A surge in women in their 20s’ choice of theatre companies

According to the time series of the “2020 Cause of Death Statistics” recently released by the National Statistical Office, the total number of suicides decreased 15.2% from 15,566 to 13,195 from 2010 to last year. It has decreased among all age groups.


However, if the clock is narrowed after 2015, the situation is quite different. During this period, the total number of suicides remained unchanged from 13,153 to 13,195, but teenagers increased by 28.5% from 245 to 315 and teenagers increased by 35.3% from 1,87 to 1,471, respectively, and those in their 30s decreased by 2.6% from 1,926 to 1,874.


It shows that suicide problems in teens and 20s, especially in their 20s, are the most serious. Further inside, during this period, the number of male suicides in their 20s surged 19.7% from 709 to 849, and the number of female suicides in their 20s surged 64.5% from 378 to 622.


The number of female suicides in their 20s has continued to decline since 2010 to 365 in 2017, but since then, it has increased by 16.4% to 425 in 2018, 25.6% to 534 in 2019, and by 16.4% last year, it has exceeded the 600 mark. The increase is overwhelming compared to the 14.5% increase in male suicides of the same age group from 741 to 849 over the past three years. Of course, women in their 20s have the highest suicide growth rate among men and women of all ages.


Baek Jong-woo, a psychiatrist at Kyung Hee University Hospital, said, “There are many men who die from suicide in most countries, but the suicide rate of women in their 20s has continued to rise in Korea over the past four years,” adding, “This has been a trend since before COVID-19, but there is also an acceleration due to COVID-19.”