Seoul’s emergency bridge phones have made 10,000 crisis calls in past 14 years

The Korea Life Insurance Philanthropy Foundation said Thursday that a total of 10,199 suicide crisis consultations were conducted between July 2011 and June 2025 through the SOS Lifeline service.

A passerby looks down at the Han River at the Mapo Bridge on Feb. 24, 2025. [NEWS1]

“It's like I'm running a race with no finish line, and I want to stop. I'm doing my best, but my parents only want me to be No. 1. I don't think I can hang on any longer."

These were the words of a teenage girl during a recent call to the SOS Lifeline phone installed on Mapo Bridge — a direct line for people in crisis. Calls like hers have surpassed 10,000 in the past 14 years, with most callers in their teens or 20s and seeking help for struggles related to personal relationships or academic pressure.

The Korea Life Insurance Philanthropy Foundation said Thursday that a total of 10,199 suicide crisis consultations were conducted between July 2011 and June 2025 through the SOS Lifeline service. In 2,326 cases, emergency services such as the 119 rescue team were mobilized to intervene in life-threatening situations.

The SOS Lifeline phones are emergency counseling hotlines installed on 75 phones across 20 bridges spanning the Han River.

Of all consultations conducted over the past 14 years, issues related to relationships and social adjustment were the most common, totaling 2,502 cases. That was followed by career and academic concerns, with 2,243 cases, and existential worries, with 1,988 cases. These numbers suggest that callers were most distressed about interpersonal conflict and uncertainty about the future.

The “SOS Lifeline” phone installed on a Han River Bridge [KOREA LIFE INSURANCE PHILANTHROPY FOUNDATION]

By age group, people in their 20s accounted for the largest share of callers, making up 32 percent. Teens followed at 26 percent. Together, the two age groups made up more than half of all users. In terms of gender, 57 percent of the callers were male.

The majority of calls occurred during the evening and early morning hours, from 6 p.m. to 3 a.m., with the most common window, 9 p.m. to midnight, accounting for 25.6 percent of calls. A majority of consultations — 57 percent — were made from phones on Mapo Bridge alone.

“SOS Lifeline is a frontline social safety net that protects lives,” said the Korea Life Insurance Philanthropy Foundation. “We also plan to operate a ‘Mind Line’ system in urban areas so people in crisis can receive counseling outside of the Han River bridges as well.”

Translated from the JoongAng Ilbo using generative AI and edited by Korea JoongAng Daily staff. BY JUNG JONG-HOON [yoon.soyeon@joongang.co.kr]