by Russell A. Vacante, Ph.D.
As my research
pertaining to the suicide rate in Korea becomes more involved two minor
observations have surfaced that help contribute to my understanding of this
issue.
The first
observation is that social media is seemingly becoming an important tool in
increasing awareness and discussion of suicide in Korea. Articles and research are being published and
on line discussions are gradually increasing.
A broad spectrum of the Korean population is progressively engaging in discussions of this very important topic.
The second
observation relates to Durkheim’s theory pertaining to “anomie,” which has more
recently been referred to as “normlessness,” or a sense of not belonging. During the 1960’s hippy movement students on
U.S. College campuses adopted a philosophy, that “you are only as free as your
alternatives.” This philosophical
approach seems to compliment the concept of “anomie.” Individuals living in
societies with greater socio-cultural and economic alternatives recognize, and
are reassured, that when their aspirations are blocked in one direction, there
are alternative paths available to them. Without
these alternative paths and avenues, individuals have a greater propensity to
feel the impact of not belonging or “anomie.”
Folks are more prone to internalize a sense of not belonging when transition from the old to the new path is neither well defined nor understood.
The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) reports that the “male suicide
rate in Korea has more than doubled from 19 per 100,000 in 1995 to 50 in 2010,
and rates among women are the highest among OECD countries, at 21 per 100,000.” This has been reported as a period of rapid
economic improvement and associated cultural change in Korea. However, the
economic success story of Korea has not come without troubling adjustment
consequences for many across the various social strata.
The decreasing influence of long-established Confucian norms of filial
piety, the high rate of unemployment among college graduates, few lucrative and
prestigious career paths for college graduates and others to pursue, the
changing role of women in Korean society and, in general, the overall high
competitiveness among members of society to improve and secure their economic
well being, with limited socio-economic alternative means to do so, has
created a fertile environment for feelings of not belonging to emerge among an
alarming number of people in Korea.
It may also be likely that the geographically
small size of Korea is a contributing factor that limits socio-economic
opportunities. This is a tertiary
observation that requires further examination, however. For instance, I have observed that some countries with a large landmass,
such as Russia, also have a high suicide rate. I suspect that in both Russia and Korea, the
lack of alternative career, cultural and educational opportunities, and other related socio-cultural
and economic factors, are the primary reasons for feelings of not belonging – “anomie” - occurring in
transitional societies. In other words,
if Korea had a viable social security system to help ensure the economic well being
of parents whose children migrate to urban areas, leaving them with little or
no economic support, the suicide rate among rural seniors may decrease.
Likewise, if there were more diverse job market opportunities for the
majority of people, other than who are graduates from the three
or four of the top universities in Korea, the suicide rate among students may also
decline. Lastly, only in terms of discussion in
this limited blog space, the filling of the cultural void by religion or some
other socially cohesive philosophy may also help reduce the feeling of “anomie”
among many.
In summary, I see social media as an effective tool for examining and
contributing to a better understanding of the topic of suicide in Korea. Both the quality and breath of on-line discussions and interactions,
mostly by Koreans, has the potential to serve as the social engine that
generates favorable societal and cultural changes that may help mitigate
Korea’s suicide rate. It
seems to be heightening the awareness and collective social consciousness
among Koreans. They know that the
time has come to take concrete action to address the root causes for the country’s high suicide rate.
Also, as hopefully indicated by the discussion above, there is no one
single approach to addressing and reducing the occurrence of suicide. However, developing
a unifying theory for approaching the core reasons for the high rate of suicide
in Korea and in other societies in transition appears
to be reasonable and possible. Initiating a
discussion of “anomie” in conjunction with the contemporary theme that we are
“only as free as our alternatives” is an attempt to do just that. This approach is an attempt to set aside assumptions that the high
suicide rates in transitional societies is the price to pay for
“progress.” Korea’s leadership,
including governmental organizations, industries and educational institutions, are in decision
making positions of power to develop the socio-economic alternatives that can help individuals make productive and healthy transitions to modernity.
