Seven in ten had a problem; three in ten asked for help

South Korea’s National Center for Mental Health, which sits under the health ministry, published its biennial survey on Sunday. Of 5,100 people aged 15 to 69, 70.1% said they had had a mental-health problem in the past year¹. That is slightly fewer than the 73.6% of 2024¹. The most common problem was severe stress, at 47.7%, followed by unexplained physical discomfort (37.5%), several days of depression (30.8%), insomnia (30.6%) and anxiety (30.3%)².

Two lines in the report point the other way. The share who said they had five or more problems has risen to 30.8%, Health Chosun reported, from 18.2% in 2018². And the share who said the problems seriously disrupted their daily lives rose to 21.5% from 15.6% two years ago¹. Fewer people are affected, but those who are seem to be carrying more.

Then there is the number that matters most for policy. Only 30.4% said they had talked to someone or gone to a clinic or hospital¹. That is the highest share since the survey began in 2016^1,2. It still means seven in ten kept it to themselves. The report called for easier access to services and less stigma¹.

You do not need to live in Seoul for this to apply. The headline number, how many struggle, is the one that gets reported. The useful number is the one an institution can move: how many found a door that was open when they knocked. A survey with a ±1.37-point margin of error, run the same way every two years, is a dull instrument². That is why you can trust its direction.