The News
Seoul is putting $326 million toward combating the scourge of loneliness and preventing the growing number of “lonely deaths.” The new initiative in the South Korean capital plans to set up a 24-hour hotline for people feeling isolated, expand one-on-one mental health counseling services, and open four locations next year where people can have meals and talk to others, The Korea Herald reported.
The city also wants to work with food delivery platforms to assess customers’ isolation risks, because single-person households are more likely to stay in and order meals to their door. The economic implications of isolation are worrying officials in a country that also has an aging population and a plummeting fertility rate.
AD