Our young ones are profoundly unhappy, casting a pall over the country’s future.

According to the 2013 survey on the state of children in Korea released by the Health and Welfare Ministry, among children 17 and younger, the satisfaction with life index stood at 61.5 out of a possible 100. Among the OECD nations, our children were the least satisfied with life. The index looks at stress from academics, school violence, Internet addiction, neglect and cyberbullying.

In the child deprivation index, another measure of children’s well-being, our children scored 53.3 percent, showing them to be the most deprived among the OECD countries. The index, which measures deprivation in 14 items, showed Korean children to be the most deprived in regular leisure activities.

The stress level among our children has continued to rise since 2008, with a notable rise in the stress level among younger children. Factors that caused stress were mostly related to academics, such as homework, exams and grades, according to the survey.

The most frightening part of the survey concerned children’s contemplation of suicide. Among children aged 9-17, 3.6 percent responded that they had seriously thought about suicide in the past year. Almost 30 percent of the group that had contemplated suicide said that they had actually attempted it.

Our children’s unhappiness has been quantified into numbers, giving solid form to our vague suspicions. The child shown in the survey is one that we know as our own: Rushing off to school in the morning without a proper breakfast, bullied by peers, their rights as children abused by those in authority, and spending hours at cram schools before coming home late at night to parents who seem to be only interested in the child’s academic performance.

It is no wonder they are unhappy and driven to thoughts of suicide. And we only have ourselves to blame for the unhappiness of the children who we profess to love, for we created the system that robs them of their childhood ― a time when they should be laughing carefree, free to explore the world and dream big dreams of their future.

A society whose children are unhappy and deprived does not have a tomorrow. We should reclaim the childhoods of our youngsters for their sake as well for the sake of the country.