Depression and Lack of Concern

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In the Eyes of the Priest column of the Catholic Peace Weekly, we hear about the ways some take advantage of the young with problems.

On the 16th of last month, a high school girl made an extreme choice in a high-rise building in Gangnam. The high school girl made her decision using an internet site called Depression Gallery, then used her smartphone to live-broadcast her extreme choice. Gallery users recorded the high school girl's live broadcast and watched it while sharing files with each other.

DC Inside is a conversation community where you can write anonymously without complicated authentication procedures. There is a chat room in the community where you can have a conversation about depression. On the surface, it is called a depression gallery because you can write anonymously, but some have turned it into a criminal space targeting psychologically unstable minors. Some who frequent the gallery are encouraging or helping teenagers with severe depression to make extreme choices.

On the 5th of this month, two high school girls who met at the Depression Gallery were rescued after making an extreme choice. When the two girls told the gallery about their hard feelings, they were told not to live like this and go on and die was the reason they decided to make an extreme choice. This time, there was a live broadcast on a smartphone, and in the real-time comments were numerous sayings: “Just die” and “Come on, jump .”
 
Crimes using the Depression Gallery do not stop here. A man met a woman who was active in the gallery and offered to comfort her, put a narcotic sleeping pill in her drink, and raped her. A man took a picture of a woman's appearance, put a so-called 'rape' on it, and 'exhibited' it in a gallery. People who saw the post said they commented with words of unspeakable hate.
 
An expert in criminal psychology appeared on a broadcast and said that the 'Depression Gallery' is "an evolved nth room where all the worst combinations such as sexual exploitation, suicide promotion, and drug use come together." He said that their movements also led to pseudo-religions. Some accused the site of being an "online crime scene" and that the depression gallery should be closed immediately.
 
What's even more surprising is that DC Inside, which runs the Depression Gallery, refused to shut it down despite these accusations. The copyright of the post and the backlash from users were the reasons.

The government is unable to forcibly shut down the site as there are no relevant laws. The police also set up a special team to investigate, but users said that it was difficult to find the criminal because they acted anonymously. But you can't just leave it like this. If it is difficult to close, it should be blocked. The Korea Communications Commission started reviewing the blocking of harmful sites, but it was too late. You must make hasty decisions and block access quickly. The police should not give up their efforts to find those who drove them to sexual exploitation and extreme choices.
 
We should all be by the side of those who are contemplating extreme choices. A teenager who was rescued after attempting an extreme choice said that this gallery was the only place where her story was heard. Today's youth are in a state of mental crisis as they are pushed into a fiercely competitive society after going through the entrance exam hell. We should pay attention to those who are having problems in their lives and the religious world, including the Catholic Church, must put more effort into movement for life.
 
Korea has the highest suicide rate in the OECD. The number one cause of death among adolescents is suicide. Teenagers who spend a murderous schedule looking only at college entrance are experiencing competition after competition. The world that drove them to depression is brutal. Moreover, some approach the depressed with the bait of 'consolation' but not to help,  just one of the signs that not all is well with society.