More Korean teens leave school to prepare for college entrance exams

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The number of teenagers leaving school to prepare for college entrance exams is on the rise.

According to an analysis by Jongno Academy of data disclosed through School Info, a government education information portal, a total of 18,661 high school students discontinued their education in 2025. Of them, 10,006 were first-year high school students, accounting for more than half of the total. The category of “academic discontinuation” includes voluntary withdrawal, expulsion and removal from school registers.

Leaving school allows students to break away from a fixed school schedule and organize their days according to their own study plans. However, dropping out does not simply mean a change in the learning environment. It can also significantly alter their daily routines and lifestyle.

Sleep schedules can become disrupted

Schools provide clear time structures, including fixed hours for arriving at school, attending classes and eating lunch. Students are required to wake up at a set time, while classes and breaks follow a regular pattern.

By contrast, students who leave school and continue preparing for college entrance exams at home, in study rooms or at private academies have to manage their own schedules. They may study late into the night in an effort to increase their study hours or repeatedly wake up late because they no longer need to get to school the next morning.

A research team led by Auburn University researchers reported in the international journal Sleep Medicine Reviews in February that poorer sleep quality was associated with poorer mental health.

Eating habits can become irregular

Schools have designated lunch periods, and school meals can provide students with a relatively balanced selection of nutrients, including rice, side dishes, soup and vegetables.

Outside of school, however, students are responsible for deciding when and what to eat. They may skip meals while studying or rely on convenient options such as convenience-store food and delivery meals.

An irregular eating pattern and an imbalance in the three daily meals can also become a concern.

More time spent sitting

One of the activities that can easily decrease after leaving school is physical activity. At school, students have opportunities to move through physical education classes. They can also walk around the school grounds with friends or participate in sports activities after class.

By contrast, students preparing for college entrance exams may spend most of their day studying at a desk, naturally increasing the amount of time they spend sitting.

Physical activity at school does more than improve physical fitness. A 2026 meta-analysis published in the European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry journal found that school-based physical activity programs had positive effects on both the physical health and mental well-being of children and adolescents, including reducing anxiety, depression and stress.

Fewer opportunities to socialize

Students naturally form social relationships by talking with classmates during breaks and eating meals together.

Outside of school, such opportunities can become less frequent. Spending long hours studying alone at home or in a study room can reduce opportunities for face-to-face interaction with peers, potentially increasing feelings of loneliness or social isolation.

A survey of teenagers' mental health conducted by the National Youth Policy Institute found that the severity of mental health problems among youths outside the formal school system was higher than among their school-attending peers.

In particular, 35 percent of out-of-school youths reported mild or more severe symptoms of depression, while 29 percent reported anxiety and 36.8 percent showed signs of suicide risk. These rates were two to three times higher than those among youths attending school.

This article from Kormedi.com, Korea’s top health care and medical portal, is translated by a generative AI system and edited by The Korea Times.