Choi Jin-sil Suicide

A sad, unfortunate, and ultimately, preventable death.

One area I think Korea really needs to do more on is to reduce the stigma of having depression or any other mental illness. It already has the highest Suicide rate in the OECD and seems to have the highest rate of celebrities/notable figures (prominent businessmen, etc.) committing suicide in the OECD, which in turn may validate the idea of suicide to vulnerable, particularly young, people.

Speaking from personal experience, it know what’s like to suffer from depression but at the same time I knew there were options (psychologists, psychiatrists, church leaders, etc.) I could go to if I feel I was losing the battle, and despite how bad I felt I knew I owed it to myself and loved ones to pursue any option that would help my condition. It’s a shame and waste when people can’t seem to find the strength to at least try other options before ending it all.

It’s a shame but it seemingly occurs more so here in Korea than in other countries, that many people will take the option of ending it all rather than seeking the help that they need. Reduce the stigma and save lives, Korea. Individuals also need to swallow their pride and accept when they need help.

I can definitely understand how a person gets to this point, it just seems such a waste and so preventable. ‘Face’ seems to play a large part in all this, which makes it all the more sad and regrettable. The poor kids she’s left behind will never come to terms with their mother leaving them behind.

Another area Korea really needs to clamp down on is this malicious, rumor-mongering by mean-spirited cowards behind computer screens. These people have little or nothing going on in their lives yet feel the need to draw attention to individuals they have no knowledge of and ruin their lives by gossip and innuendo.

I think this crap affects Korean celebrities so much here as Korea is such an inclusive society, that if the group turns on you there’s little you can do as everyone gets swept up in the mania and there’s little or no dissenting voices calling for calm (look at what happened in the Mad Cow insanity). These individuals pushed out of the group, lose their sense of worth in this society which is so closely tied to the group and feel they’ll never be able to restore their pride or ‘face’ so suicide becomes a viable option. Strangers become enemies, friends withdraw support, and these people are left with little or nothing to cling onto against the manic, angry mob. (Think of dog poop girl and other such Internet scandals, where these people had their lives’ threatened by mobs of faceless lunatics after minor incidents). Though as lupin_the_4th (#15) mentioned, why didn’t she seek legal actions against these faceless individuals? Perhaps, she didn’t have the strength left in her, I guess we’ll never know …

Celebrity suicide after celebrity suicide but this crap still continues. I think it partly has to with the philosophy that if you don’t know someone, they’re essentially a non-person to you and their feelings are of no consequence to you. Coupled with the fact of them being celebrities, people feel the need to chop them down a peg and make them feel bad as they envy them and their lifestyle. Australia’s renowned for its tall poppy syndrome, but it’s nothing like this place. At the core, Korea’s still a very cold society once one’s removed from friends and family, hopefully this can change in the future.

Inkevitch – thanks for your comments. I’m doing fine, thanks. I’m pretty resilient and have suffered from depression on and off for half my life now, so know how to manage it and what to do if I notice myself heading down.

That said, I think Korea is beginning to learn more about mental illness and appreciate that it’s not just due to ‘mental weakness’ though it’s still probably a good 20 to 30 years behind the West and could do with a lot more initiative on the Government’s behalf to de-stigmatize mental illness and encourage people to seek help if needed. Korea could learn a lot from how Western countries have handled these issues in the last several decades. Though, even in the West there still is a stigma towards mental illness and seeking help, but it is gradually reducing over time.

I’d imagine the stigma towards bipolar disorder or schizophrenia is greater here than for ‘run of the mill’ depression as it is in the West. Depression, more or less, is fairly well understood and recognized by most people in the West these days and most people realize that it’s actual condition. Whereas, I think there’s still a lot of ignorance and prejudice towards bipolar disorder and schizophrenia and their sufferers, as people still still don’t know enough about these conditions.