Comments on: Helping Stressed-out Young Korean-Americans

By: empraptor

empraptor — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 03:59:17 +0000

I’m curious as to what these studies she mentions are and what their durations were.

Let us imagine there are 200,000 Ivy League students of which 20,000 are Korean and 5 students commit suicide in 2007 of which 3 are ethnically Korean. That’s 10% Koreans in Ivy League, 60% of suicides committed by Koreans. But then the quote has conveniently failed to mention that the suicide rate is less alarming than fatality rates from car accidents and also that the data was too small to draw any meaningful conclusions.

It’d have been more impressive if she’d said that of 30 most recent Ivy League suicides 18 were committed by ethnic Koreans.

And instead of turning them to religion, maybe it’d be more effective to convince stressed out Ivy League students that they can always transfer to another school or quit altogether.

By: WangKon936

WangKon936 — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 22:47:33 +0000

I have a better idea JohnT… why don’t you take your racial stereotypes and shoove them up your arse…

http://www.peele.net/blog/080126.html

hummm… but let’s not go there.

By: JohnT

JohnT — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 22:29:34 +0000

It’s very shameful for Koreans to admit they have mental health problems.

For many Koreans they drink to feel better. Alcohol is seen as a way to ease stress and ease whatever ails them. Alcohol is a depressant and a drug, although Koreans will strongly deny this that.

Take these factors and some other factors, plus the fact that they tell themselves every day that they are victims and presto.

Figure out the rest for yourselves.

By: Sonagi

Sonagi — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 10:28:35 +0000

@#8:

I agree. The JoongAng article vaguely identified Mustard Seed as a non-profit organization and made no mention of its strongly evangelical Christian nature. I felt a little misled when I googled the website and found by reading the mission statement and other pages that the main objective of the organization seems to be Christian proselytization.

Some in Korea view suicide as honorable - consider the Hyundai founder Chung’s son who jumped out the window.Some in Korea view suicide as honorable - consider the Hyundai founder Chung’s son who jumped out the window.

Suicide is seen as honorable, but this is more of a motivating factor for middle-aged Koreans and Japanese than for young people. Young Americans of all ethnic groups commit suicide for a number of reasons, including pressure to succeed, which is stronger among Koreans and some other Asian ethnic groups.

I always found the circumstances of the Chung Mong-hun’s suicide a little strange anyway. He’d already done jail time after his father’s failed presidential campaign, and most Koreans weren’t bothered by the possibility that the summit was bought with bribes, so where was the intense shame that would drive a man to suicide?

By: SomeguyinKorea

SomeguyinKorea — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 07:47:11 +0000

#12,

Stop using a proxy…whoops.

By: dokdoforever

dokdoforever — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 06:22:32 +0000

It’s not French that I know of - actually when I used this computer at my previous residence in Seoul I had a Korean flag, but after moving to Kangseo-Gu, I’m French - kind of strange.

By: jnesepa

jnesepa — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 06:01:56 +0000

@ #11:
Is your computer French? People thought I was in Australia, but it was just one my cousin had bought there and brought back to Korea.

By: dokdoforever

dokdoforever — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 05:34:32 +0000

By the way, I’m in Kangseo-Gu, Seoul, not France - why is my flag always French? How can I get the right flag back?

By: Railwaycharm

Railwaycharm — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 05:32:30 +0000

I think Marmot should be charging pawi for this mental health service.

By: dokdoforever

dokdoforever — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 05:31:52 +0000

This is a good example of the misuse of statistics. It’s implied that Korean and Korean-American students must be many times more stressed than other American students to account for 60% of the total. But this leaves out all important cultural factors which influence the decision to commit suicide. Some in Korea view suicide as honorable - consider the Hyundai founder Chung’s son who jumped out the window. There’s a tradition in Korea and Japan for losers of political or other battles to kill themselves. You don’t find that view of honorable suicide in the US. So, here’s a better comparison - how about the suicide rate among elite Korean students in Korea vs. elite Korean and Korean/American students in the US. If the US total is any higher - they have a point. If not, then the story is one of cultural views of suicide, and not the stresses of acclimating to a new culture, as they claim.