Climate Anxiety Among Young Adults in South Korea

Background: The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change recognized in 2022 that the climate crisis negatively affects people's mental health. Individuals may experience anxiety due to more frequent and severe natural disasters and the perception of environmental problems as a crisis. Climate anxiety, which encompasses a range of challenging emotions arising from environmental problems and the threats they pose, has been shown to have a significant impact on mental health. However, existing studies on climate anxiety have usually been conducted through quantitative studies in Western societies, overlooking the sociocultural context. This qualitative study delves into the lived experiences of climate anxiety of young adults in South Korea, exploring the socio-cultural context that shapes their perceptions and responses.

Methods: Semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted with six participants collected by snowball sampling. Then, through the photovoice method, the participants determined the topics for discussion, such as 'what makes us feel climate anxiety' and ‘the role of the community in climate change.’ Three focus group interviews were conducted, centered on a total of 24 photos related to the topics. The data were analyzed through the thematic analysis method using Atlas.ti 22, and the participants involved in the analysis process. An online photo exhibition was also held.

Results: The study resulted in 21 subthemes, eight themes, and three categories that describe climate anxiety: existential threat perception, existential reflection, and existential action. Participants felt threatened by their direct and indirect experiences with climate change, but they also faced a lack of empathy from their peers and a lack of communal and policy resources to respond. This led to existential questions about how to live in the face of the climate crisis, causing participants to reflect on their own capitalist lifestyles that have contributed to the crisis, and to experience a sense of powerlessness as they were unable to escape the system. While anxiety can be a catalyst for action to address the climate crisis, the lack of resources to do so remains precarious. The case of South Korean young adults shows that the loss of community through neoliberal individualization fundamentally makes it harder to tackle a problem as large as climate change. Unlike some Western countries where youth climate action is prominent, in South Korea, climate policy is weak and the prioritization of individual economic survival reduces the willingness of young adults to take action. This generational attitude was also a source of anxiety for the participants.

Implications: The study highlights that young adults who lack collective resources and political institutional support internalize their feelings about the climate crisis and experience climate anxiety in the form of existential anxiety. Climate anxiety may manifest differently in countries that lack awareness of the climate crisis and resources to take action. The study underscores the importance of implementing climate policy measures that respond to climate change and enable alternative lifestyles to support the younger generation in coping with climate anxiety. Social workers can play a crucial role in building communities for climate action, empowering people to take climate practices.