Last year alone, the number of suicide counseling sessions increased by 13 percent compared to the previous year, when social distancing measures were lifted, and youth mental health was negatively impacted. (Image credit: Kobiz Media)
SEOUL, April 30 (Korea Bizwire) — A recent study has found that suicide-related counseling provided by youth counseling centers in South Korea has increased by 77 percent over the past five years. This increase comes amid a spate of teen suicides in Gangnam, Seoul.
Last year alone, the number of suicide counseling sessions increased by 13 percent compared to the previous year, when social distancing measures were lifted, and youth mental health was negatively impacted.
According to a report released on April 29 by the Korea Youth Counseling and Welfare Development Institute under the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, the number of suicide and self-harm counseling and support services provided by 240 regional centers across the country reached 125,797 in 2021.
This is a significant increase of 76.6 percent from 2018 when there were 71,214 cases reported. In 2021, the number of counseling sessions jumped by 32.3 percent from 2019, the year before COVID-19.
Even in 2022, when social distancing measures had eased, the number of counseling sessions still increased by 12.6 percent. An official from the Youth Counseling and Welfare Development Institute attributed this increase to the accumulation of negative emotions caused by repeated distancing over the past three years, which were not immediately resolved and instead increased in the third year of the pandemic.
Overall, youth counseling sessions, including suicide and self-harm, friendship, academic, and family issues, increased from 2.9 million in 2018 to 3.3 million in 2019 before dropping to 2.7 million in 2020. However, they rebounded to 3.3 million in 2021 and jumped to 4 million in 2022. This represents a 37.6 increase from 2018.
To address the needs of high-risk youth with suicidal and self-harming thoughts, intensive psychological clinic consultations will be available at 240 local youth counseling and welfare centers starting this year.
Furthermore, clinical psychologists will be deployed to local counseling centers in the second half of the year to provide comprehensive psychological evaluations. Previously, linking a comprehensive psychological evaluation to an external professional organization was time-consuming and costly.
Lina Jang (linajang@koreabizwire.com)
