S. Koreans Seek Metaverse Counseling Platform

Virtual online space of metaverse operated by Seoul's northernmost district of Dobong has attracted hundreds of high school and university students, who seek counselling anonymously to treat addiction problems. The district offers online environments that young people find comfortable and familiar so that they can easily open their hearts and speak freely and truly about their problems.
 
South Korean society with more than three million patients who suffer from mental diseases and disorders has a long and rarely spoken history of hiding illnesses such as addiction, depression, dementia, and schizophrenia. From ancient times, people with mental problems were often kicked out of local communities or grounded to their residential premises to prevent them from causing trouble. A person confessing or openly speaking that he or she has a mental disorder could easily be seen as a sign of weakness. Because of such reasons, many people fear to seek for professional help even though the situation they are in is very serious. 
 
"Because young people may hesitate to visit us in person, we set up a metaverse platform so they could easily gain access to our services," Dobong Addiction Control Center's spokesperson Ha Narihan told Aju Korea Daily on January 10. She said the district office's metaverse service is mostly used by university students on Metaforest, a metaverse counseling platform created by virtual reality platform developer Yatavent. Since 2022, more than 400 people have received counseling services in virtual spaces that were created in the form of cafes and camping grounds.


Source: Aju Daily