○ Live broadcast on August 13 via YouTube channel of Gyeonggi Youth Counseling and Welfare Center
– Content includes psychological trauma of and counseling for youths due to COVID-19, as well as the possibilities and limitations of online psychotherapy

Gyeonggi Province will broadcast an online lecture (conference) live via the YouTube channel of the Gyeonggi Youth Counseling and Welfare Center on August 13 under the theme of “Youth Counseling in the Post-COVID-19 and On-tact Era.”

“On-tact” is a new term that has emerged in Korea as the COVID-19 pandemic continues. A portmanteau of “on” and “untact” (i.e. contactless), it refers to an online, face-to-face approach to interaction. (Source: pmg Knowledge Engine Research Institute)

Hosted by Gyeonggi Province and organized by the Gyeonggi Youth Counseling and Welfare Center, the online lecture/conference will explore effective alternatives and ways in which to overcome the psychological difficulties experienced by youths due to COVID-19.

Featured participants include: Yook Seong-pil, Chairperson of the Special Committee on Disaster Psychology of the Korean Psychology Association (former President of the Yongmun Graduate School of Counseling Psychology); Kim Hyun-soo, a psychiatrist (Director of the Seoul COVID19 Psychological Support Group); Lee Dong-hoon, an education professor at Sungkyunkwan University, and Lee Young-seon, a professor in the Department of Counseling and Psychotherapy of Konyang University. Under the keywords of “post-COVID-19,” “on-tact,” “youth,” and “counseling,” these specialists will discuss post-COVID-19 and youth trauma, counseling for youths in crisis due to COVID-19, the reality of untact counseling for youths, and online counseling performance factors.

The event will be broadcast live online from 10:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. via YouTube so as to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Over 300 officials from youth counseling and welfare centers as well as related agencies in Gyeonggi Province are expected to participate.

Lifelong Education Bureau Director General Yeon Je-chan said, “We are holding this event as we strongly felt the need to explore a new paradigm for youth counseling after experiencing the limitations of face-to-face counseling during the sudden onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.”

Gyeonggi Youth Counseling and Welfare Center Director Yoo Soon-deok said, “The online lecture will help strengthen the abilities of youth counseling officials who are seeking a new type of non-face-to-face counseling technique.”

The Gyeonggi Youth Counseling and Welfare Center helps youths who suffer from psychological and emotional difficulties to address their issues through rapid intervention, and it promotes customized support projects for the healthy development of youths in association with the youth counseling and welfare centers in the 31 cities and counties of the province on an ongoing basis. Youths, youth guardians, and provincial leaders who wish to receive counseling and/or more information should call 1388, the youth help-line call center of Gyeonggi Province, which provides free professional counseling in various youth fields 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.