“Walk 18 for Student Mental Health”

May 5 is a national holiday in Korea called Children’s Day. A teacher for 35 years and as a parent who raised two kids, it's an important day to recognize and celebrate our most precious assets – OUR CHILDREN.

Today, I decided to walk about 6-7 miles, carrying a golf bag with clubs (approximately 20 lbs) on my shoulders on the streets of Seoul. Why you may ask?

There is a famous saying that I have often said to my students, “Words may inspire, but only action creates change.” I decided to, in my own personal way, do something about a very serious and important issue that is impacting not only here in Korea, but in the US as well. Although it may be only a handful of people, but I want to bring awareness and perhaps reduce the stigma related to student suicides and mental illness.

Last week, I read an article in Korea Times about a study that just came out. It stated, that last year, 1 out of 3 middle and high school students in Korea thought about suicide, which is a staggering figure and shocking news. In the US for teenagers, suicide ideation is around 17-18% so much less than here in Korea, but still too high. In the article, it said that the two major reasons were academic stress and anxiety about the future and career path.

Personally, when I read this article it brought back painful and sad memories for me. I’ve been a teacher and school principal for over thirty years in both New York and Korea and four years ago, my last year as a high school principal before I retired, I attended five funerals of young adults, all my former students. It was one of the most difficult school years for me as an educator. And recently, only a few weeks ago, I received news of another former student in New York passing away at a young age.

For many years, Korea has ranked very high in the suicide rate for all age groups, which is a sad story in itself; however, for young adults, it is the number one cause of death in Korea. Additionally, due to the ongoing pandemic, the suicide rate and mental health issues are arising both in the US and in Korea. I don’t have the exact figures, but anecdotally I’ve heard from my school colleagues in New York and Korea that they are seeing more students being referred for counseling services related to mental health.

I realize suicide and mental health is an uncomfortable topic for many people and in many cultures. And I know there is a shame and stigma attached to the topic, especially here in Korea; therefore, it does not get discussed a whole lot in the media, at least not out in public. For example, that article did not get any major newspaper or TV coverage at all. I think this is so true, especially here in Korea, but with one of the highest rates of suicides in the world, that should not be. Sometimes, it feels like murderers and child abusers get more TV coverage than about our students.

I believe we need to get rid of the stigma and talk about it, bring this serious issue out in the minds of people so that we can start to deal with it in a constructive way. And we need help from everyone - the schools, parents, teachers, mental health experts, politicians, and media to turn around this sad statistic.

So that’s the background information about WHY. Now, what I did do. Well, a few months ago I came across a famous golf pro, Rick Shiels, in England that gives YouTube video golf lessons. He decided to do a fundraiser to bring awareness to mental health in his country called, “Walk 18 for Mental Health.” Back in February, when the UK was under COVID-19 lockdown, he heard about the rise in mental health issues due to the fact that people were not able to socialize like in the past. So in his own way, he did something about it, something positive.

I am from America where golf culture is very different than here in Korea. Unlike in Korea, you just join up with a stranger (White, Black, Asian, white-collar, blue-collar, etc.) at the course and you enjoy 4-5 hours of golf walking and talking about work, family, life, and many other topics. Perhaps that social interaction is why I am so passionate about it and love to play golf. Because golf courses are accessible to everyone, you can play at a public course for about 20-30 dollars in many cases carrying your golf bag. I must have played over a thousand rounds of golf in the US in my lifetime and most of the time carrying my golf bag like what I did today.

Anyway, that golf pro in England decided to walk carrying his golf bag about 6-7 miles each day, which is the approximate length of 18 holes of golf so that’s where ‘Walk 18’ comes from. He did this for the entire month of February, 28 days, around his hometown. His goal was to raise £10,000, but he raised close to £50,000. ($70,000) for a charity that helps people struggling with mental health, which was amazing.

My reason for doing was not to raise money, but in small way to bring awareness to the issue of student suicide and mental health. I created a T-shirt(see below) with the logo, “Walk 18 for Student Mental Health.” It also says, “It’s okay not to be okay,” which is the saying that is widely used in the US when mental health professionals talk about this very important issue. Basically, it means it’s okay to say that you’re not okay. Expressing your emotions is never a bad thing, and if you’re not okay, it’s okay to say so to someone - to your parents, your brother or sister, your friend, your teacher, whoever.

Another thing that you may have noticed on the t-shirt is the symbol of the semicolon(;). I know in Korean writing this punctuation is not used; but in English, it is used when the writer rather than ending a sentence, decides to continue. It represents hope that your story isn’t over yet. It also represents courage to the ones who decide to fight instead of ending it all.

So on Children’s Day in Korea, I thought to myself, it’s a perfect day for me to be doing this in celebration of all the children who are our hopes and dreams for a better future world. Obviously, I got some attention from people since seeing a person walking and carrying a golf bag is not something you will witness on the streets of Seoul every day or any day for that matter. Hopefully, some noticed the t-shirt with an important message on it and thought about the issue of student mental health.

If nothing else, at least I got a solid 7-mile walking exercise today, which they say is very good for your mental health. So today was Day 1 of my ‘Walk 18 for Student Mental Health.’ Not sure if I can match Rick Shiels’ 28 days, he is much younger than me, but I will do my best. I want to finish by saying a quote, from one of my favorite movies of all time, Dead Poets Society, by Robin Williams, Carpe Diem! It means Seize the Day, which also means embrace the moment and live your life to the fullest.

I just want to say to students, you are all very precious gifts and I love you all.

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