Depression and suicidal thoughts are growing as the coronavirus pandemic drags on for more than two years, especially among people at their socially most active time of life in their 30s.
A recent public mental health study showed that 13.6 percent of Koreans have contemplated suicide as their depression worsened, down from 16.3 percent in March of last year, according to the Ministry of Health and Welfare.
The level is much higher than the 9.7 percent in March of 2020, during the initial stage of the pandemic.
Also, 22.4 percent of people who had suicidal thoughts were men in their 30s, the highest proportion among age groups. Next were women and men in their 20s with 17.3 percent and 17.2 percent. Suicidal thoughts decreased among older groups.
Women were on the whole more vulnerable than men to depression. Women in their 30s scored seven out of 10 points on a scale measuring depression, with 33 percent of them saying they feel “extremely” depressed.
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