Customized Counseling and Participation Programs
Supporting Social Reintegration
Gwangju City held an opening ceremony on the 17th for the "Gwangju Hikikomori Support Center," which relocated and expanded to Daeeui-dong, Dong-gu. Photo by Gwangju City
On June 17, Gwangju City held an opening ceremony for the "Gwangju Hikikomori Support Center," which had relocated and expanded to Daeeui-dong, Dong-gu. The ceremony began with the unveiling of the center's signboard and continued with presentations on the center's operational achievements, vision, introduction of the new space, and congratulatory remarks from participants.
The "Gwangju Hikikomori Support Center" was established in 2022 after Gwangju enacted the nation's first "Hikikomori Support Ordinance" in 2019 and conducted a pilot operation in 2021. The center provides customized services for socially isolated youth.
In March, the center relocated and expanded to Daeeui-dong, Dong-gu. The new facility increased the number of counseling rooms from one to three and expanded the number of spaces for self-help groups and social relationship recovery programs from one to two.
Notably, the "Safe Space," where users can freely spend time, now features a shared kitchen and a mini cafe, allowing individuals to communicate with the world and enjoy a comfortable recovery period without outside interference.
The center offers tailored support at each stage, from outreach to social reintegration. To date, it has conducted a total of 1,372 counseling sessions and provided various recovery programs to 571 individuals. Key programs include: ▲ Individual professional counseling ▲ Self-help group "Anyway, Let's Gather" ▲ Lifestyle improvement program "One, One, One, Let's Do It!" ▲ Interpersonal relationship activity "Cheerful Hikikomori Gathering" ▲ Social participation activity "Anyway, Go to Work," among others.
The center has established itself as an integrated support model for the practical recovery of isolated youth and their families, attracting significant attention with 55 benchmarking visits from local governments and the Ministry of Health and Welfare nationwide. For isolated youth, the center serves as a safe haven that helps them reconnect with society at their own pace, leading many who wish to escape isolation to seek its support.
The city plans to further strengthen in-depth counseling, self-reliance support, and community linkage systems tailored to each individual's stage of recovery, and to expand its person-centered practical model through ongoing case management.
Jung Younghwa, Director of Welfare and Health, stated, "The Gwangju Hikikomori Support Center is a place of recovery where the heart of someone who has become distant from the world can begin to move again, and a warm space where families can catch their breath together. Gwangju City will continue to do its utmost to provide comprehensive support for the social reintegration of isolated youth."
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