Presenter(s): James Taylor—Linguistics
Faculty Mentor(s): Matthias Vogel
Session 5: It’s a Small World After All
The Republic of Korea (Korea) has seen a high rate of economic development in the post-WWII era and is currently the country with the 11th highest GDP worldwide (International Monetary Fund) .At the same time, Korea is beset by a mental health crisis more severe than similar countries in the world . Korea has the highest rate of suicide both in the South-East Asian region and in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), at 26 .6 people per capita as of 2018 (compared to the regional average of 10 .8 people per capita in 2015 and the OEDC average of 11 .4 in 2017) .2-5 Other mental health problems, including depression, alcohol dependence and mood disorders, correlate to suicidal ideation; as a result, the prevalence of these disorders exacerbate the core issue of suicidal ideation . This literary review evaluates the extent of these mental health issues in Korea, identifies correlatory factors relating to mental health, and presents current policies and approaches addressing mental health in part or in whole . In addition, it focuses on the population in general but also through four specific lenses: students, full-time employees, the elderly, and celebrities . The significance of this research mainly focuses on improving the quality of life for people in South Korea by identifying factors associated with mental health and proposing solutions that reduce the frequency and severity of mental health disorders .