Campaign to Raise Awareness of Drug Addiction Risks and Prevent Illegal Use Held on the 10th at Exit 9 of Gangnam Station
Seocho-gu Public Health Center, along with the Seocho-gu Medical Association, Dental Association, Korean Medicine Association, Pharmaceutical Association, Seoul Drug Eradication Movement Headquarters, and Seocho Police Station, jointly read slogans and a declaration for eradicating illegal drugs... The event also features a drug eradication poster exhibition, drug-related O/X quizzes, and a street dance performance by young artists ‘Massacrew,’ providing programs for residents to participate in.
Seocho-gu (Mayor Jeon Seong-su) will hold the ‘2023 Seocho Drug Eradication Commitment Campaign’ on the 10th at Seocho Baram Hill in front of Exit 9 of Gangnam Station to raise awareness of the dangers of drug addiction and prevent illegal use.
Recently, a drug beverage incident occurred in the Gangnam academy district, and with the development of the internet, drug distribution through SNS has become easy, threatening the health of local residents.
According to the Prosecutor’s Office’s Drug Crime White Paper, the total number of drug offenders in South Korea in 2022 was 18,395, a 30.2% increase compared to 14,123 in 2017.
In particular, the proportion of drug offenders aged 10 to 20 increased sharply from 15.8% in 2017 to 34.2% in 2022, more than doubling in just five years.
To prevent the increasing illegal drug use, the district is holding the ‘2023 Seocho Drug Eradication Commitment Campaign’ to raise awareness that curiosity can lead to addiction and to encourage everyone to be vigilant and prevent drug abuse.
This campaign event is hosted by the Seocho-gu Public Health Center, with participation from the Seocho-gu Medical Association, Dental Association, Korean Medicine Association, Pharmaceutical Association, Seoul Drug Eradication Movement Headquarters, and Seocho Police Station.
The event starts at 2:30 PM, where all attendees will shout slogans pledging to eradicate illegal drugs, and representatives from each organization will perform a joint declaration reading to prevent the spread of illegal drugs.
In addition to the official event, drug-related O/X quizzes, distribution of various promotional materials, and a drug eradication poster exhibition will be held for residents to participate in.
As a closing program for the campaign, a dynamic street dance performance by the youth artist street dance team ‘Massacrew,’ supported by the district, is also prepared.
The district plans to continue various drug eradication campaigns after this event. Efforts to prevent illegal drug use among teenagers will also continue. The ‘Visiting Drug and Harmful Substance Misuse Prevention Education’ for elementary, middle, and high school students will be expanded compared to last year. In the first half of this year alone, education was provided to 8 schools and 5,551 students, and in the second half, education is scheduled for 30 schools and 15,144 students.
This year’s ‘Visiting Prevention Education’ will especially utilize the ‘Youth Drug Misuse Prevention Video’ produced by the Seocho-gu Pharmaceutical Association, along with the district’s self-produced comic educational material ‘Youth Drug Misuse SOS,’ which will be distributed to students to inform them of the dangers of easily accessible drugs on the internet and to prevent their use.
Jeon Seong-su, Mayor of Seocho-gu, said, “We will do our best to raise awareness of drug addiction and its dangers and to prevent illegal drug use.”
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