South Korea has one of the highest suicide rates in the world and the most popular method to end one’s life seems to be jumping off a bridge. The one with the highest mortality rate is Mapo Bridge over the Han River. So what can be done about this tragic situation? The government could put up borders, but people determined the end their lives will find a way around those. From this question came a partnership with Samsung to come up with a creative way to deter jumpers.
Now, when a person walks across the Mapo Bridge, positive messages light up from motion detectors which ask the people whether they are okay, whether they need to talk to someone, and showing them that they aren’t quite as alone as they think they are. The bridge also shows pictures of happy moments and pictures, perhaps to try and trigger moments in the person’s life where they may have experienced joy. The goal was to get the person to walk from one end of the bridge to the other, keeping them from making a tragic decision in a fleeting, lonely moment.
Since the installation of the bridge, suicide rates have dropped by 77%. The plan is now to put installations such as this one in other major bridges in the country.
[dailyoftheday]
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