Child depression in South Korea jumps 70% in 4 years: Study

SEOUL – Children and adolescents suffering depression in South Korea increased significantly from 2020 to 2024, with well over 80,000 being treated for the condition in 2024.

A total of 86,254 children and teens were treated for depression in 2024, rising 72.6 per cent from 49,983 in 2020, according to South Korea’s Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service.

A substantial increase was seen across both genders, with the number of girls going from 31,149 to 55,199, and boys from 18,834 to 31,055.

Most minors treated for depression, some 83,520 of them, were aged 10-19 but 2,734 children under the age of 10 also received treatment. This figure is double the number for 2020, which was 1,338.

The data showed that the number of depressed teens rose much faster than the overall number of patients with depression in the same period, which grew by 32.4 per cent from 837,808 in 2020 to 1.1 million.

Depression in childhood is characterised by symptoms such as loss of appetite, insomnia, but also be present with anxiety, conduct disorder and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

Those showing multiple symptoms for at least two weeks could be diagnosed with depression, with medication recommended for severe levels of depression.

The Children’s Depression Rating Scale-Revised is used to determine the level of depression for potential patients.

Medical experts note that a child’s sudden difficulty with academic work, or sudden loss of interest in one’s hobby, could be attributed to childhood depression. THE KOREA HERALD/ASIA NEWS NETWORK