The other Face of South Korea

         

    

            I have always wondered why in South Korea, a highly educated country, ¨most students have considered or already attempted suicide¨. It seems that one of the main reasons this decision is made is due to the pressure that society exerts on its young people since if they do not get good grades they will be considered failures. However, it is not only social pressure that makes these young people attempt suicide; other factors support this decision.

First, students spend long hours studying. They stop sleeping so they can study because if they do not learn, they will not get good grades and therefore they will not be able to enroll in a good university. To enter a university, they must take an annual exam. This exam is so demanding that students have to spend the whole year preparing for that day and if they do not pass it they will have to try the next year, which means they will have to spend 365 more days studying and forbidding their lives of the pleasures of life. This causes many students to become depressed for not approving the exam on the first try, others give up, and many others decide to end their lives so they cannot be labeled as failures of society.

Second, many young people decide to take their own lives due to the work pressure generated by not getting into a good university. In South Korea, it is extremely important to have studied in one of the 3 best universities in the country, since these give a direct pass to a good company that will have a good pay. And when it is not possible to get a good job, then these people find it necessary to leave the country or make the decision to end their living.

Third, the high standards of beauty implemented by society. Both females and males are affected by negative comments about their physical appearance. Besides, it is well known that Koreans do not have double eyelids, which motivates many of them to undergo eye surgeries to create an eyelid and surgeries for correcting their noses and cheeks. In addition, from a young age, mothers teach girls to take care of their skin to avoid stains, maintain an exaggeratedly low weight, and go on excessive diets.

In conclusion, the social pressure that is unloaded on the Korean population is exerted since the child is born, and has learned to read and write. Children are taught that if they fail in their studies they will be recognized as losers for the rest of their lives. Likewise, they are mentally and emotionally damaged by the stress they must handle to get into a good university since this will depend on how they will be seen by society. Even though South Korea is an example of an excellent education structure, the lives that this system has taken will always be a great loss to this great nation.

 

 

References:

Corea del Sur- Suicidios

https://datosmacro.expansion.com/demografia/mortalidad/causas-muerte/suicidio/corea-del- sur#:~:text=Corea%20del%20Sur%2C%20uno%20de%20los%20pa%C3%ADses%20con%20m%C3

%A1s%20tasa%20de%20suicidios&text=La%20tasa%20de%20suicidios%20en,porcentaje%20de%20 suicidios%20del%20mundo.