Suicide in Korea on the Rise

The Asahi Shimbun has an interesting article today about the sharp rise of suicides in Korea:

In South Korea, where the East Asian financial crisis of 1997 caused a collapse in the lifelong employment system, a breakdown in traditional family bonds and a subsequent divergence between rich and poor, suicide has been rising inexorably.

Now another factor is contributing to the malaise: The all-pervasive reach of the Internet has given people ready access to information about how to kill themselves, and made it easy to find like-minded people to share in the experience.

Though the government and citizens groups have made a concerted effort to address the problem, they appear to be fighting a losing battle. […]

According to the Korea National Statistical Office, the number of suicide victims climbed to about 12,000 in 2005–2.5 times more than 10 years before. The figure equates to 24.7 suicide victims per 100,000 persons.

In Japan, there were 25.5 suicide victims per 100,000 people. However, an official of the South Korean Ministry of Health and Welfare said, “Given the sharp rise (in suicides) in recent years, there is a possibility that the suicide rate per 100,000 persons has already surpassed that of Japan.” [Takeshi Kamiya, Asahi Shimbun]

Something else I found interesting in the article that in Seoul if you can believe this has only seven suicide counselors. Yes seven, for a city with a population of nearly 12 million and a sharply rising suicide rate.