Korean Job Discussion Forums

Real Reality · Joined: 10 Jan 2003 Location: Seoul

Survivor of Family Suicide Takes Own Life
A high school senior who was the sole survivor of a family suicide that took place in Gongju, South Chungcheong Province in April committed suicide last Wednesday. Paramedics were called and the teenager, who had drunk herbicide, was immediately transported to Soonchunhyang Hospital in Cheonan. He died on Saturday morning, however.

On April 12, Lee's parents and younger sister set fire to the car they were in parked near the high school that Lee attended, committing family suicide. It was reported that Lee's father chose to die with his family, as he grew more and more pessimistic over his son's failure to adjust to school life.
by You Tae-jong, Chosun Ilbo (June 19, 2005)
http://english.chosun.com/w21data/html/news/200506/200506190014.html

mateomiguel · Joined: 16 May 2005

usually its one family member committing suicide in order to put guilt on the rest of them, but this time its the whole family going for it to put guilt on the surviving son.

geez.

joe_doufu · Joined: 09 May 2005 Location: Elsewhere

I find it hard to believe the younger sister was really into the whole setting on fire of the car thing.

tzechuk · Joined: 20 Dec 2004

May be the younger sister had no choice.

It is very sad Sad

joe_doufu · Joined: 09 May 2005 Location: Elsewhere

chance2005 · Joined: 03 Apr 2005

billybrobby · Joined: 09 Dec 2004

Len8 · Joined: 12 Feb 2003 Location: Kyungju

Our frame of reference and our psychology doesn't work here it seems. If Freud, Jung, Maslow and all the others had done sabbaticals in the orient we would probably have more courses in the curricula for adegree in psychology.

Someone in another post said the downside to Korea's rise from nothing to the booming economy that it is included

1 Social isolation

2 Increased competition

3 and something else

joe_doufu · Joined: 09 May 2005 Location: Elsewhere

VanIslander · Posted: Mon Jun 20, 2005 8:36 pm Post subject:

"Family suicide" is a misnomer.

One person decides and takes others down with him (usually the father).

It's murder-suicide.

And the boy who was left behind had it tough. He should have had a lot of support from family friends, distant relatives and social services. Maybe he did. Or maybe not. Either way, stigma and shame likely followed him closely.

His suicide is the saddest of all.

peemil · Joined: 09 Feb 2003 Location: Koowoompa

God- You're the bearer of great news today. First the army story and then this.

Tiberious aka Sparkles · Joined: 23 Jan 2003 Location: I'm one cool cat!

How do you force other people to stay in a burning car with you? I'm not saying it's impossible, but at least it's unlikely. If I were in a car with someone who wanted to set it ablaze, even if they had the child safety locks on, I'd kick or punch the window(s) out. It's not an easy thing for sure, but surely even a terrified mother or daughter (though maybe not for the latter; the article doesn't give the "younger" sister's age) could do that.

Sparkles*_*

joe_doufu · Joined: 09 May 2005 Location: Elsewhere

Tiberious aka Sparkles · Joined: 23 Jan 2003 Location: I'm one cool cat!