase in digital sex crime victims among children and teenagers over the last few years. The center recorded as many as 50 such cases in 2022, a number that increased to 624 in 2024.
Korea Herald
19-05-2025
- Health
- Korea Herald
Loneliness hits 62% of solo households in Seoul, city steps up care programs
More than 6 in 10 people living alone in Seoul say they often feel lonely, and over 1 in 8 report having no one to turn to in times of real need, according to a new study released Monday. A survey of 3,000 single-person households by the Seoul Institute, a think tank funded by the city, found that 62.1 percent of respondents experience persistent loneliness. Another 13.6 percent fall into what researchers classify as social isolation: individuals with no support network when they are emotionally distressed, physically unwell or in sudden financial trouble. The problem is especially stark among middle-aged men. In the 40 to 64 age group, 66 percent reported loneliness, and 15.8 percent were socially isolated. Marital status was also a major factor. Those who were married but living alone were the most likely to feel lonely, at 68.6 percent, followed by the widowed (66.8 percent), divorced or separated (63.8 percent) and never-married (59.6 percent). These findings were based on the UCLA Loneliness Scale. This is a common psychological tool that identifies loneliness through 20 self-assessment items, with a total score ranging from 20 to 80. For this study, a score above 43 was categorized as lonely. National figures reinforce the trend. South Korea's official 2024 Social Indicators report, published by Statistics Korea in March, found that 21.1 percent of the population feels lonely, up from 18.5 percent a year earlier. The share of people who say 'nobody really knows me' also rose to 16.2 percent. The stakes are serious. South Korea recorded 3,662 cases of 'lonely deaths' in 2023, or people who died alone without family or support. Men accounted for 84 percent of those cases, with more than half in their 50s or 60s, according to the Ministry of Health and Welfare. In response, Seoul launched a five-year, 451.3 billion won ($322 million) plan in October called 'Seoul Without Loneliness.' It includes emotional support hotlines, early detection systems and in-person care services. One key service, the 'Goodbye Loneliness 120' phone line, received more than 3,000 calls between April 1 and May 8. By dialing 120 and selecting option 5, residents can speak with trained counselors 24 hours a day for emotional support or referrals to additional services. Most callers were middle-aged adults (59 percent), followed by young people (32 percent) and seniors (8 percent). The city is also testing out 'Seoul Maeum Convenience Stores,' which are community spaces in four districts where any resident can drop in for a free bowl of ramen and talk to trained staff or volunteers. Since March, more than 4,400 people have visited. Mayor Oh Se-hoon visited one Friday in Dongdaemun and said the program is still in its early stages but promised to expand it so 'anyone struggling emotionally has a place to go.'
Korea Herald
13-05-2025
- Business
- Korea Herald
Seoul bus ridership drops 19% in 10 years even as city spends billions in subsidies
Seoul's public buses are carrying fewer passengers than they used to, and the city is paying billions to cover their losses, data shows. Over the last 10 years, average daily bus ridership in Seoul has fallen by 19 percent, from 4.57 million in 2014 to 3.73 million in 2024, according to official city data released in April. 'Maeul' buses, smaller vehicles that operate on shorter, community shuttle routes, saw an even steeper drop, down one-third over the same period, from 1.22 million to 840,000 passengers per day. As losses mount, the Seoul Metropolitan Government is spending tens of billions of won to support bus companies. Between 2021 and 2024, the city poured nearly 2.48 trillion won ($1.75 billion) into bus company subsidies under its long-running semi-public system. The model, introduced in 2004, allows private companies to operate city buses while guaranteeing that the government will cover operating losses. Public transportation still handles about 65 percent of all travel in Seoul, but how people use it is changing. From 2012 to 2022, the share of trips made by bus dropped from 27.4 to 20.7 percent. In contrast, subway usage rose from 38.2 to 44.7 percent, showing a growing preference for rail over road-based transit. A 2024 report by the Seoul Institute, a city-backed think tank, points to several reasons behind the drop: increasingly irregular bus intervals, growing car ownership and the popularity of personal mobility options like electric scooters. Meanwhile, the structure of the bus system itself has barely changed since a major overhaul in 2004. At the same time, the number of buses on the road has not decreased. In fact, there are now 7,382 city buses operating in Seoul, over 1,100 more than the Seoul Institute's earlier recommendation of 6,252, based on 2012 demand levels. And most bus routes are running at a loss. In 2019, a government audit found that 405 out of 437 city bus routes — over 92 percent — were unprofitable, compared to 85 percent in 2012. Still, cutting back is not easy. Korean law treats bus route licenses as property rights, which makes it legally difficult for the city to adjust or revoke them, even if ridership drops. Meanwhile, some private equity firms have acquired bus companies and continued drawing dividends despite public subsidies. In one case, a firm paid out over 4 billion won to shareholders by tapping into its reserves. The city now plans to tighten oversight and limit excessive payouts. As part of broader reforms announced in October, Seoul is also capping reimbursements for fuel and driver wages and shifting to a preset subsidy model instead of covering deficits after the fact. Officials estimate these changes could save 60 billion won a year. The challenge lies in cutting costs without cutting off access for the city's most transit-dependent populations. 'Public transport isn't only about profit,' said Hong Sang-yeon, lead researcher of the 2024 report at the Seoul Institute. 'For people in low-income areas and neighborhoods without subway access, buses aren't optional, they're a lifeline.' mjh@
