“Recovery is possible even after punishment”...A decade of ‘Maum Toktok,’ which has supported 1,400 at-risk youths

[Financial News]  “The past 10 years have been a time of confirming that recovery is possible even after punishment, and that recovery can be sustained only when systems, relationships and expertise come together.”On the 16th, Jung Hyun-joo, a professor overseeing projects in Ewha Womans University’s Department of Music Therapy, looked back on the past 10 years in these terms. Professor Jung has led the ‘Maum Toktok Art Therapy’ emotional support program for at-risk youth. She said that the program, jointly run by Ewha Womans University’s Department of Music Therapy and GS Caltex, is marking its 10th anniversary and will review its achievements to date and explore ways to expand its reach.

‘Maum Toktok Art Therapy’ has been running since 2016. About 1,400 young people have participated in the program so far. They have included young people whose prosecution was conditionally deferred, those on probation, and those released from juvenile detention centers.
The project’s roots go back even further. In 2013, Ewha Womans University’s Department of Music Therapy began providing music therapy for at-risk youth in partnership with the Seoul Western District Prosecutors’ Office. Later, with support from GS Caltex, it partnered with the Suncheon Branch of the Gwangju District Prosecutors’ Office to run a music-based psychological and emotional support program in eastern Jeollanam-do. Its experience working with at-risk youth totals 13 years.

Ewha Womans University’s Department of Music Therapy and GS Caltex will hold a 10th-anniversary event on the 23rd in the university’s mid-sized auditorium. Professor Jung said it will be an occasion to look back on the past decade’s achievements and express gratitude to participating young people and partner organizations.
The challenge for the next 10 years is expansion.
Professor Jung said, “The Department of Music Therapy plans to expand its social partnerships to take the ‘Maum Toktok Art Therapy’ model to communities across the country,” and added, “Taking this event as an opportunity, we will continue to work together to bring Maum Toktok’s experience and model to more regions, so that more at-risk young people can regain their mental well-being and adapt to society in a stable way.”
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