Smartphone Dependence, Rising Stress, and Violence Drive Youth Well-Being to Alarming Lows (Yonhap)
SEOUL, Oct. 2 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s youth are facing mounting mental health challenges, with child and adolescent suicide rates climbing to their highest level in more than two decades, according to a government report released Wednesday.
The “Child and Youth Quality of Life 2025” survey, published by the National Data Office, found that 3.9 out of every 100,000 people under 18 died by suicide in 2023 — the highest figure since 2000. Suicide rates rose with age, reaching 11.4 among 15- to 18-year-olds.
The findings highlight widespread psychological distress among students. More than 42 percent of middle and high schoolers said they felt stress in daily life last year, up five percentage points from the year before. Girls reported significantly higher rates of stress and anxiety than boys, with 18 percent of girls showing symptoms of generalized anxiety disorder compared with 10 percent of boys.
The report also flagged other troubling trends. Nearly 23 percent of students experienced peer violence in 2023, while smartphone overdependence among elementary school children has surged to nearly 40 percent, up from 24 percent in 2019.
Nutrition concerns are worsening as well: the share of adolescents suffering from malnutrition jumped from 17.8 percent in 2022 to 22.8 percent in 2023.
Despite high private education participation — with 80 percent of students enrolled in after-school programs — satisfaction with school life has steadily fallen, slipping from 3.1 in 2014 to 2.84 in 2023 on a five-point scale. Overall life satisfaction among Korean 15-year-olds ranked 30th out of 34 OECD countries, placing the nation near the bottom.
The government said it will use the findings, which track 62 indicators across eight categories including health, housing, and education, to shape future policies addressing youth well-being.
Lina Jang (linajang@koreabizwire.com)
