Seoul/Mokpo, South Korea – In 2018 when Kim Ji-ung lived in the South Korean capital, Seoul, he felt alone all the time. Single and in his early 30s, the salesman spent most of his day at work or holed up in his apartment.

“I pondered about dying during my morning commute,” Kim told Al Jazeera.

“The most difficult thing was that I had no one to talk to. After work, I would be at home scrolling through TV channels or playing video games,” he said.

Finding it difficult to make connections at work, Kim was feeling increasingly desperate and isolated. Then a close friend of his collapsed at their workplace and died.

“That’s when I really started to ask myself, ‘Will I be next?’” he said.

It was then that Kim made one of the toughest decisions of his life – to pack his bags and move away

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