"Daily Nightmares": Citizens in Gwangju Tremble from Trauma of Apartment Collapse Fear

After the 'Gwangju Collapse Accident,' Severe Anxiety and Depression... "Can't Even Eat"

Korean Red Cross Provides Disaster Counseling Support for Families of Missing Persons and Nearby Citizens

A yellow ribbon wishing for the safe return of the missing person is hung on the wire fence near the collapse site of Hwajeong I-Park in Seo-gu, Gwangju Metropolitan City.

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters reporters Park Jin-hyung and Jo Hyung-joo] It has been seven days since the apartment in Hwajeong-dong, Gwangju, constructed by Hyundai Development Company, collapsed, but citizens are still suffering from trauma, fearing it could collapse again at any moment.

Not only the families of the missing persons but also nearby merchants, who were forced to suspend their livelihoods due to evacuation orders, continue to experience nightmares and report severe anxiety symptoms.

To support them, the Gwangju-Jeonnam branch of the Korean Red Cross is providing disaster psychological recovery counseling.

As of the 17th, a total of 19 people have received or are scheduled to receive counseling.

This counseling service aims to help those psychologically shocked by various disasters to alleviate mental and psychological trauma and prevent aftereffects.

Applications can be made at the accident site or by phone. Afterwards, volunteer counselors with master's or doctoral degrees conduct one-on-one counseling sessions, each lasting about one hour. Depending on the situation, up to around ten additional sessions may be held.

On this day as well, delays in accident recovery due to insufficient stabilization of the collapsed upper floors are causing residents' stress to accumulate increasingly.

Kim (68), who runs a flower shop nearby, said, "Since the accident, I haven't been able to eat properly and have spent sleepless nights," adding, "My heart races just seeing tall buildings or cranes."

In fact, recent search and rescue operations have been interrupted several times due to debris such as concrete falling from the upper floors caused by strong winds.

Oh Il-rok, director of the Green Tree Counseling Center (59, female), explained, "Counselees mainly show symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder due to the risk of a secondary collapse," adding, "Even people not directly involved are affected and sometimes cannot sleep."

Meanwhile, as search and rescue efforts are delayed, a "yellow wave" hoping for safe returns continues near the site. Carefully written messages such as "Please come back safely" and "Praying for your return" are causing passersby to pause momentarily.

The accident occurred around 3:46 p.m. on the 11th when the exterior walls of floors 23 to 38 of building 201 collapsed.

As a result, one worker died, and five went missing. They are presumed to have been responsible for window installation and fire-fighting equipment work on floors 28 to 34 of the collapsed building.