[The Editors' Verdict] Should the Depression Gallery Be Left Unchecked?

A Series of Extreme Choices Among Youths
Coercing or Aiding Suicide Is a Clear Crime
Laws, Systems, and Institutions Must Be Reformed

A shocking incident occurred on Children's Day. Two teenage female students attempted an extreme choice and were rescued by the police. The suicide attempt was broadcast live on social media (SNS). Someone watched it. Viewers whose names, genders, and ages were unknown. Human life became an object of someone's amusement. This happened in our society during May, the month of family.

The female students met on the online community DC Inside’s ‘Depression Gallery.’ The girls said, "This is the only place where we can share our worries." On April 16, another female student active in the Depression Gallery jumped off a rooftop in Gangnam, Seoul, and ended her life.

Her death was also broadcast live on SNS. Their unstable mental state seemed as if it could collapse at any moment. They sought solace in the Depression Gallery. However, that place was no different from a hellish realm hidden behind anonymity.

There were those who offered warm advice, but human predators waiting for victims of crime also inhabited the space. Against those suffering from depression, there were assaults, threats, even sexual exploitation and coercion to commit suicide.

The Depression Gallery still remains active. The police demanded its closure, but DC Inside refused.

There are opinions that the government should forcibly shut it down. The reality is not that simple. There is the issue of freedom of expression infringement. The criminals in the Depression Gallery mock society. Do they think that even if the gallery is closed, they can just move somewhere else?

Of course, shutting down a specific online community board may not be the essence of the problem. However, the mere demonstration of strong government will certainly has a deterrent effect. What we must be most wary of is the pattern of public interest boiling like a pot only when attention is focused, then fading away over time.

The reality that lonely and struggling youths seek refuge in online spaces means there is a huge hole in the social system. Simply increasing the functions of related government departments and expanding budgets has its limits as a solution. It is important that the government, schools, families, and society each fulfill their roles in their respective domains.

South Korea has grown into one of the world’s top 10 economic powers, but it is questionable whether life has become happier than before. Our current status is that we cannot escape the dishonor of having the highest suicide rate among OECD member countries.

If no one holds the hand of youths standing at the crossroads of life and death, what is society but a hellish realm? Watching others’ deaths live-streamed while laughing. Isn’t this a horrific nightmare created by the vulgar perception of "as long as it’s not me"?

Many forget that society is bound by countless invisible links. What happened in the space shown in the video could one day become a boomerang that tightens around the viewers.

In that sense, hell is not only in the Depression Gallery but may be the very space where you, I, and we live. This is exactly the point the government should focus on. The starting point of change is to organize laws, systems, and institutions so that people realize that encouraging and aiding suicide is a clear crime.