ADHD medication prescriptions surge 140% in 5 years, with Gangnam topping national use

A banner promoting medical school admissions hangs outside a private cram school in Daechidong, Gangnam District, Seoul, in February 2023. Korea Times photo by Park Simon

Prescriptions for ADHD medication in Korea have nearly doubled in the past five years, with the academic pressure of college entrance exams increasingly linked to the drug’s misuse, especially in education-heavy districts like Seoul’s Gangnam.

According to data released Tuesday by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, the total number of ADHD medications prescribed annually jumped from 37.71 million in 2020 to 90.2 million in 2024, a 140 percent increase.

While part of the rise reflects growing recognition of ADHD as a condition requiring treatment, officials and educators warn that the drug is also being misused as a so-called "study aid" by students, or more often by parents anxious about their kids' academic performance.

Data submitted to Rep. Kim Yoon of the Democratic Party of Korea shows that teens in Seoul’s Gangnam and Songpa districts, Gyeonggi Province’s Bundang, and other competitive education districts account for the highest prescription volumes.

Gangnam District alone saw ADHD medications prescribed to teen patients increase from 690,235 in 2020 (for 1,903 patients) to 1.79 million in 2024 (for 5,079 patients), with an average of 353 pills per patient, exceeding the national average of 267.

“Because the medication makes kids appear calmer and more focused, it has spread rapidly among parents desperate to help their children succeed in exams,” said a teacher at a Seoul-based private high school. “But sitting still longer doesn’t guarantee better results. This comes from a fear of failure, not from evidence.”

'Smart pill'

Experts stress that there is no academic basis for using ADHD drugs to boost learning in children without an ADHD diagnosis.

Lim Myung-ho, a professor of psychological therapy at Dankook University, said, “There is no evidence in Korean or international research that ADHD medication improves learning in neurotypical children.”

He also warned of risks including appetite loss, insomnia, headaches, and digestive problems that can interfere with normal growth.

In response to growing concerns, the ministry has included ADHD medication in its ban on off-label prescriptions for non-medical purposes since Sept. 2023. It has also been monitoring clinics suspected of misuse and cracking down on advertisements promoting the drug as a “smart pill.”

This article from the Hankook Ilbo, a sister publication of The Korea Times, is translated by a generative AI and edited by The Korea Times.