As more South Koreans withdraw from the world in favour of solitude, some parents are trying to empathise by locking themselves in empty rooms.

Each tiny room is bare and no phones or laptops allowed at wellness centre Happitory (short for ‘Happiness Factory’) in Hongcheon-gun, about 100 kilometres from the country’s capital Seoul.

Visitors wear blue prison-style uniforms as they spend days in their respective rooms, with a feeding hole in the door their only connection to the outside world.

Many participants are parents attempting to better understand and communicate with their children by taking part in a 13-week program run by the Korea Youth Foundation and the Blue Whale Recovery Centre.

The program includes spending three days in Happitory’s solitary-confinement rooms.

Confinement clarity

Jin Young-hae*, 50, told BBC her 24-year-old son had been isolating himself in his bedroom for three years, neglecting personal hygiene and meals.

Despite being talented, she said her son was often ill growing up, struggled to maintain friendships, and developed an eating disorder before completely retreating from the world one term into his university studies.

Jin said although she knew about his anxiety, relationship troubles with friends and family, and disappointment over not being accepted into a top university, he was reluctant to talk to her about what was really wrong.

After spending time in confinement at Happitory, Jin said she understands his “emotional prison” better.

“I’ve been wondering what I did wrong … it’s painful to think about,” she told BBC.

“But as I started reflecting, I gained some clarity.

“Reading [notes left by other isolated young people at the centre] made me realise, ‘Ah, he’s protecting himself with silence because no one understands him’.”

Young people retreating from the outside world

A 2023 South Korean Ministry of Health and Welfare survey of 15,000 19- to 34-year-olds found more than 5 per cent were isolating themselves, BBC reports.

This could mean about 540,000 people in South Korea are self-isolating, with top reported reasons including:

• Difficulty finding a job
• Issues with interpersonal relationships
• Family problems
• Health issues.

There doesn’t appear to be a specific Korean word for the trend, but it reflects a similar situation in Japan, where the term ‘hikikomori’ was coined in the 1990s.

Hikikomori refers to both the phenomenon in general and the people who withdraw from their family, society and the outside world.

This reclusion may last from several months to decades, and typically manifests during adolescence and early twenties, but can occur at any age.

Japan’s population worries are compounded by the hikikomori phenomenon. Photo: Getty

Worrying statistics

A 2023 survey by Japan’s Cabinet Office found 1.46 million people, or two per cent of the population aged between 15 and 64, could be hikikomori.

The real number may be even higher as the survey excluded people with schizophrenia, physical illnesses, housewives and remote workers.

Although the majority of hikikomori have traditionally been young men, the issue is increasingly being seen in older and female populations; women are the majority in the 40 to 64 age range.

Over recent years, hikikomori cases have popped up in countries ranging from Canada to Turkiye.

But the issue is most acute in countries like Japan and South Korea, which are already facing uncertain futures thanks to ageing populations exacerbated by low birthrates and high suicide rates.

Family and societal pressure to conform and meet certain achievements at set points in life, along with burnout from intense work cultures, are often pointed to as some of the most significant factors behind hikikomori.

Untreated mental health issues also likely contribute, but hikikomori itself is regarded as sociocultural phenomenon rather than a mental health issue.

What’s being done to address the issue

In efforts to bring people back into society, South Korean authorities are offering young recluses from lower-income families a monthly stipend of up to 650,000 won ($705) to coax them out of their homes.

These people can apply for subsidies for services such as health, education, and correction of appearance and scars.

South Koreans aged 20 to 34 are also being offered state-funded mental health check-ups every two years as authorities try to bring down suicide rates.

In Japan, the government’s Hikikomori Support Project, established in 2018, created 85 regional support centres and local peer support programs.

Individual prefectures and municipalities have designed online events aimed at getting hikikomori to socialise, while many community members have also developed programs in an effort to bring people back into society.

*Not a real name