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Study reveals around half a million young Koreans live in isolation
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By Jun Ji-hye
By Jun Ji-hye
Five in 100 young people aged 19 to 34 live in seclusion, without meaningful interactions with others, a recent report revealed, raising the need for the government to draw up timely support measures.
The report, written by the Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs, revealed on Sunday that the number of young people who isolate themselves from society was 5 percent in 2021.
The research team defines the state of isolation as when a person does not interact with others, except family or those with whom they have to maintain contact for work, and when a person has nobody to ask for help when facing difficulties.
When the ratio is applied to the youth population of 10.8 million in 2021, the number of isolated youth is estimated to be at 538,000.
The ratio, which was 3.1 percent in 2019, increased sharply while the country went through the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the institute.
The level of life satisfaction of these isolated respondents was generally low; 17.2 percent said they were “very dissatisfied” with their lives. This was compared with 4.7 percent of non-isolated people who said so.
The combined response of “very dissatisfied” and “dissatisfied” from isolated respondents registered at 44 percent.
“If these isolated young people continue to live like this, they will be highly likely to live in seclusion until they approach middle age and become elderly,” researcher Kim Seong-ah who led the study said. “The government should intervene preemptively.”
An official from the Ministry of Health and Welfare said the government will carry out the first-ever survey on a national level into this issue before drawing up supportive measures.
“We set our goal at completing the survey within the year and will announce the results within the first half of next year,” the official said.