#1 Cause of Death in Korea

Date: May 10, 2011

I have recently discovered an English newspaper at my school.  It is called the Teen Times.  I was reading through it today (looking for journal prompt ideas) and I came across an article that I wanted to share.

"The Leading Cause of Death: Suicide

Statistics Korea recently announced that suicide was the number 1 cause of mortality among young people in South KOrea.  The announcement indicated teenagers are under heavy stress from the high competitive educational environment and harsh job market conditions.

The figures released by Statistic Korea showed 15.3 out of 100,000 people between the ages of 15 and 24 committed suicide.  It was the highest ratio among the many causes of mortality reported for the age group.  The figure from 2009 was, in fact, higher than the 13.5 percent recorded from the previous year when suicide was still the number 1 cause of mortality.

Additionally, the report showed that the suicide figure is always exceeding death caused by traffic accidents, cancer, and heart disease.  In a survey conducted last year within the same age group 8.8 percent of the participants said they had seriously considered ending their own lives.

Survey participants uniformly cited factors such as competition in school, anxieties about future career, and economic difficulties as the major causes stimulating the thought of committing suicide.  With a string of suicides being reported recently at numerous schools, fresh concerns are being drawn over the stress and anxieties weighing on countless young generations across the nation.

Sources have confirmed, since the beginning of this year, four elite students from the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) have taken their own lives.  The death of students from South Korea top technology college has been blamed on the educational environment.

Meanwhile, other stats revealed that the number of young people in the nation's total population has been declining significantly over the past decades due to the protracted low birthrate. T he recent data can be considered a hard proof that many young students are under heavy stress stemming from a rigid, competition-driven school environment."

Chun, Dan. "The Leading Cause of Death: Suicide."  The Teen Times.  10 May, 2011.