Incheon City has stepped up to support the psychological recovery of residents in Ganghwa-gun who are suffering mental distress due to loudspeaker noise from North Korea aimed at South Korea.
On the 15th, the city announced that it will implement support measures at the city level ahead of government assistance to minimize the damage caused to residents by North Korea's noise broadcasts. The city plans to first measure residents' stress levels and promote mental health support projects such as mental health examinations and psychological counseling.
Noise damage measurement will be conducted by experts using specialized equipment from the Incheon City Health and Environment Research Institute, who will directly accumulate 24-hour on-site data of North Korean noise broadcasts. The noise measurement results from the Marine Corps and Ganghwa-gun will be cross-verified, and if continuous noise measurement is necessary, an automatic noise measurement network will also be established.
To provide psychological counseling and recovery for residents, Incheon City will deploy the 'Mind Health Bus' to the affected areas in Songhae, Yangsa, and Gyodong-myeon in Ganghwa-gun, and through the Ganghwa-gun Mental Health Welfare Center, mental health examinations and in-depth counseling for anxiety, stress disorders, and other conditions will be conducted.
Additionally, due to damage caused by livestock stillbirths from noise stress, 15 kg of stress relief agents for livestock were distributed to farms earlier this month, with plans for further distribution underway.
Previously, Incheon City requested the government to prepare preventive measures and financial support for residents affected by North Korea's noise broadcasts.
The city has identified that among approximately 8,800 residents in the three affected myeon, about 52%, or 4,600 people, have reported noise damage caused by North Korea's noise broadcasts, which intensified from the beginning of last month.
In the affected areas, bizarre noises such as sirens and sounds of buk drums and janggu drums are broadcast repeatedly on and off 24 hours a day. The noise level ranges from the sound of a telephone ringing to the maximum noise level of a subway. As a result, local residents complain of accumulated stress from the noise, sleep deprivation, and seizures in infants and young children.
Yoo Jeong-bok, Mayor of Incheon, said, "Living in a border area itself is an act of patriotism," and added, "We will do our utmost to minimize the damage to residents in Ganghwa-gun, the West Sea Five Islands, and other border areas of Incheon."
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