Middle and high school students who completed basic peer counseling education join the club, building a cross-school peer counseling network
The Seongbuk Youth Counseling Welfare Center held the inaugural ceremony for the Solian peer counseling club "Neonadeulli," 12th cohort, on May 30 to strengthen counseling capabilities and promote peer counseling clubs in local schools.
"Neonadeulli" — a Korean expression meaning a close relationship in which people address each other informally — is a youth club that has been running since 2015 and is now in its 12th year. As the center's flagship club, Neonadeulli supports middle and high school students in Seongbuk-gu who have completed basic peer counseling education, enabling them to connect and share information with fellow peer counselors across schools.
Through advanced programs, the club also helps peer counselors learn healthy communication skills and apply them in actual counseling sessions, contributing to emotional support among peers and the spread of a positive counseling culture within schools.
The 12th cohort will run from May through September. In the second half of the year, outreach activities planned and led by the students themselves are also scheduled. These activities are expected to give participants a taste of working as a psychological counselor, foster bonds among peers, and deepen their sense of connection to and understanding of the local community.
At the inaugural ceremony, new club members gathered for the first time to share the program's goals and direction. Icebreaking activities followed, along with an orientation covering the attitudes, roles and core competencies expected of peer counselors.
One student who attended the ceremony said she was excited to learn about counseling and take part in various activities alongside friends she was meeting for the first time. "I want to become someone who can be a real help to my peers as a peer counselor," she said.
Yang Hye-jeong, director of the Seongbuk Youth Counseling Welfare Center, said the center would continue to support the students so that through Neonadeulli they could become reliable sources of support for one another and build meaningful experiences growing together.
The Seongbuk Youth Counseling Welfare Center is located on the fourth floor of the Seongbuk Children and Youth Center and operates a range of programs for Seongbuk-gu residents between the ages of 9 and 24. Young people in need of psychological counseling can apply or make inquiries through the youth helpline 1388 or directly through the center.
seouldream01@heraldcorp.com
