Suicide Landscape ; Han River Bridge

Han River is a representative river in Korea and runs through Seoul, capital city. There are over thirty bridges in the Han River. Every night, color lighting on each bridge covers the city beautifully, which makes the Han River very popular to not only citizens of Seoul but also foreigners. So it draws many visitors. On the other hand, Han River sometimes looks really depressed. Korea ranks at the top for suicide rates among OECD countries. Ironically, the place where suicide is committed a lot is on the Han River Bridge. I like Han River, because it is so beautiful. I go out there for a walk often or have my picture taken. When I am there, I sometimes ask myself these questions. “How were the bridges seen by those who committed suicide?” “What did they see on the last day of their life?” In such endless desperation without hope, in such empty feeling beyond anger towards and disappointment at the world, and in deep sorrow and depression, they ended their own life. To them, probably, the river was scary and the light of the world had faded, and the bridge was their last journey or tombstone. Nevertheless, the Han River and the bridges would have seen as beautiful, still. Who on earth saw such a cruel and harsh world? I had my picture taken, trying to understand their desperation.