Naju hospital to hold mental health concert on Oct. 23

The National Naju Hospital said Friday it will hold a concert at the Asia Culture Center on Oct. 23 to mark Mental Health Day, part of an effort to widen access to mental health services.

The event, called the 2026 Empathy Concert Linking Hearts, is built around three parts: a lecture on protecting brain health through stress management by Kwon Jun-soo, a psychiatry professor at Hanyang University Hospital; the life and recovery story of a person living with schizophrenia, told by Lee Kwan-hyung, chief executive of Mind Post; and music from the Forest Ensemble and the Gwangju Chamber Singers.

The hospital said the concert is meant to offer a chance to tend to one's mind naturally rather than treat mental health as a heavy subject, as social interest in and the need to respond to stress, depression and other mental health problems grow. It said it arranged the event with the Asia Culture Center to expand opportunities to take part in mental health promotion programs in a cultural space and spread a positive awareness of mental health.

"I hope this empathy concert becomes a warm occasion to pause for a moment in daily life, look back on one's own mind and connect with one another's hearts, and a chance to raise interest in and understanding of mental health," said Si Young-hwa, the hospital's director.

Those who want to attend can register by scanning the QR code at the bottom of the event poster or through the hospital's website at najumh.go.kr.