The number of health insurance claims for children with depression and anxiety disorders in 3 Gangnam districts, nearly four times the average in 25 Seoul districts
Apr 25, 2025
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According to data received by Jin Sun-mi (Democratic Party of Korea), a member of the National Assembly's Education Committee, from the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service (SEC), the number of health insurance claims for children under the age of 9 living in 3 Gangnam districts jumped from 1,037 in 2020 to 3,309 in 2024. Last year, Songpa-gu reported 1,442 cases, Gangnam-gu 1045 cases, and Seocho-gu 822 cases, respectively. Last year, the average number of separate claims in three Gangnam districts was 1,103, 3.8 times the average of 25 autonomous districts (291 cases) in Seoul.
During the same period, the number of health insurance claims for children under the age of 9 nationwide for depression and anxiety disorders doubled from 15,407 in 2020 to 32,601 in 2024.
It is pointed out that these statistics are not irrelevant to the fact that the three Gangnam districts are called the 「private education mecca」.
According to the data submitted by the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education to the office of Representative Jin Sun-mi, 240 English institutes for children in Seoul were counted as 'English kindergartens' in 2024, while 59 English kindergartens in 3 Gangnam districts accounted for 25% of the total. Gangnam-gu had the largest number of places with 25, Songpa-gu had 21 places, and Seocho-gu had 13. The average number of English kindergartens in 25 autonomous districts in Seoul was 9.6, while 3 districts in Gangnam more than doubled to 19.6.
Amid growing concerns that the mental health problems of infants and toddlers will worsen due to the recent controversy over the four-year-old exam, experts point out that policy measures should be taken, pointing out the negative impact of early learning stress on infant development.
Rep. Jin Sun-mi said, `Children are suffering from excessive learning burden and competitive stress at a time when physical and emotional development should take placeThe Ministry of Education should come up with comprehensive measures, including a survey on the actual condition of infant education, so that our children's mental health is not threatened by the overheating of early prior learning, such as the 4-year-old notice" he urged.
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
