South Korean middle school students reported prolonged sadness or despair more often than high school students in 2025, extending a three-year pattern, The Korea Herald reported, citing Korean Educational Development Institute data.
The reported rate was 26.2% among middle schoolers, compared with 25.1% among high schoolers. The measure covered students whose sadness or despair interrupted their usual routines for two consecutive weeks or longer during the previous year.
Middle school students also had the higher figure in 2024, at 27.9% versus 27.5%, and in 2023, at 26.3% versus 25.6%. Both groups’ rates declined in 2025. The difference widened to 1.1 percentage points from 0.4 points in 2024.
