Supporting Treatment and Independence
for Children and Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder
Severance Hospital and BTS member Suga (real name Min Yoongi) are establishing a specialized treatment center to support the treatment and social independence of patients with autism spectrum disorder.
On June 23, Severance Hospital held a groundbreaking ceremony for the 'Min Yoongi Treatment Center' on the first floor of Jejung Building at Severance Hospital in Seodaemun-gu, Seoul. The center will support the mental health of children and adolescents through language, psychological, and behavioral therapies, and will operate a variety of programs that link clinical practice with research.
Geum Kigang, Director of Yonsei Medical Center, and Suga are taking a commemorative photo at the groundbreaking ceremony of Min Yoongi Treatment Center on the 23rd. Photo by Yonsei Medical Center
Even during his activities with BTS, Suga has consistently engaged in charitable work and maintained a sustained interest in mental health, psychological and behavioral issues, and especially adolescent depression. He has sought ways to use his talent and abilities in music to provide help.
In November of last year, Suga began communicating with Professor Chun Geunah, a leading authority in child psychiatry at Severance Hospital. Through several meetings, he learned that patients with autism spectrum disorder require customized treatment tailored to their life stages, but such goals are difficult to achieve with existing short-term therapeutic interventions. He also agreed with the need to establish a specialized treatment center capable of supporting mid- to long-term treatment for more than 10 years in order to bring about positive changes in the symptoms of autism spectrum disorder. As a result, he expressed his intention to donate 5 billion KRW to Severance Hospital. This is the largest donation ever made by an artist to Severance Children’s Hospital and Yonsei Medical Center as a whole.
Subsequently, from the end of last year to the beginning of this year, Professor Chun and Suga discussed the construction of the treatment center and the development of music-based social skills training for children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder. Based on these discussions, they developed the 'MIND' program, a group social skills program that integrates musical content into existing social skills training.
The MIND program is an acronym that stands for 'Music' (enhancing interaction and sensory experiences through music), 'Interaction' (providing opportunities to form social relationships and communicate), 'Network' (learning how to naturally build relationships within a community), and 'Diversity' (learning to respect individual differences and coexist harmoniously in society). Children participating in this program play instruments and sing, compose lyrics to music, and express their emotions and thoughts through music and writing.
From March to June this year, Suga participated in the development of the program by meeting with children with autism spectrum disorder on weekends. He played instruments such as the guitar himself, encouraging the children to match rhythms and harmonies, interact through music, and expand their emotional expression. He also taught the children how to play instruments themselves.
Officials from Yonsei Medical Center and Suga are taking a group commemorative photo at the groundbreaking ceremony of the 'Min Yoongi Treatment Center' held on the 23rd at Jejung Building, Severance Hospital, Seodaemun-gu, Seoul. Photo by Yonsei Medical Center
As the program progressed, the children’s ability to express their emotions and language increased significantly, and their social skills were developed as they collaborated with or waited for other children. O (age 10) and Lee (age 12), who had shown little response during language therapy alone, demonstrated talent by independently choosing instruments and playing them in time with the beat.
During ensemble sessions, a wide range of emotional expressions also emerged. Kim (age 18), who previously had little ability to express himself verbally or emotionally, began to show emotions through facial expressions while collaborating with other children and responded to the therapist’s attention and praise. This program has demonstrated that it can help children with autism spectrum disorder who have limited language abilities to form social relationships.
Going forward, the Min Yoongi Treatment Center plans to further develop the MIND program and establish a self-sustaining music project model. To ensure the program’s continuity, the center will also systematize the training of experts in each therapeutic field, thereby strengthening both the sustainability and professionalism of the program.
Once construction of the Min Yoongi Treatment Center is completed in September, regular program sessions will be newly established and expanded. The center will operate various therapy sessions, including music-based social skills training, for patients with autism spectrum disorder and other developmental disabilities. Existing programs such as ABA (Applied Behavior Analysis) and language therapy will also be expanded. In addition, to objectively verify the effectiveness of the MIND program, clinical research, academic paper presentations, and the publication of program manuals are planned.
Professor Chun Geunah stated, "Beyond financial support, I sincerely thank Suga for his genuine talent donation and volunteer work over the past several months. I was deeply impressed by Suga’s consistently sincere and intellectual attitude. The ultimate goal of the Min Yoongi Treatment Center and the MIND program is to help children with autism spectrum disorder grow into independent and healthy members of society through music, and to break down prejudices and improve awareness about autism spectrum disorder."
Suga said, "Through the past seven months of preparing the program and volunteering with Professor Chun Geunah, I have deeply realized that music can be a precious channel for expressing the mind and communicating with the world. Being able to participate in the treatment process for children with autism spectrum disorder has been a great honor and happiness for me, and I will continue to do my best so that more children can become members of our society."
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