Social isolation and chronic loneliness are slowly becoming a priority for public health organisations and people are expressing their concerns. Now, these issues have been recognised by the government of South Korea, who are now paying their youth to 're-enter' society.
According to a report by CNN, The Ministry of Gender Equality and Family has announced that it will provide up to about $500 per month to "lonely young people", in a bid to support their “psychological and emotional stability and healthy growth.”
The Korean government noted that around 338,000 people i.e. 3.1% of the population aged 19 to 39, are "reclusive, lonely young people" who are defined 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”.
Owing to several factors such as relocation, mental health problems, financial hardship, difficulty in forming relationships, family problems or health challenges, chronic loneliness can worsen.
The initiative comes under the Youth Welfare Support Act, that aims to help the youth who are at a risk of delinquency or lack a proper support system. With these new measures in place, the government attempts to facilitate their transition and help them get rehabilitated back into society.
(With Inputs from CNN)
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