Lol it’s funny seeing this on here because I exercise on the Mapo bridge every day. The messages are go on for almost the entire length of the bridge and there are lots of pictures too, of like families and food.
According to a source I read in Korean, there are some theories to why this was the case.
On the positive side, we have people arguing that we just got better at noticing when people jumped off that bridge, that because so much emphasis has been put on suicide prevention that hasn't been the case in the past, a lot of suicides and suicide attempts that would've gone unnoticed were recorded. These are the people who say that the suicide prevention projects actually have helped more than harmed. Additionally, the number of suicide attempts recorded is possibly inflated due to a change in the definition of suicide attempt: anyone who feels lost and uncertain on the bridge regardless of whether they actually tried to jump or not are now counted as having attempted suicide.
On the negative side, some have noted that the 'Messages of Hope', so-called, that line the entire bridge are inflammatory and actually encourage people to jump. Here are some choice few messages that they actually posted on the bridge, translated by yours truly:
*Did you eat? Are you well? The wind feels nice today. How was your day? Did anything happen? You must be tired, I know without saying. If you're feeling down, let's stretch and get a cup of coffee. Sounds good, right? Let's take a walk. *
Hmm. All the hardships in life. Why don't you think of them as the ephemeral, passing wind?
All of this will be nothing once you get older.
Do you remember your concerns from 3 years ago? No, right? This will all come to pass.
Can you swim?
They've actually tried to install higher railings in recent years, but the impact was negligible, as the suicidal and desperate still managed to jump, or go to nearby bridges instead. Finally, there's talks of installing a permanent safety platform all across the bridge.
DTSuteru on February 25th, 2018 at 06:59 UTC »
Lol it’s funny seeing this on here because I exercise on the Mapo bridge every day. The messages are go on for almost the entire length of the bridge and there are lots of pictures too, of like families and food.
KloudMcJoo on February 25th, 2018 at 07:27 UTC »
According to a source I read in Korean, there are some theories to why this was the case.
On the positive side, we have people arguing that we just got better at noticing when people jumped off that bridge, that because so much emphasis has been put on suicide prevention that hasn't been the case in the past, a lot of suicides and suicide attempts that would've gone unnoticed were recorded. These are the people who say that the suicide prevention projects actually have helped more than harmed. Additionally, the number of suicide attempts recorded is possibly inflated due to a change in the definition of suicide attempt: anyone who feels lost and uncertain on the bridge regardless of whether they actually tried to jump or not are now counted as having attempted suicide.
On the negative side, some have noted that the 'Messages of Hope', so-called, that line the entire bridge are inflammatory and actually encourage people to jump. Here are some choice few messages that they actually posted on the bridge, translated by yours truly:
*Did you eat? Are you well? The wind feels nice today. How was your day? Did anything happen? You must be tired, I know without saying. If you're feeling down, let's stretch and get a cup of coffee. Sounds good, right? Let's take a walk. *
Hmm. All the hardships in life. Why don't you think of them as the ephemeral, passing wind?
All of this will be nothing once you get older.
Do you remember your concerns from 3 years ago? No, right? This will all come to pass.
Can you swim?
They've actually tried to install higher railings in recent years, but the impact was negligible, as the suicidal and desperate still managed to jump, or go to nearby bridges instead. Finally, there's talks of installing a permanent safety platform all across the bridge.
skeletorlaugh on February 25th, 2018 at 08:58 UTC »
maybe "everything will be fine" and "you can do it!" were poor choices