The devastating horror of the stampede at Itaewon on October 29 that killed at least 156 people during Halloween celebrations has shaken the nation of South Korea. As the country mourns the loss of lives and the injured persons in the incident recuperate slowly, there is a need to retrospect and help everyone overcome the scars of the tragedy.
Korean startup Atomers recently announced that from November 1, it would set up a dedicated team of mental health experts on its platform Mind Café and provide ’emergency psychological counseling service’ free of charge for bereaved families and citizens who are experiencing mental and psychological difficulties due to the impact of the Itaewon accident. The target of psychological counseling support is survivors and injured, bereaved family and ‘direct exposure’ who directly witnessed the incident.
Mind Café plans to provide psychological counseling by determining the level of crisis related to the Itaewon disaster and systematically providing the necessary support, such as linking with external agencies and hospitals if depression or anxiety is high. Mind Café will support this psychological counseling through online and offline psychological counseling centers (Yongsan/Gangnam/Bundang branches). All details on utilizing the free psychological counselling service are available on the Mind Café website and app.
Kim Gyu-tae, CEO of Atomers, said, “It is an unbelievable and heartbreaking thing. We offer our deepest condolences to the victims and their families. We want to provide strength through psychological support needed in a disaster situation.”
Mind Café is the number one mental care platform in Korea, with more than 1.5 million users. It operates the Employee Psychological Support Program (EAP), a welfare benefit program that manages employees’ mental health. Currently, the service is provided to 160 companies and institutions, including Samsung Electronics, Naver, and Hyundai Heavy Industries.
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