Korea struggles with teenage suicide crisis
In a country with the highest suicide rate among member nations of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, where even a former president has taken his own life, concerns are rising that not enough systemic measures exist to address the problem.A particularly worrying sign of deep issues that are not being dealt with is the high number of suicide attempts by teenagers.
According to Statistics Korea, suicide was the No. 1 cause of death for people aged 24 and under between 2007 and 2009. One in four juveniles has contemplated suicide.
Education experts are saying that Korea must tackle the issue by first finding the root causes behind the troubling trend of teen suicides.
Choi In-jae, an official with the National Youth Policy Institute, said last year’s research on adolescent mental health found that middle school students were among those most affected by the rising number of teen suicides.
“As we take a deeper look into the psyche of adolescents in Korea, we are able to find that academic stress and an uncertain future are the leading reasons for suicide attempts,” Choi explained in his report.
“This was followed by domestic problems, other personal dilemmas and school violence.”
Other institutions also expressed their opinions on the issue.
“The main cause that the uncontrollable rate of teen suicides can be attributed to is stress,” the National Evidence-based Healthcare Collaborating Agency agreed.
“Stress is defined as a tension-filled physical and psychological state that results from an unfamiliar environment; if this state lingers, it can lead to mental health issues.”
Korean society seems to be gradually coming up with more solutions. The Korean Association for Suicide Prevention, founded in 2003, has been presenting ways to address the national crisis, including launching the Teenage Suicide Prevention Program.
The program attempts to make teens aware of how precious their lives are, establishes lines of communication with family, friends and teachers for times of desperation, and teaches them to assist peers who are in serious need.
“I think the main reason for the extreme suicide rates would obviously be stress from academic pressure and school peers,” said a middle school student on condition of anonymity.
“The best solution to this problem would be for those young people to rethink things at least once before attempting suicide. If they really did think before they died, they would learn the significance of life and wouldn’t try to kill themselves,” said the middle schooler.
Concerned parents of teenagers are also desperate for solutions to the problem.
Many believe think that frequent communication with their children could do much to prevent suicide attempts. “Back when all the relatives lived together, teenagers had someone to talk to, but these days, all they can do is surf the internet or watch television,” said Schola Choi, a mother of two daughters, including one in high school.
“I think teens should communicate with the people around them as well as their role models and listen to their stories to learn from them.”
By Lee Dong-yeon
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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