Korean graduate-student mental-health data
National Graduate Student Union / Ministry of Education 2022~2023:
- PhD students likely depressed: 41% (PHQ-9 ≥10)
- PhD students with suicidal thoughts: 17%
- PhD students with suicide attempts: 3%
- Master's students depression: 35%
- General depression: 6.7%
- Grad student depression = 6× general
- International comparison (Nature 2019): world PhD students 36% depression, 21% suicidal thoughts — Korea slightly higher
- Average PhD duration: Korea 5~7 years (STEM), 8~10 years (humanities / social science)
- Post-PhD academic placement: Korea 10~20% (tenured) — "failure" perception 80%
Why graduate school is a depression hotspot
① Endless work: never-ending papers, research, review, resubmission. "End" not visible.
② Financial pressure: PhD stipend ₩600K~1.5M/month (insufficient for living); lab / research costs short; family burden.
③ Advisor power — Korean specifics:
- Korean advisor = near-absolute power
- Paper approval, graduation, publication, career recommendations — all decided
- Korean hierarchy culture ("professor vs. student") stronger than US / EU
- Conflict with advisor = possible PhD abandonment
- Increasing reports of Korean grad-school abuses (personal errands, excessive labor, sexual harassment involvement)
④ Isolation: lab / library = social isolation. ↓ friend meetings.
⑤ Future uncertainty: post-PhD "academia vs. industry" decision; few academic positions (Korea PhDs 10,000+/year vs. faculty openings 1,000~2,000).
⑥ Impostor syndrome: "I'm not qualified to be a scholar". 99% of PhD students experience it.
⑦ Comparison: with peer PhDs, paper counts, placement. Via SNS / conferences.
Signs of graduate-school depression
- Daily "I'm not qualified" thoughts
- Fear of going to lab / library
- Panic right before meeting advisor
- 2+ weeks daily depression
- Suicidal thoughts ("better than living like this")
- Daily alcohol
- ↓ eating or bingeing
- No sleep or all-day sleep
- Cutoff from friends / family
- Research paralysis
3+ = psychiatry / therapy immediately.
Korean advisor relationship — core variable
The biggest variable in Korean grad school. 5 management points:
① First year — assessment:
- Learn advisor's personality, supervision style, expectations
- Gather info from other PhD students (seniors)
- Their PhD graduation rate, duration, career placement
- Reputation (within / outside the department)
② Explicit expectations:
- Weekly research hours, paper deadlines, graduation timeline
- Expected publications / conference talks
- Your career path (academia / industry) stated
- Email / meeting frequency
- This "explicitness" is hard in Korean grad school (hierarchy culture) but essential
③ Abuse signs:
- Personal errands (family chores, driving)
- Unfair authorship (added without contribution / excluded with contribution)
- Excessive labor (80+ hours/week)
- Insults / personal attacks
- Sexual harassment
- Bad-mouthing you to other students
1~2 = caution; 3+ = report abuse.
④ Responding to abuse:
- Collect evidence (emails, messengers, recordings)
- Report to department head / grad school dean
- Grad student union / human rights center
- National Human Rights Commission
- In severe cases, request advisor change
- Some Korean universities have "sexual harassment / abuse report centers"
⑤ Advisor change:
- Hard in Korean grad school; may add 1 year
- Different professor in same department or different university
- Pre-consent from new advisor + departmental approval
- Higher chance if abuse is documented
- You may lose 1~2 PhD years — mental health is prioritized
6 survival strategies
① Advisor relationship — see above
② Financial safety net:
- Scholarships (BK21, government, corporate, society — apply broadly)
- RA / TA
- Tutoring, translation, freelance
- Explicit per-semester budget
- Family support (if available)
- Korean student loans (Korea Student Aid Foundation)
PhD year cost: minimum ₩15~20M (living + tuition + lab). Financial stability ↓ depression.
③ Peers / social:
- Lab mates, other-lab PhD students
- Departmental clubs, grad student union
- Conferences, online communities
- Friends outside academia
- Ritualize weekly friend meet-ups
Isolation is the biggest risk factor.
④ Psychiatry / therapy:
- University counseling centers — free, anonymous (most Korean universities)
- University psychiatric clinics where available
- External psychiatry (insurance covered)
- SSRI + CBT effective
- PHQ-9 self-check once a semester
- ≥9 = professional now
⑤ 30 min daily exercise:
- Equal-effect to SSRI for grad-school depression
- University gyms free
- Walking, running, hiking, swimming
- Most-neglected but most-effective
⑥ Diversify career — beyond academia:
- Korean academic placement post-PhD 10~20%
- Alternatives: industry (R&D), government (research institutes), entrepreneurship, international orgs, media, writing, education
- Non-academic career ≠ "failure" — normal
- Start exploring at PhD year 2~3
- Check your values (must it be academia?)
Advisor vs. school — Korean grad-school specifics
Korea has big school differences (top universities vs. regional). But:
- PhD: advisor / research field > school name
- Overseas PhD (US, Europe, Japan) more competitive in some Korean fields
- Where the advisor is good > school prestige
- First year of Korean grad school = reality-check moment for PhD decision
PhD vs. Master's vs. work
Decide carefully:
- PhD = 5~10 years, ₩100~200M opportunity cost, mental-health risk
- Academic entry hard post-PhD
- PhD ≠ stable job (post-PhD unemployment rises in Korea)
- Is your love of research / wanting to be a scholar clear?
- Master's + industry is also viable (especially STEM)
- PhD ↔ work is possible — PhD leave + work + return
Women grad-student specifics — additional burdens
5 extra burdens for Korean women grad students:
- Marriage / pregnancy pressure (family, society)
- Pregnancy / childbirth during PhD — academic delay
- Few female professors (30% in Korea) — fewer role models
- Higher sexual-harassment risk by advisors
- Post-PhD family-work balance hard
Korea WISE (Women in Science, Engineering, Technology), university women grad-student groups.
Emergency signs — care
- Suicidal thoughts / attempts
- 2+ weeks daily depression / crying
- Panic / vomiting right before advisor meeting
- 1+ week work / academic paralysis
- Daily alcohol
- Advisor violence / sexual harassment
1577-0199 or university counseling center / psychiatry. Korean grad-student suicide is reported every year — especially years 4~5. Youth Mental Health Voucher (up to 34). Advisor abuse / harassment — report to department, human rights center, National Human Rights Commission. Life > PhD.
