Jumping off a bridge can be said to be one of the more popular ways of committing suicide, and in the nation of South Korea, there is one particular bridge where many people have taken their own lives. It seems that work has been done to ensure that this bridge will no longer take any more lives down the road, but rather, to help preserve life – by beaming inspirational messages of hope which will light up as people walk by. This particular bridge is situated over the Han River, where it is known as the Mapo Bridge, and has been called the Bridge of Death after over 100 folks attempted suicide from it in the past 5 years alone.
The Seoul City government decided that to counter suicides from the Mapo Bridge in the future, they will not build higher fences or a suicide barrier, but will work alongside Samsung Life Insurance to introduce interactive handrails which will speak directly to passersby. These handrails are equipped with motion sensors that are able to sense people’s movements, where they will then light up with short inspirational messages which have been specially crafted alongside the assistance of psychologists and suicide prevention specialists, while showing off photos of happy families and individuals. Do you think that this is the better way of going around things?