Suicide Epidemic in South Korea

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The root of the horror-stricken nation’s dilemma begins with the inability to be accepted in a victim’s own community. Seoul National Hospital’s director and former Korean Association for Suicide Prevention chairperson Ha Kyuseob says, “Effective communication is not yet prevalent in our society. So people sometimes end up with risking their lives, which is inappropriate. The social environment must change” (Park, Seungheon). Before suicide rates drop in South Korea, the people must develop a better, safer, and more comfortable social environment for all.
Among the world’s top ten countries with the most educated populations, South Korea is secured a spot annually. In 2013, South Korea was rated number six (Sauter). Korean students attend classes at eight in the morning. Upon their return to their homes at four in the afternoon, students eat lunch. From then on, they have the opportunity to return to school or private institutions known as ‘bagwons’ for second shift classes or extra classes. Most children do not leave school at all and stay at school to work on homework until eleven at night. South Korean seventeen-year-old student Young Hwan Kim says, “Korean education is like a jungle. There is a lot of competition, you eat and get eaten. I have no time to think about my future or my dreams” (Sistek). Each November, South Korean high school students take the national University test ‘Suneung.’ This test determines which university one is capable of being admitted into. According to Young Hwan Kim, the university you are admitted into “decides what you can do in life and who you can marry. It determines your future.” South Korea’s educational system has been praised continuously.
Until recently, however, voices are criticizing...

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... High Suicide Rates.” BBC News. BBC, 7 November 2011. Web. 20 January 2014.
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“Top Actress Choi Found Dead At Home.” The Korea Times National. KoreaTimes.co.kr, 2 October, 2008. 16 March 2014.
Veale, Jennifer. “South Koreans are Shaken by a Celebrity Suicide.” TIME. Time Inc., 6 October, 2008. 16 March 2014.
Vijayakumar, Lakshmi. Suicide Prevention. India: Orient Longman Private Limited, 2003.
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Whitelocks, Sadie. “One in Five Women Have Gone Under the Knife As South Korea Tops Global List of Plastic Surgery Procedures.” Mail Online. Associated Newspapers Ltd., 24 April 2012. 16 March 2014.
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