College Students in Crisis

Jeong Taeksoo, Director of the Korea Suicide Prevention Center, received an urgent call late last year from the head of the student counseling center at University A, someone he knew personally. A university student had died by suicide, and the caller was seeking help because they did not know what steps to take next. Director Jeong, who had served as a career military officer for 24 years, felt deep regret over the repeated suicides among soldiers and decided to transition to a career in counseling psychology. After graduating from a graduate program in counseling psychology in 2010, he has been engaged in various suicide prevention counseling and lectures, and also served as a “specialized counselor for military life” at the Ministry of National Defense.With extensive experience in counseling bereaved families, Director Jeong rushed to the school. This is because a student suicide on campus can negatively impact other students’ mental health, potentially leading to further tragedies.

Being emotionally or physically isolated, or rarely going outside and living only at home, can be seen as warning signs that increase the risk of suicide. According to the Ministry of Health and Welfare, 75.4% of isolated and reclusive youth responded that they had thought about suicide. This is a very high level compared to the overall rate of suicidal thoughts among youth, which is 2.3%. Additionally, 26.7% of isolated and reclusive youth answered that they had attempted suicide. Joohee Kim, Director of the Seoul Youth Latent Center, the first dedicated support institution for isolated and reclusive youth in Korea, which opened in 2024, told The Asia Business Daily on May 6, "A tendency toward isolation and reclusion can appear regardless of educational background or parents' income. Some young people enter university without having learned how to resolve conflicts during adolescence, struggle with relationships, and fail to adapt," she said. It is estimated that there are up to 540,

#. A one-room apartment in Sillim-dong, Gwanak-gu, Seoul. This cramped single room is all that Dongguk University student Son (27) has. The security deposit is 10 million won. Nearly 1 million won goes out every month just for rent, maintenance fees, and food. For a job seeker who has been on a leave of absence for more than two years, this is a massive shackle. Son confessed, "I took out a 3 million won personal loan and also received a living expense loan from the Korea Student Aid Foundation," adding, "I thought debt would be a last resort, but it has already piled up to 30 million won." Son eats nothing but instant noodles in his room every day. He once got swept up in the world of cryptocurrency, dreaming of a quick windfall. It was during a strong bull market. He scraped together borrowed money and put in 5 million won. At one point, he made 2 million won in just ten days. He said, "The dopamine rush made me lose touch with reality. I realized too late that easy money is easily s

Last year, after enrolling at a university in Busan, a student identified as B tried to cover the cost of textbooks by selling online game items. The trouble started when B confided in a party member (an in-game teammate) about struggling with living expenses. B was introduced to an illegal casino site. What began as curiosity quickly turned into entertainment, and then addiction. At first, B even managed to win an amount roughly equivalent to a semester's tuition. However, in just one month, B lost 100 million won to gambling. After losing the money, B repeatedly borrowed from acquaintances, only to be turned down each time. With the prolonged employment crisis, more university students facing economic hardship are turning to gambling. The uncertainty of future income has led many to focus solely on immediate rewards. There has also been an increase in cases where university students addicted to gambling become targets for crime. According to the Health Insurance Review & Assessment S

Last year in Busan, a university student referred to as Mr. A was handed over to the prosecution for repeatedly smuggling and using narcotic drugs. Mr. A attempted to overdose on narcotics for their hallucinogenic effects, smuggling a total of 2,188 pills across 17 separate occasions. Even on the day he returned home after a customs investigation, he demonstrated such severe addiction that he could not resist the urge and ordered narcotic drugs again. The number of university students addicted to drugs like this is rapidly increasing. According to the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office as of May 12, the number of drug offenders in their 20s, including university students, rose from 4,493 in 2020 to 6,913 last year, marking a 54% increase over five years. During the same period, the total number of drug offenders grew from 18,065 to 23,402, with the surge in offenders in their 20s being a significant contributing factor. The rise in university student drug offenders can be attributed to studen

College students who have just crossed the threshold of university admissions are suffering from anxiety about their future. The ongoing employment crisis and economic struggles have led to increased psychological depression and feelings of relative deprivation, with a growing number of students falling into seclusion and ultimately taking their own lives. However, in reality, there is virtually no system in place for early detection of students in crisis and connecting them to appropriate assistance. University support centers are limited to reactive measures due to constraints in staffing and budget, and the government has also neglected those who have moved beyond the mandatory management system of elementary, middle, and high schools. There is a growing call for the government and universities to take active measures to ensure that college students, who are on the brink of entering society, can manage their mental health and avoid psychological risks. According to the '2025 Nationa

There is an insufficient institutional framework for systematically managing the mental health crisis among university students. Following the COVID-19 pandemic, the deepening of social disconnection and isolation, combined with anxiety over employment and mounting financial burdens, has left university students in a structure where they must endure alone. In particular, universities operate under autonomous systems, and the education authorities remain focused on policies for elementary, middle, and high schools, effectively leaving university students in a blind spot for management. Professor Donghoon Lee of Sungkyunkwan University, who serves as Chairman of the National University Student Counseling Center Association and President of the Korean Counseling Psychology Association—the only nationwide research body in the field of university student mental health—met with The Asia Business Daily on April 22 and diagnosed, "The current crisis among university students is not an individu

"Do I have to die?" "I'm going crazy." Song (23), a student attending a private university in Seoul, said, "These are the words my friends constantly say whenever it's exam time." For Song, university was not a pause, but another starting line. In an environment where double majors, extracurricular activities, competitions, and job preparation were all simultaneously expected, Song felt, "It seemed like doing just one thing was never enough." The anxiety never went away. As exams approached, the anxiety intensified, but focusing on studying became even harder. It was during this period that Song became addicted to the smartphone. The pressure to be more competitive than others often led to students taking a leave of absence. Song shared, "Nine out of ten of my classmates took a leave." However, Song was also afraid of taking a break. "If I go to a job interview and they ask, 'What did you do during your year off?' I feel like I wouldn't have anything to say, so I can't even dare to tak