Half of Koreans in a State of Resentment, Most Severe in Their 30s

About half of Korean adults are in a state of long-term resentment. According to a survey conducted in June 2024 by Professor Yoo Myung-soon and her team at the Graduate School of Public Health, Seoul National University, on 1,024 adults nationwide aged 18 and over, 49.2% of respondents said they were experiencing long-term resentment. The proportion experiencing severe resentment was 9.3%. This figure is more than three times the 15.5% found in a 2019 survey in Germany.

Resentment refers to a state where feelings of anger and hatred based on the belief of being unfairly treated persist for a long time. In psychology, this is called Post-Traumatic Embitterment Disorder (PTED).

While PTSD stems from life-threatening events and primarily shows anxiety and fear as emotions, PTED arises from negative events in daily life and is characterized by emotions such as anger, injustice, and a desire for revenge. Although PTED has not yet been officially listed as a diagnostic name in the International Classification of Diseases (ICD), research is being conducted on it as an independent syndrome in clinical settings.

By age group, the proportion of severe resentment was highest among those in their 30s at 13.9%. Among those experiencing severe resentment, 60% responded that they had thought about suicide. The level of resentment was related to beliefs about fairness. The higher the belief in fairness, the lower the resentment score.

In the survey measuring resentment levels on various political and social issues in Korea, 85.5% of respondents felt resentment towards corruption or concealment of wrongdoing by the legislative, judicial, and executive branches, which was the highest. This was followed by 85.2% for the immorality and corruption of politics and political parties, and 85.1% for medical, environmental, and social disasters caused by poor safety management.

47.1% of respondents said they had experienced stress severe enough to affect their health in the past year, and only 34.3% said they were generally satisfied with their lives.

The chronic nature of resentment affects not only individual mental health but also the entire community. In a 2020 study by Seoul National University on victims of humidifier disinfectant, households in severe stages of damage were 1.7 times more likely to belong to the PTED group, and the likelihood increased more than threefold as notification of judgment was delayed. Resentment was found to mediate between depression and quality of life.

Professor Yoo Myung-soon explained that maintaining high social safety and stability and strengthening social trust is the way to support the mental health of individuals and groups. Experts believe that a comprehensive approach, including personal treatment and counseling support as well as structural social solutions, is necessary.