Raising a Nation to Sucide

Being average in South Korea is practically considered a societal sin, whether it is regarding career, education or how a person looks physically. The expectations are so contrived that a normal person may start feeling inferior. This has of course resulted in psychological issues to such extents that living becomes unbearable and no longer sufficient. Systems in South Korea are designed to promote self hatred and self destruction, not only at individual level but all across national level.

Pregnant women attend classes so the child in their fetus can learn. This obviously sounds absurd but in many societies across urban cities it is common which definitely backfires the child in the womb if the mother gets stressed. Children start taking private exams from ages 4 and above to get accepted into upper class private schools and from there they prepare for the national exam which determines if they will attend the top SKY universities and build up massive careers. Without a shadow of doubt this whole cycle seems extremely demanding- one which a child with lesser abilities cannot fulfill.

Young adults keep on taking their lives because they cannot keep up with the 13 to 16 hour study routine in which they attend private hangwon tutoring sessions. Bridges in South Korea have bars over them now to prevent suicides as well as emergency call centers all around the cities. Education is definitely important and governments all around the globe put emphasis on their policies being surrounded by education incentives, however such measures are just wrong in every perspective whether it be ethical, social or personal.

Seoul is also called “a city where it is illegal to be fat and ugly”. The beauty standards in South Korea are considered to be disturbing. Every teenager has had some sort of plastic surgery and drugs like ozempic are being sold as basic medications often without prescription. Young women and men are under immense pressure to look a certain way. Usually in many countries flight attendants have to look a certain way which already seems controversial- however in South Korea almost every job requires a person to look thin with pale skin, big eyes and eyelids and so much more.

Ofcourse, all this pressure to study and look perfect brings a huge mental toll on the citizens of South Korea. Not being perfect quite literally stands as a barrier to getting a job and making a living for yourself. Hence, there is not much wonder on why the sucide rate is so high or why parents only have one child since all the focus and financial aid goes towards raising that one child. The polls in which people consider taking their life are also high.

Extremes of everything result in destruction. While in some parts of the world children are forced to work from adolescence and can only dream of attending school, children in South Korea end their lives due to the constant pressure of maintaining their educational standards. This system clearly needs to get regulated and innocent minors being protected because the cracks in the system are being seen through the sucide rates increasing almost double every year.