Adolescents' Sexuality and School-Based Sex Education in South Korea

The aim of this study was to assess adolescents' sexuality and to gather student opinions on current school-based sex education in South Korea. A self-administered questionnaire survey was conducted in Seoul, Incheon, and Kyunggi Province to assess the status and needs of high school sexuality education. Survey data was obtained from 1,130 senior high school students. The rates of sexual intercourse for boys and girls were 33.1% and 13.2% respectively. Boys were more likely to be sexually involved (p = .000) and experienced earlier at first sexual intercourse than girls (p = .006). Among students who had sexual intercourse, only 20.3% (21.1% of boys and 19.1% of girls) used contraceptives at first sexual intercourse. The proportion of respondents who had had sexual intercourse was higher among those with poor self-perceived academic performance (p = .000). The proportion was also higher among those with a boy or girl friend (p = .000). Other risk-taking behaviors such as smoking and drinking were associated with sexual activity (p = .000). This study found that most students were not satisfied with sex education because of teachers' lack of information and skills in delivering it. Most teachers providing sex education were not qualified and/or trained. They should receive adequate training and guidelines for the training. Training should also give teachers time to practice and become comfortable in delivering it.