One in 20 Korean adults likely has borderline intellectual functioning
An online screening survey found that 5.3 percent of adults may have below-average cognitive ability, creating difficulties in learning and social adaptation.
Students study at Chungnam National University Library in Daejeon during the university's final exam period on June 18.NEWS1
Roughly one in 20 Korean adults likely has borderline intellectual functioning — a condition just above the threshold for intellectual disability, according to a government survey released Wednesday.
Through an online screening survey of 9,000 people nationwide, the Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs (KIHASA) found that 5.3 percent of Korean adults were in an “at-risk group” for the condition. The rate was 2.6 percent among children and adolescents aged 18 or younger.
The figure, based on the first nationwide screening of its kind, is well below the long-used estimate of 13.6 percent, which had only ever been a statistical projection drawn from the IQ distribution curve.
Individuals with borderline intellectual functioning have an IQ between 71 and 84, the range that falls between the average distribution and the intellectual disability range. They are not intellectually disabled, but their below-average cognitive ability leaves them with persistent difficulties in learning and social adaptation. However, because they are not registered as disabled under the current Act on Welfare of Persons with Disabilities, they are also excluded from institutional support.
“When we were counting numbers, she couldn't get from 99 to 100. No matter how many times I explained it, my child kept getting stuck at 99, and at the time I honestly thought they were just messing around,” said a parent of a child with borderline intellectual functioning.
“Once my child got to third grade and cliques started forming among her classmates, the child couldn't join in. They felt a deep sense of exclusion and deprivation,” said another parent of a child with the same condition.
Children play inside a swimming pool set up at Gwanghwamun Square in Jongno District, central Seoul, on July 28.NEWS1
The KIHASA survey showed that among children and adolescents in the at-risk group of borderline intellectual functioning, 23.8 percent had experienced delayed enrollment, school transfers or dropping out — more than seven times the rate among the general group, which stood at 3.3 percent.
Forty-nine percent of the young respondents said they had difficulty using community services such as public transportation and hospitals, almost five times the 10.3 percent rate for the general group. Further, more than 50 percent reported difficulty forming relationships with others — such as greeting people, having conversations or introducing themselves — also almost five times the general group's rate, which was 10.8 percent.
Mental health problems also stood out. The proportion of people with borderline intellectual functioning currently taking psychiatric medication was 30.2 percent among at-risk children and adolescents and 29.7 percent among at-risk adults — 10 times and five times the rate for the general group, respectively.
A gap also appeared in labor market participation. Among at-risk adults, 32.3 percent said they had not worked for pay for at least one hour in the past week, 3.9 percentage points higher than the general group's rate of 28.4 percent.
Reflecting this reality, both those affected and their guardians commonly named legislation to support people with borderline intellectual functioning as the top priority. “I wish there were some kind of common registration card that would show that I have borderline intellectual functioning,” a person with the condition told the JoongAng Ilbo.
The researchers recommended shifting policy away from an approach focused on negative situations and problems, such as dropping out of school or repeated job failures, and instead toward building social infrastructure — institutions and services — for people with borderline intellectual functioning. They also said that rather than treating people with borderline intellectual functioning as a single, uniform group, a multifaceted support system should be established that takes life stage and individual characteristics into account.
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
