AS OF DECEMBER loth, 564 South Kore-ans had died of covid-19. Roughly twice that number died by suicide every month between January and September, the latest month for which data are available. Half as many again made the attempt and were saved by the emergency services.High as these numbers are, they are mercifully much lower than a decade ago, when the suicide rate began to decline sharply. Unfortunately, this happy trend has recently gone into reverse (see chart). The reversal is largely driven by women in their teens, 20s and 30s. Between 2018 and 2019 the number of women in their 20s dying by suicide rose by a quarter as the number of men of the same age killing themselves stayed more or less constant. Data from the first three-quarters of 2020 suggest the suicide rate among young women is rising still more. What is going on?
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