The recent suicide of three female students in Busan has reignited, in South Korea, the debate over the intense competition and pressure weighing on young people—not only in the academic sphere—and how heavily it affects them, sometimes pushing them toward tragic actions. In their farewell messages, the girls expressed deep fears about their final year of high school and what would come afterward.
A 2022 survey, conducted on over 130,000 students by the Ministry of Education, revealed that 20.3% of middle and high school students had contemplated suicide, citing anxiety about the future and their careers as the main reason.
Last year, the "Suicide Prevention Act" made it mandatory for schools at all levels to provide at least one annual educational session focused on mental well-being, but experts agree that this will not be enough. The education system—with school days lasting up to 13–16 hours, frequent evening private lessons (hagwon), and a heavy load of tutoring—is widely recognized as a major contributor to student stress.
According to psychiatrist Lee Yeon-jeong, in a 2019 report, Korean teenagers often show no outward signs before taking extreme actions: “In the West, teenagers may abuse substances or display antisocial behavior, but in Korea, those who take their own lives are often quiet and well-mannered.” This discretion is rooted in Korean culture, which discourages the expression of personal struggles.
When in 2014 I began studying the side effects suffered by young South Koreans immersed in a highly competitive society with intense social pressure, including from their families - as I documented in my 2015 project Made in Korea - I expected to see some progress ten years later. But that has not been the case. Between 2020 and 2022, the issue even worsened, partly due to the pandemic.
South Korea’s new president, Lee Jae-myung, has declared that preventing youth suicide will be a national priority, including through the strengthening of psychological screenings, the training of “gatekeepers” (teachers, healthcare workers), and increased support for families. One can only hope it’s true.
[Some photographs from my project Made in Korea]