By Jun Ji-hye
Seven in 10 Koreans suffered from mental health problems last year, including extreme stress and depressive thoughts, according to a survey by the National Center for Mental Health released Wednesday.
The latest survey shows that the problem has worsened and the proportion of people suffering from mental health problems has increased by almost 10 percentage points compared to the previous survey conducted in 2022.
The center, under the direct control of the Ministry of Health and Welfare, launched the survey in 2016 to provide basic information to help design policies aimed at improving people’s mental health. The survey is being conducted every two years starting in 2022.
The latest survey was conducted online between February and May and targeted 3,000 people aged 15 to 69.
In the survey, 78.8 percent of respondents said they have been trying to maintain a healthy mind in their daily lives, but 73.6 percent still said they have suffered from mental health problems over the past year, up 9.7 percentage points from the 63.9 percent reported in the 2022 survey.
Among them, the percentage of individuals who experienced extreme stress increased from 36 percent to 46.3 percent, while those who suffered from depressive thoughts lasting several days saw an increase from 30 percent to 40.2 percent.
Those who suffered from smartphone or internet addiction rose to 18.4 percent from the 2022 figure of 6.4 percent, while those who thought about taking their own life rose from 8.8 percent to 14.6 percent.
When experiencing mental health problems, 49.4 percent (the highest proportion) asked family members or relatives for help, followed by 44.2 percent who visited medical professionals and 41 percent who talked to friends.
People’s perceptions towards mental illness differed across statements.
More than 90 percent of respondents agreed that anyone can suffer from these illnesses, up from 83.2 percent in 2022, while 61.4 percent said that a mental illness is a type of brain disorder, up from 49.3 percent. These results indicate that perceptions are improving.
On the other hand, 50.7 percent said that some of their friends would reject them if they had a mental illness, up from 39.4 percent in the previous survey. The proportion of those who said that people with mental illness are more dangerous than others also rose slightly from 64 percent to 64.6 percent. These results indicate that the perception has worsened.
“There should be more active education about the fact that mental health problems require medical treatment and that early detection of illnesses is very important,” said Kwak Young-sook, president of the center.
