Actress to help combat teen suicide

Television star hopes to stop a growing number of youths from taking their own lives
ucanews.com reporter, Seoul
Korea
July 11, 2011

A popular young TV actress has joined a Catholic campaign to prevent teenage suicides. Gabriella Seo Hyun-jin, 26, agreed to become an “Angel for Pro-Life,” during a meeting with Cardinal Nicholas Cheong Jin-suk of Seoul today. The “Angels for Pro-Life,” teenage anti-suicide group, was recently established by the One-Body One-Spirit Movement (OBOS), the Seoul Archdiocese’s social arm, to combat an upsurge in teen suicides in South Korea.
She was also appointed as an OBOS ambassador and received certificate from the cardinal. Cardinal Cheong said it is crucial for people to gain fulfillment in life, noting, however, that many think about taking their own lives when they feel inadequate or a sense of underachievement.

Seo said she would do her best to play a significant role in youth suicide prevention. The actress, who made her first TV appearance in 2001, is no stranger to charity or social work. She helped poor children in Mongolia and Cambodia in 2008 by participating in an overseas volunteer program run by the OBOS, according to Father Joseph Kim Yong-tae, its general director.

The national police agency said South Korea has one of the highest overall suicide rates in the world. According to government statistics, the teenage suicide rate in 2009 stood at 6.5 per 100,000, up from 4.6 per 100,000 the previous year.