South Korea's New Government Faces Alarming Social Issue
Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content.
The deaths of three high school students in the port city of Busan last week sent ripples through South Korea and brought a mounting crisis back into the spotlight.
Last year, a record 221 high, middle, and elementary school students took their own lives—seven more than the previous year and more than twice as many as in 2015, according to a new education ministry survey reported by Yonhap News Agency.
Why It Matters
South Korea has the highest suicide rate among developed nations. Last year, the rate climbed to a 13-year high of 14.4 cases per 100,000 people, according to data from the Korea Foundation for Suicide Prevention.
While older South Koreans remain most at risk, suicide is now the leading cause of death for those aged 10 to 39. Stagnant wages, soaring rents, and cultural stigma around discussion of mental health have compounded the challenge.
Newsweek reached out to the South Korean embassy in Washington, D.C., via emailed request for comment.
What To Know
The stress of keeping up with grades, anxiety about the future, and conflicts with family and peers are often cited by South Korean adolescents who have considered taking their own lives.
Students arrive at the Yeouido Girls High School in Seoul on November 14, 2024, to take the annual College Scholastic Ability Test, known locally as Suneung.
Students arrive at the Yeouido Girls High School in Seoul on November 14, 2024, to take the annual College Scholastic Ability Test, known locally as Suneung.
Anthony Wallace/AFP via Getty Images
A 2020 survey found that nearly one in three middle and high school students had contemplated suicide in the past year due to the academic burden.
This same motive was given in the notes left by two of the three high school girls who died after falling from a Busan apartment building Saturday in what police suspect was a group suicide.
Middle school students appear to be particularly at risk, accounting for more than half—9,753—of the 17,667 students identified as at risk for suicide in a survey last year by the education ministry.
High school students made up another 7,880, with 16 elementary students and 18 from special schools also included in the at-risk group.
What People Have Said
Lim Myung-ho, professor of psychology at Dankook University, told local newspaper the Joongang Ilbo: "Although the country has made economic progress compared to the past, society has become less livable for young people as competition has intensified and a results-only evaluation structure has become entrenched.
"In particular, the development of social media has led to youth being exposed unfiltered to negative incidents, resulting in increased feelings of helplessness, depression, and trauma. The government and society need to take more interest in adolescents both inside and outside of school and strengthen the support infrastructure."
What's Next
Seoul hopes a raft of new government strategies and programs will help it achieve its goal of cutting the national suicide rate by 30 percent by 2027.
The education ministry has also created a screening test in a bid to detect mental health issues early. The screening is currently targeted at students in the first and fourth grades of elementary school, and the first levels of middle and high school.
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