Korean suicide rate: Culture of shame, face saving drives spike

Actor Lee Sun Kyun, who starred in the award winning film Parasite, died of an apparent suicide in late 2023. Photo from Ethnic Media Services/Wikimedia

The Korea Daily analyzed Korean suicide rates from 2011 to 2022, using data from the Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health (LACDMH), the California Department of Public Health (CDPH), and national suicide statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

The suicide rate among Koreans rose sharply from 10.3 per 100,000 population in 2011 to 15.7 in 2022. In 2018, the rate peaked at 16.0. It then decreased to 11.9 in 2020 during the pandemic but surged again to 15.7 in 2022. During the same period, the overall US suicide rate increased from 12.3 in 2011 to 14.4 in 2022.

According to the CDC’s Provisional Suicide Deaths in the United States, 2022, there were nearly 50,000 suicides in the US in 2022, the highest number on record. Furthermore, 1 in 21 U.S. adults ages 18 and older had seriously contemplated suicide in 2021, with one in 71 making a specific plan, including a method of suicide. These figures are significantly lower than those reported by the Korea Daily and the Korean suicide rate.

Urgent need for Korean suicide prevention in California

In California, particularly, there’s a critical need for suicide prevention measures within the Korean community.

In LA County, home to about 230,000 Koreans, 29 Koreans committed suicide in 2022 (according to CDC statistics). That year, the suicide rate for Koreans in LA County was 12.3 per 100,000 population, nearly double the rate of 6.3 for all Asians.

CDC statistics reveal that between 2018 and December 24, 2023, 1,036 Koreans committed suicide in the United States, with 348 (30%) in California alone.

During this period, the average suicide rate for Asians in California was 6.5 per 100,000 population. However, the rate for Koreans ranged from 11.5 to 14.3, higher than the rate for all California residents (10.4 to 11.3) and double the rate for Asians.

The Federal Census Bureau estimates the Korean population in the US as of 2022 to be 1.51587 million (2.05172 million when including all Koreans). From Ethnic Media Services

Cultural and environmental factors

Why is the Korean suicide rate so high in the United States?

Mental health professionals working with Korean suicides identify culture and environment as key factors.

Most Korean suicides share a common background: they are first- and 1.5-generation immigrants born in Korea, according to health authorities like the LACDMH.

Dr. Justin Choe, Ph.D., a former president of the Korean American Psychological Association in California, stated, “Suicide rates in the Korean American community have long mirrored those in South Korea. The cultural and spiritual connections are uniquely strong, even across the Pacific Ocean.”

Today, South Korea has been working for 20 years to overcome its reputation as the world’s leading country for suicides. In 2021, the suicide rate was 23.6 per 100,000 people, more than double the OECD average of 11.1. (Ethnic Media Services)

Read the full story at The Korea Daily.

Feature image via Wikimedia Creative Commons license.