South Korean suicide survivor leads advocacy for open dialogue and support
Suicide prevention trainer Sim So-young, a social-work PhD, shares how speaking about loss helped her heal and spurred her advocacy work.
In an interview ahead of World Suicide Prevention Day, Sim So-young, a social-work PhD from Soongsil University, explained that acknowledging pain is the first step toward healing. Her dissertation examined how suicide-bereaved activists across ages experience post-traumatic growth, based on in-depth interviews with thirteen participants. National data reveal that a large majority of families hide the cause of death and suffer significant depressive symptoms.
After a year of private mourning, Sim found relief in a self-help group where members listened without judgment. Eight years later she felt able to speak publicly about her father's suicide, and she now delivers over 200 prevention talks annually and serves on the Korean Suicide Survivors Association board. She urges society to create more safe spaces, especially for young survivors, and to view bereaved families as agents of recovery rather than merely vulnerable victims.
