About half of the South Korean population seems to be suffering from long-term repressed anger issues, with nearly 1 in 10 being severe cases, a local study revealed Tuesday indicated.

You Myoung-soon, a professor in Seoul National University’s Graduate School of Public Health, conducted a study on the social and psychological well-being of Korean nationals, based on the survey her team conducted of 1,024 adults June 12-14. The team asked the respondents to rank their level of pent-up anger on a scale of 1 to 4. In the results, 1.6 to 2.4 were categorized as having a “moderate” level of repressed anger, 2.5 and over were categorized as having a “high” level, and anyone who scored over 1.6 was deemed as having long-term, chronic anger issues.

The study showed that 49.2 percent of the respondents were in a state of long-term repressed rage, as 39.9 percent scored between 1.6 to 2.4 and 9.3 percent scored 2.5 or above. …

The researchers found a significant correlation between age groups and the tendency to harbor resentment. Only 3.1 percent of the 60 and above group had a high degree of pent-up anger, the lowest of all the age groups, while 13.9 percent of the 30-39 group also had a high level – the highest of all age groups.

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Some 54.3 percent of the 30-somethings were found to be chronically angry, also the highest out of all age groups.

The 60 and above group were most likely to believe that the world is fair, scoring an average of 3.42 out of 4. The youngest two groups – 18-29 and 30-39 – tied for the lowest scores of 3.13.