What Are They? “Depression Galleries” Take The Lives Of Many In South Korea
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“Depression Galleries” have recently risen in popularity in South Korea, much to the concern of many. Just what is a “depression gallery?”
The term stems from the online community DC Inside, which operates various minor and major “galleries.” Each gallery is a sub-community within the DC Inside umbrella. It is similar to Reddit and its various subreddits. The “depression gallery” is one where depressed people meet and talk to each other. While some can seek comfort and advice, others have taken drastic measures and used the gallery to form suicide pacts.
Two teens in South Korea recently met on the forum and attempted suicide together. On May 6, 2023, according to the Gangnam Police Station, a 17-year-old and a 15-year-old tried to commit suicide on the stairwells of the Hannam Bridge around 3.55 am in the morning. The entire process was live-streamed on social media. Luckily, one of the account’s followers alerted the police to say their friend was attempting to take their own life. Both teens were saved and sent back to their guardians.
Even more concerning was that another man was watching all of this unfold. He was also a user of the depression gallery and testified that he was there to stop them after receiving notification from an acquaintance.
On April 16, 2023, another user of the gallery, a teen, committed suicide by jumping from the 19th floor of a building in Gangnam. They also aired this on social media. They had decided on this after seeing a post on the depression gallery calling for people to make a suicide pact together. Ultimately the person that made the pact with them pulled out after meeting with the teen for an hour.
As concern grows, many are calling for the removal of such galleries and even abolishing DC Inside itself. At the very least, heavy monitoring of users would be required to prevent the site from being used for such matters.
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