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Who's Your Daddy?
Joined: 30 May 2010
Location: Victoria, Canada.
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 Posted: Thu Apr 04, 2013 5:00 pm Post subject: |
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| My view is Korea society has a very narrow definition of success. Basically, are you rich? No, you failed. |
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Julius
Joined: 27 Jul 2006
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| Posted: Thu Apr 04, 2013 5:11 pm Post subject: |
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| Who's Your Daddy? wrote: |
| My view is Korea society has a very narrow definition of success. Basically, are you rich? No, you failed. |
There seems to be a general lack of compassion or empathy for others. Instead, everyone is engaged in a simmering competition with everyone else.
And then there is this overwhelming obsession with social status, that drives people to try and make others feel small in order to make them feel more important. That is a huge source of stress. |
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Steelrails
Joined: 12 Mar 2009
Location: Earth, Solar System
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| Posted: Thu Apr 04, 2013 5:21 pm Post subject: |
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| Religion is a part. If you believe in reincarnation instead of Heaven v. Hell..... |
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le-paul
Joined: 07 Apr 2009
Location: dans la chambre
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| Posted: Thu Apr 04, 2013 5:29 pm Post subject: |
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in s. turnbulls account of the korean/japanese war in the 1500's, he wrote that alot of koreans, rather than face the japanese invaders went to the forest and hung themselves (sorry, cant find direct quote).
i suppose its not a recent phenomenon in this part of asia but not at all similar to japanese seppuku.
interestingly though, i read a few months ago that in korea, there are over 8,000 internet sites in korea dedicated to committing suicide. So information and encouragement wont be too hard to come by. |
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cj1976
Joined: 26 Oct 2005
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| Posted: Thu Apr 04, 2013 8:09 pm Post subject: |
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By and large, the average Korean lives a fairly prescribed and predictable life, full of obligation, conformity and pressure to succeed. Now in the era of digital media and celebrity, young people have new image-related pressures to cope with - on top of the traditional pressure to succeed in education.
Sleep deprivation seems to be the norm here. It is quite normal for people to sleep 6 hours or less every night. People are overworked and under-rested.
Korea has a high suicide rate because of their own culture. I can't see it changing unless they seriously look at themselves and try to change centuries of social conditioning. |
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No_hite_pls
Joined: 05 Mar 2007
Location: Don't hate me because I'm right
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| Posted: Thu Apr 04, 2013 8:21 pm Post subject: |
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| Koreans in general have higher expectations for life (money specially) than many westerners. |
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toby99
Joined: 28 Aug 2009
Location: Dong-Incheon-by-the-sea, South Korea
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| Posted: Thu Apr 04, 2013 9:44 pm Post subject: |
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| No_hite_pls wrote: |
| Koreans in general have higher expectations for life (money specially) than many westerners. |
Sorta. I'd say they've got a narrower definition of 'success' (or at least what is considered socially acceptable as success- getting rich and going to a top college), and the goal is to achieve that. To what end...who knows. Don't think most here ever think that far in advance. But when it becomes apparent they ain't goin to SKY or becoming filthy rich, thoughts of suicide come dancing in their heads. As opposed to the west, where you can be a screw up and still get second chances or be considered normal.
Here, if you don't have a gf and can't afford an anma, what else is there to live for? |
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joesp
Joined: 16 Jan 2008
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| Posted: Thu Apr 04, 2013 11:44 pm Post subject: |
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| ... because Koreans are such a happy people |
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FDNY
Joined: 27 Sep 2010
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| Posted: Fri Apr 05, 2013 3:07 am Post subject: |
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| I think also they look around at the garish ugliness of Korea and get depressed. Also they know for a lifetime of work they will get a concrete box. (apartment) That's it. |
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Suwon Sister
Joined: 10 Jun 2008
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Suwon Sister
Joined: 10 Jun 2008
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earthquakez
Joined: 10 Nov 2010
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| Posted: Fri Apr 05, 2013 6:54 pm Post subject: NOPE |
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| Suwon Sister wrote: |
| http://askakorean.blogspot.com/2013/03/culturalism-and-koreas-suicide-rate.html |
Sorry, no, and you double posted. Ask a Korean type Koreans nearly always reflect Korean reasoning that clashes with some objective observations of the weaknesses of their culture.
Suicide IS something that was seen as very acceptable and in fact necessary in Korean society in the past under circumstances where the privileged Koreans felt that losing face/their good name was the ultimate worst act that demanded their redress by their own death. Kind of similar to the Japanese who did the same thing.
Have you read much about ruling class Korean responses to Japan's annexation of Korea? Or Japan's colonising actions before that in the 19th century? You'll find that a legitimate response from some prominent people was to kill themselves. In western culture by then suicide was generally seen as abnormal, a coward's way out, and directly against the Christian God's laws.
Korea even now with many more Christians seems to not really take on board the traditional Christian teaching that regards suicide as directly challenging God and hence was considered a terrible sin. The modern version of Korean suicide is not so much about honour and shame as about obsession with what others think and shame.
Just flipping thru news of the past 7 yrs or so of some western countries where Koreans have migrated I've seen well above average instances of Koreans topping themselves including a case not so long ago in New Zealand where a man returned from a trip to Korea to find all his family had killed themselves.
The Korean way of thinking in these kinds of cases is that others opinions matter so much that the only way to avoid the shame of collective judgement or your own shame that you haven't 'won' at whatever you're doing is to kill yourself. It is very Korean unfortunately. Yes, it is a cultural problem.
One thing I really noticed before I left Korea was how little Koreans encourage each other to take responsibility even in minor things. Teachers in schools hit students long after corporal punishment was abolished in other first world countries because there is still the mentality that children have to be forced to behave.
When I worked in public schools I met this idea again and again that students weren't really responsible for their actions to a large extent and that's what teachers and other authority figures are there for - to force them to behave.
The lack of taking responsibility for yourself is encouraged by Korean parents who expect discipline to come from outside the home yet at the same time resent their brats being called to account for what they do whether it's sitting in a local caf� openly graffiting on the walls or being rude or even physically violent at school.
I saw the lack of taking responsibility in hagwons where the Korean teachers would walk past empty photocopiers or see supplies were done yet not lift one finger to do anything. It wasn't their responsibility, you see, even tho their lack of action affected just about everybody when suddenly we needed to photocopy extra material or do something new in class. But when a senior told them to do it, well, they did it. 
When you have seniors telling you what to do all your life, it's just who they are that changes along the way, then yes it's hard to see yourself as an individual who has to weigh up actions and accept that there are consequences for what you do.
I think there's a lot of evidence in daily Korean life that many Koreans don't seem to understand that consequences are just a part of life and I think this helps foster the modern Korean attitude towards suicide.
And we all can't win in life all the time but as Koreans base a large part of their existence in actively competing against others in situations other cultures don't find essential or that important compared to quality of life, then yes Koreans are more prone to suicide when they feel they've failed.
Who'd want to be Korean?  Especially when I'd say based on some years of experience in Korea that Koreans honestly believe they are superior intellectually and culturally. |
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postfundie
Joined: 28 May 2004
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| Posted: Fri Apr 05, 2013 7:25 pm Post subject: |
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| Quote: |
| Religion is a part. If you believe in reincarnation instead of Heaven v. Hell..... |
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World Traveler
Joined: 29 May 2009
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| Posted: Fri Apr 05, 2013 7:41 pm Post subject: |
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I think a good idea for reducing the number of suicides in South Korea would be to increase the number of green spaces.
| Quote: |
| Previous studies have found that people who live near trees and parks have lower levels of cortisol, a stress hormone, in their saliva than those who live primarily amid concrete |
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0169204611003665
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| When the volunteers made their way through the urbanized, busy areas, particularly the heavily trafficked commercial district at the end of their walk, their brain wave patterns consistently showed that they were more aroused and frustrated than when they walked through the parkland, where brain-wave readings became more meditative. |
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| The study suggests that, right about now, you should consider �taking a break from work,� Dr. Roe said, and �going for a walk in a green space or just sitting, or even viewing green spaces from your office window.� This is not unproductive lollygagging, Dr. Roe helpfully assured us. �It is likely to have a restorative effect and help with attention fatigue and stress recovery.� |
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Weigookin74
Joined: 26 Oct 2009
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| Posted: Fri Apr 05, 2013 8:45 pm Post subject: |
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| Sadly, lots of competition here. Go to a good school, study hard all the time, and get a good job. Pressure for status, letdowns when this doesn't happen. Saving face and a sense of shame. It is really sad. |
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