From June 2025, an anonymous online survey will be conducted at 800 schools across the country.
The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency will conduct a health behavior survey targeting about 60,000 middle and high school students nationwide. This survey aims to understand the lifestyle and health status of adolescents for use in national policy formulation.
The survey period is from June 9 to July 4. A total of 800 middle and high schools in 17 cities and provinces nationwide will participate. Each school will select one class per grade as a sample. The students being surveyed will anonymously answer questions by accessing a designated webpage after scanning a QR code using their personal smartphones or tablet PCs during class hours.
The survey consists of 14 areas, including smoking, drinking, dietary habits, physical activity, obesity, mental health, oral health, personal hygiene, safety awareness, sexual behavior, substance use, and smartphone usage. There are over 100 questions in total.
The 2025 survey also includes an in-depth questionnaire conducted every three years. This year, the survey will target areas such as physical activities, dietary habits, obesity and weight control, oral health, and personal hygiene. Additional detailed questions will cover the frequency of exercise during physical education classes, participation in sports activities, and the frequency of physical activity when commuting to and from school. The dietary section will include questions on the frequency of consuming zero-calorie drinks and habits of watching ‘mukbang’ or ‘cookbang’ content.
Through this survey, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency plans to comprehensively analyze lifestyle habits that affect adolescent health. The collected data will be publicly released at a result presentation in December and will also be available to the public as statistics and raw data for research purposes.
The survey method ensures anonymity to guarantee voluntary responses from students, with supporting teachers assisting in the survey process. The results will be accessible to anyone on the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency’s youth health behavior survey website.
Jiyoung Mi, Director of the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, stated, “This survey serves as fundamental data for youth health policy and requires active participation from selected schools and students.” She also mentioned, “We will adjust the survey items according to policy demands and continue to establish effective policies in collaboration with relevant ministries.”
