About half of the South Korean population seems to be suffering from long-term repressed anger issues, with nearly 1 in 10 being severe cases, a local study revealed Tuesday indicated.
You Myoung-soon, a professor in Seoul National University's Graduate School of Public Health, conducted a study on the social and psychological well-being of Korean nationals, based on the survey her team conducted of 1,024 adults June 12-14. The team asked the respondents to rank their level of pent-up anger on a scale of 1 to 4. In the results, 1.6 to 2.4 were categorized as having a "moderate" level of repressed anger, 2.5 and over were categorized as having a "high" level, and anyone who scored over 1.6 was deemed as having long-term, chronic anger issues.
The study showed that 49.2 percent of the respondents were in a state of long-term repressed rage, as 39.9 percent scored between 1.6 to 2.4 and 9.3 percent scored 2.5 or above.
Of those with a high level of such feelings, 60 percent said they had contemplated killing themselves.
The researchers found a significant correlation between age groups and the tendency to harbor resentment. Only 3.1 percent of the 60 and above group had a high degree of pent-up anger, the lowest of all the age groups, while 13.9 percent of the 30-39 group also had a high level -- the highest of all age groups.
The percentage of people with a high level of chronic repressed rage was 11.9 percent among the 50-59 group, 11.8 percent among the 40-49 group and 11.4 percent among the 18-29 group.
Some 54.3 percent of the 30-somethings were found to be chronically angry, also the highest out of all age groups.
The 60 and above group were most likely to believe that the world is fair, scoring an average of 3.42 out of 4. The youngest two groups -- 18-29 and 30-39 -- tied for the lowest scores of 3.13.
Relatively well-off respondents were found to be more content with their lives than those with less income.
The respondents were asked to rate their social and economic status as low, middle or high. About 60 percent of those with low socioeconomic status had long-term anger issues, whereas only 38.5 percent of those identifying themselves as having high status did.
Social and political issues played a major part in making people angry, as the respondents gave a score of 3.53 out of 4 for the question, "How much do social and political issues make you angry, even if they don't involve you?" The social and political issues mentioned included: the corruption issues of politicians, the government hiding its faults, biased reporting by journalists, tax evasion and tragedies sparked by insufficient safety measures.
