​Nation paying recluses to ‘re-enter society’ ​

One nation has grown so concerned by the trend of lonely young people completely withdrawing from society it is now offering them hundreds of dollars a month to get out and socialise.

The South Korean Ministry of Gender Equality and Family announced a new initiative this week to pay young recluses a monthly stipend of 650,000 won ($743) to “re-enter society”, as well as education, employment and health support to encourage those affected to leave their homes to attend school, university or work. 

It also includes cash for cultural experiences for adolescents.

It’s the result of a growing condition known as “hikikomori” – a Japanese word that loosely translates to “to pull back”.
 

According to the Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs, those with the condition are described as living in a “limited space, in a state of being disconnected from the outside for more than a certain period of time, and have noticeable difficulty in living a normal life”.

The cash is designed to help support eligible victims aged between nine and 24 to achieve “psychological and emotional stability and healthy growth”.

It’s a significant problem for South Korea, with around 3.1 per cent of 19 to 39-year-olds – or more than 350,000 people – living extremely withdrawn lives, which for most began in the teenage years.

It is believed to be caused by a variety of factors, such as poverty, physical and/or mental health issues and family breakdowns or other relationship problems. 

The generous new allowance will be available to those whose household income is below the national median threshold, and can be applied for via a local administrative welfare centre.

“Reclusive youths can have slower physical growth due to irregular living and unbalanced nutrition, and are likely to face mental difficulties such as depression due to loss of social roles and delayed adaptation,” the ministry said, adding that “active support” was crucial.
 

The new payments come in addition to other local measures, with capital city Seoul already offering a “Reclusive Youth Support Project” which includes mental health counselling, hobby development and work training and life coaching for affected young people.

While the condition has been observed since the 1980s and is also prevalent in Japan, it is believed to have worsened during the Covid pandemic, when people across the globe were forced into brutal, months-long lockdowns. 

In South Korea, isolation is also exacerbated by sky-high youth unemployment – which currently sits at 7.2 per cent – and a seriously declining birthrate of just 0.78 children per woman on average, two statistics which authorities are increasingly concerned about when it comes to the nation’s future economic success.

“This policy is fundamentally a welfare measure,” Shin Yul, a political-science professor at Myongji University in Seoul, recently told Bloomberg.

“While it’s good to try various approaches to boost working-age population, it cannot be seen as a long-term solution to fix the population problem here”.