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Suicide is the leading cause of death among South Koreans under 50
In 2024, South Korea recorded its highest number of suicides in 13 years, with a total of 14,872, a 6.3 per cent increase over the previous year. The causes lie in the intense social pressure imposed from childhood to excel in studies and careers. Seeking psychological support continues to be seen as a failure, preventing young people from getting proper help.
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Seoul (AsiaNews/Agencies) – In 2024, South Korea reported its highest number of suicides in 13 years, becoming the leading cause of death among people aged 49 and under, according to Statistics Korea, which released the data today.
The total number of people who took their own lives rose to 14,872 last year, a 6.3 per cent increase over 2023. That is 29.1 suicides per 100,000 people, the worst figure recorded since 2011.
Suicide is now the leading cause of death for people aged 10 to 49 in the country, thus including the 40 to 49 age group, while it is the second-leading cause of death for those aged 50 to 59.
While cancer (24.8 per cent of total deaths), heart disease (9.4 per cent), and pneumonia (8.4 per cent) remain the top three overall causes of death, suicide remains the fifth leading cause overall (4.1 per cent).
For years, South Korea has had the highest suicide rate among the member countries of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), averaging 10.8 suicides per 100,000 people.
Experts have been pondering for years the causes that drive so many people to take their own lives.
Part of the blame has been blamed on a culture that places extreme emphasis on academic and professional success, creating a particularly demanding and competitive system that breeds stress, isolation, and dissatisfaction.
Entry exams for elite schools can be administered to children as young as 4 and 7, and approximately half of South Korean children (47.6 per cent) are enrolled in schools or programmes geared towards passing university entrance exams with top marks.
As a result, about half of children do not get enough sleep, suffering from chronic fatigue.
Maintaining socioeconomic status is also particularly important at work, with Koreans working an average of 1,915 hours a year, well above the OECD average.
Part of the stress stems from the fact that South Korean society demands its young people excel but also conform to social norms, creating a chronic anxiety and profound dissatisfaction.
In a society where the stigma surrounding mental disorders is also very strong, people with issues find no outlet.
Although depression affects millions of people every year, only a fraction (perhaps 15 per cent, according to estimates) receive adequate treatment. Seeking psychological and psychiatric assistance is considered a failure.
While a high suicide rate has been particularly well documented in the past among the elderly, who often live in poverty because they do not want to be a financial burden on their children, today the attention is focused on the Werther effect among young people, with the increase in suicides following media coverage of the suicides of celebrities and public figures.
In recent years, several young K-pop stars have taken their own lives due to the pressures of a hypercompetitive industry, such as Moonbin, a 25-year-old singer with the band Astro, in 2023, and Kim Sae-ron, a 24-year-old actress who took her own life in February of this year.
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