Western people are used to expressing their emotions while quite a lot of Korean people think that it is better for them to hide and suppress their emotions. (image: Kobizmedia/ Korea Bizwire)
SEOUL, Sep. 16 (Korea Bizwire) – According to a report on depression of Korean adults published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Korea, 12.9 percent, or one in eight, of Korean adults over 19 have experienced depression within the last year. In terms of gender, 16.5 percent of women have suffered from the mood disorder, 1.8-fold higher than men (9.1%).
When it comes to age, 17.9 percent of those over 70 have had the illness while 15.1 percent of folks in the 60s, 15 percent of adults in the 50s and 12.9 percent of Korean people in the 40s have suffered from depression. The percentage of those experiencing depression in the top 25 percentile of high-income bracket represented 10.9 percent while 20 percent of people in the bottom 25 percent had the mental disease.
In particular, a joint study surveyed both 1,592 Koreans and 3,744 Americans conducted by Prof. Jeon Hong-jin in Samsung Medical Center and Prof. Maurizio Fava in Harvard Medical School revealed that Korean people were likely to express their emotions 30 percent less than Americans. In addition, 7 percent of Korean respondents have attempted to kill themselves while only 3.8 percent of Americans did.
“Western people are used to expressing their emotions, helping doctors detect their depression at an early stage while quite a lot of Korean people think that it is better for them to hide and suppress their emotions,” said Prof. Jeon. “Since they are not likely to express themselves, they do not go to the hospital until they try extreme measures such as commiting suicide,” he added.
By Veronica Huh (veronicah@koreabizwire.co.kr)
