[BTS’s Suga Collaborates with Severance Hospital to Establish ‘Min Yoon-gi Treatment Center’ with a 5 Billion Won Donation]
Sports Chosun’s Jungbit reports that BTS’s Suga (real name Min Yoon-gi) is partnering with Severance Hospital to establish a specialized treatment center to support the treatment and social independence of patients with autism spectrum disorders.
On the 23rd, Severance Hospital held a groundbreaking ceremony for the ‘Min Yoon-gi Treatment Center’ on the first floor of the hospital’s main building, which is dedicated to treating children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorders. The center will support mental health through language, psychological, and behavioral therapies and will run various programs linking clinical practice with research.
During his time with BTS, Suga has been consistently involved in charitable activities, with a particular focus on mental health, psychological and behavioral issues, and youth depression. He has been seeking ways to contribute through his musical talents and capacities.
Last November, Suga began discussions with Professor Cheon Geun-ah, a prominent figure in child psychiatry at Severance Hospital. Through several meetings, he learned that autism spectrum disorder patients require custom, life-phase appropriate treatment, which cannot be achieved with short-term therapeutic interventions. Recognizing the need for a specialized long-term treatment center to foster positive changes in autism spectrum disorder symptoms, Suga decided to donate 5 billion won to Severance Hospital. This donation is the largest ever received by Yonsei Medical Center from an artist.
Building on discussions from the end of last year to early this year with Professor Cheon, Suga helped develop the ‘MIND’ program, which integrates music into existing social skills training programs for children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorders. The MIND program stands for ‘Music Interaction Network Diversity,’ aiming to enhance interaction and sensory experiences through music, provide opportunities for social relationships and communication, learn about natural relationship-building processes through communities, and encourage respect for individual diversity.
The aim is for children participating in the program to express their emotions and thoughts by playing instruments, singing, and creating writings in response to music. The hands-on involvement of Suga, who met with autistic children during weekends from March to June, helped shape the program’s contents and effectiveness.
The children showed significant improvements in emotional and linguistic expression and social skills, with increased collaboration during group activities. For instance, children who were previously reluctant during language therapy sessions became eager participants, selecting instruments and maintaining tempo during jam sessions. A non-verbal saxophone player started displaying emotions and responding to compliments, underscoring the program’s impact on fostering social connections for children with limited verbal abilities.
The Min Yoon-gi Treatment Center plans to refine the MIND program and develop independent music project models. It will also systematize training for professionals in various therapeutic fields to ensure the program’s sustainability and specialization.
With the completion of the center’s construction in September, regular programs will expand, offering social skills training through music and other therapeutic sessions for both autism spectrum disorder patients and broader developmental disabilities. Existing therapies like ABA (Applied Behavior Analysis) and language therapy will also be expanded. To objectively validate the MIND program’s effectiveness, clinical research, academic papers, and program manuals will be pursued.
Professor Cheon expressed his gratitude to Suga for his financial support and genuine volunteerism over the past months, highlighting Suga’s consistent sincerity and intellect. He stated that the ultimate goal of the Min Yoon-gi Treatment Center and the MIND program is to help children with autism spectrum disorders grow into independent, healthy members of society and to alleviate biases and improve awareness of autism spectrum disorders through the medium of music.
Suga commented on his involvement over the past seven months, emphasizing that preparing the program and volunteering with Professor Cheon helped him realize music’s potential as a precious medium for expression and communication. He expressed gratitude for the opportunity to support children with autism spectrum disorders and committed to continuing efforts towards greater societal inclusion for more children.
Reported by Jeongbit Jeong ([email protected])