Korea’s mental health support system is broken. Here’s how startups can help.

I love Korea.

I love the scenery, I love the culture, but most importantly, I love the people that live here and the vibrant environment they create.

From the teenager working the part-time job at the convenience store to even the older women who gut-punch me every time I take the metro, I love everyone that adds to the uniqueness of this country.

That is why this topic is so important to me and is something that needs to be addressed.

Each year, nearly 30 people out of 100,000 commit suicide in Korea. Only Guyana has a higher rate of suicide in the entire world.

In this post, we’ll look at the two most affected groups — students and senior citizens — to try and understand what the root cause of all of this is. This will be followed by an analytical look at what is currently being done, why it is failing, and the role the startup community must play to help out.

Korean students: Facing hardships from sunrise to sunset

Nothing tells a story like hard data. In Korea:

• The suicide rate amongst people under 24 is 1.5 times greater that the OECD average
• Nearly 10 percent of students have contemplated suicide
• From 2001 to 2011, the number of suicides in this age group increased by 57 percent

These numbers should horrify you. They should horrify policymakers.

Every meeting at the National Assembly (Korean Congress) should start and end with a discussion about how to fix this. But yet nothing is being done.

 The epicenter of this crisis is academic.

The epicenter of this crisis is academic, with students being expected to study from the early hours of morning until the dead of night all day, every day.

Korean elderly: Passing time in abject poverty and isolation

What’s being done to address these problems?

Why and how startups can help

Helping Korea’s youth via community building and reformation

Helping the elderly through targeted programs

Concluding thoughts