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Busan Metropolitan City Launches Full-Scale Child and Youth Mental Health Promotion Project

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Busan Metropolitan City (Mayor Park Heong-joon) announced that it will hold a training session for staff members participating in “A Journey Within: Finding Myself” today (June 5) at 9:30 a.m. at the Busan Metropolitan City Self-Reliance Support Agency, with approximately 40 staff members from child and youth facilities in attendance.

“A Journey Within: Finding Myself” is a social and emotional learning (SEL) program developed by UNICEF that helps children and adolescents understand and express their emotions and build healthy relationships with others.

The program is designed for students from fourth grade in elementary school through high school and consists of a curriculum aimed at strengthening social and emotional competencies such as self-awareness, emotional regulation, empathy, and communication.

This training is being conducted under the “Memorandum of Understanding for the Promotion of Child and Youth Mental Health,” signed in January by Busan Metropolitan City, the Busan Metropolitan City Office of Education, and the Korean Committee for UNICEF. It was developed to cultivate professionals who can support the social and emotional competencies of children and adolescents in local communities.

As mental health issues among children and adolescents, including depression and anxiety, have recently become a growing social concern, the city is establishing a preventive mental health support system that goes beyond intervention after crises occur.

In addition, since April, the city has been promoting the “Knock for a Healthy Mind” campaign using video content to raise awareness of the importance of mental health management for children and adolescents and to foster broader community understanding.

The training is being conducted in cooperation with the Korean Committee for UNICEF and includes mindfulness sessions for staff, education on child rights and well-being, an introduction to “A Journey Within: Finding Myself,” the sharing of school implementation cases, and a question-and-answer session.

Staff members who complete the training will later operate the program directly at community child centers, integrated care centers, youth facilities, and other local institutions. Through this effort, a greater number of children and adolescents are expected to experience mental health education in their daily lives.

Park Seol-yeon, Director General of the Women and Family Bureau, stated, “The mental health of children and adolescents is an essential foundation for healthy growth and the development of social relationships. We will continue working together with the local community to help children build a positive sense of self and develop the skills needed to form healthy relationships.”