Honorable death vs too much pressure

[Anonymous]

In the same article, it is mentioned that besides the economic downturn, Koreans are going through a change in social integration. They are not as integrated as they used to be and that is obviously impacting society. As they become more modern, they are growing apart from their family values and society is resenting that change. Also, the traditional family support for the elderly has deteriorated. Its a new era, they could not be as traditional as the prior generations, so they are being pressured into becoming a society they still do not understand. It'll be interesting to learn the facts behind such tragedy.

[Anonymous]

Two things stand out to me from these articles; 1.) the fact that suicide is a taboo subject, and 2.) blaming the victim, as was in the case in one of Jong-sun (interviewed in the second article—the BBC one—of the original posting). It brings to mind another interesting statistic from another book that I recently read that explained how Mexico—one of the countries with the highest levels of religious fervor in its population—is also one of the countries with the highest level of vulgar language. The irony is very obvious, and points to the fact that social pressure to be a certain way has its very direct and in some cases (as in the case of Japan and South Korea) fatal effects.
Some years ago I was traveling in southern Mexico and while in Oaxaca I met another traveler who was from Japan; a young guy who had been a jazz drummer and saved up enough so that he had ended up traveling to anywhere between 80 and 100 countries before we had met. During one of our conversations he confided to me about what life was like for him in Japan, and how he consumed drugs and drank a lot. Indeed, part of his motivation to travel seemed to be a desire to purge those habits and to breathe a little easier, so to speak. One thing that I clearly remember him saying once was about how if it were not for intoxicating himself, he would have probably committed suicide, as the social pressure in Japan was a lot for him to handle. From his testimony, I tried to understand why it was this was the case in Japan, and I can’t recall his answer to me, partly because it didn’t make much sense to me, but I do remember my impression was that it had to do with their values; not so much that life is not valuable, but rather, that there were so many other factors in life that play an important role in how the life you live has value or not (and—my impression again—if it is worth living or not).
The efforts to curb and, if possible, prevent suicides—whether from grassroots efforts or from parliament—must be applauded and encouraged.

[Anonymous]

Thank you for sharing that article from the BBC regarding teen suicide rates. I found it interesting that teenagers are being treated for ADD, but there is no mention of teenagers being treated for depression. I wonder if there is a stigma with regard to taking an anti-depressant, but not for taking a stimulant to perform better in school?

The article addressed the importance of education in the South Korean culture. I am impressed with how well these students perform in school, with little or no English speaking skills. I had a student in my World History class who earned straight A's, and went on to college.

[Anonymous]

Be careful comparing immigrants from different countries. Often the family history is a greater indication for how a student will do. Many immigrants from East Asia come from educated families even if the job they hold in the U.S. does not show education. For example my grandfather (a refugee from Lithuania) was a hospital administrator, but in the U.S. he worked sewing in a sweatshop. His wife, my grandmother had been a nurse but in the U.S. was essentially changing bed pans. Both were educated but the language and credentialing barrier kept them in menial jobs. However, the family had habits that supported education. There are many immigrants who come from many generations of poverty. In particular many immigrants from the rural areas of Mexico and Central America have very little education and have little idea of how to support the education of their children. Also consider the work of John Ogbu on caste-like minorities and how our culture sees different groups.

[Anonymous]

Great article! I was wondering about some of the reason why the suicide rate is so high in Korea. At first I was thinking that this article was referring to North Korea and then I thought to myself, well this makes sense since North Koreans are oppressed and live a in very strict environment where everything is being monitored and censored. However, I then read the article again and somehow I noticed that it is actually talking about South Korea where I believed people had better living conditions. I wonder what the suicide rate in North Korea would be like. An speculation on why the suicide rate is so high is the pressure Korean have to be “perfect” I have hear many stories of business owners, for example, who go bankrupt and commit suicide. In Korea there are high expectations to be successful, maybe putting pressure on many and when they fail, they commit suicide. Thanks for sharing this article.

[Anonymous]

Reading the article and some of the comments above I wonder if this is a way of Natural Selection, the survival of the fittest. There is too much pressure to keep up with the demands of the new era. There is too many demands in today's life style. I am not saying I agree with suicide or understand it, but it does make sense to have suicidal thought when living under too much stress. Adrenaline, serotonin levels can be very dangerous.

[Rob_Hugo@PortNW]

http://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/12/09/suicide-rates-around-the-world/

I found this article on suicide rates around the world and noticed that on their chart that Korea and Japan had really high percentages as compared to other countries. In both countries the male suicide rate was much higher than the female suicide rate.

It made me think about Japan and the idea of honorable death. Is this one of those incidences? Has suicide became an escape from everyday pressures? But if this is the case in Japan, the idea of honorable death, then what was the reason for Korea.

In Korea I read in a BBC online article it was the pressures that parents placed on their children. In a snippet of the article it said, South Korean parents have abandoned traditional values in favour of one single goal."From the beginning of childhood, the importance of money and achievement are emphasised by their parents, so they feel that unless you are successful in school grades and a good job, good prestigious college, you're not successful, and the parents behave as if 'you're not my child'," Dr Hong said."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-15331921
edited by dchhuo on 12/11/2012
edited by dchhuo on 12/11/2012

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