The South Korean government wants shut-in children to leave the house and go outside.
The country’s Ministry of Gender Equality and Family said the cabinet passed a measure on Tuesday to provide potentially thousands of dollars a year in education, job counseling and health support to those between the ages of 9 and 24 living as recluses.
The program, which expands a November announcement, is targeted at so-called hikikomori — a term coined in Japan to describe severe social withdrawal, likely worsened by the pandemic.