"Suicide Is Painless"

Korean culture has a lot of quirks, but one interesting (and sad) phenomenon is it's fairly well-known high suicide rate - if not, the highest in the world.

Recently a report came out showing that "more than 14,500 South Koreans killed themselves last year, up nearly 19 percent from 2008." Sadly, the numbers have consistently been expected to increase, especially due to the bad economy.

There are many, many factors that cause this number to be high. Disregarding the mentally ill, the majority of suicides seems to be in the age group of over 60 (one-third of the total suicides from last year), and the younger generation between the ages of 15-30. As for the older population, I can only guess that it is due to the lack of social welfare programs, as the elderly in Korea have largely relied on their family members to take care of them in their old age - a trend that is disappearing as society changes. Also part of the issue: poverty, disgrace, or to deal with grave illness as not to impose the financial costs and emotional hardships on their families.  Some highly notable suicides have also been tied to politicians and business men who were involved in scandals due to corruption and bribary including: "the former President Roh Moo-hyun last year, the former secretary of Prime Minister Kim Young-chul, former Busan mayor Ahn Sang-Young who committed suicide while in prison, Park Tae-young, former governor of Jeolla province, and Chung Mong-hun, a former Hyundai executive."

 

For the younger generation, there is a lot of pressures to get into good schools, get perfect grades, get high paying jobs, and fulfill your families wishes without question. A volatile combination on teens and young adults who succumb under the pressures and are generally unhappy when they aren't living their lives the way they want to out of fear of being disowned by their family. After graduating from university, many students find it difficult to find jobs and suffer with the high costs of living in Seoul. That, mixed with the parental pressures to be married and start raising a family add to the feelings of a lack of accomplishment, and depression upon the over-reaction that they will never be happy and successful.

Suicide has also gained a cult following as many famous Koreans have taken their lives. "including the millionaire Samsung heiress Lee Yoon-hyung, the Korean pop singer U;Nee, and the actors Ahn Jae-hwan, Jung Da Bin, Lee Eun-ju, Jang Ja-yeon, Choi Jin-shil and Kim Ji-hoo."

Kim-Ji-Hoo stands out especially, because he was one of the few openly gay actors in Korea. In a very conservative culture where being gay carries a largely negative stigmata, this made his career and life more difficult.

Also, when a star commit suicides, there are copy-cat suicides by their fans. When the super star actress, Choi Jin-si, also known as "The Nation's Actress" committed suicide in 2008, her fans took her death as if their sister, daughter, or best friend had died. A handful of her followers felt that they too had died and hit the web sharing suicide tips. Notably, Choi Jin-sil's brother, Choi Jin-young, was found dead of an apparent suicide on March 29, 2010, as well.

The methods of suicide are also less violent than the United States, largely due to the strict gun control laws. (Very few people own firearms, and those that do usually have hunting rifles or shotguns which are almost impossible to get licenses for.) Therefore, most suicides are done via hanging, jumping off buildings or cliffs (see President Roh Moo-hyun), medication overdoses, or other forms of suffocation - such as lighting charcoal briquettes in an unventilated room or car as in a recent group suicide pact in Hwaseong. (another case of people using websites to aid them in taking their own life).

Suicide is basically an epidemic in South Korea with no cure. Lawmakers have not done much to try and curb the rising rates, but it seems that someone is taking it seriously, as I recently saw a commercial for a hot-line if you are depressed and thinking about committing suicide. More needs to be done however, as it is a growing problem that needs to be seriously addressed.