Park Yong-ha, Why Add To The Sad Statistics?

It's a sad thing when I'm not so much shocked as just startled to hear about Park Yong-ha's apparent suicide.  This hasn't been the first time I've heard about suicides by Koreans, whether they were celebrities or ordinary people. After reading about the suicides of  Kim Kwang Seok, Choi Jin-shil and Choi Jin -yeong, Reverend Munsu and the part-time lecturer, and President  Roh Moo-hyun, I'm wondering if this social trend is getting worse.

Rest in peace, Park Yong-ha

The topic has been covered already by notable bloggers but it's worth revisiting time and again especially in the light of recent studies and statistics - South Korea has the highest number of suicides among the countries in the OECD; an average of 24 people out of 100,000 in ROK kill themselves each year ( in contrast to 21 per 100,000 in Hungary and 19 per 100,000 in Japan).

Other statistics gleaned from a KBS World Radio discussion indicate that it didn't use to be like this. Thirty years ago, the suicide rate was only 6.8, comparable to the figures of countries like Spain and Italy but now suicide is the fourth most common cause of death in the country.  Click here for the link to the video interview ( you need to click on the TV icon for the segment ) dated 9th April, 2010 entitled " Rising Suicide Rate in Korea and Methods of Prevention".

The findings from actress Park Jin-hee 's Masters thesis entitled "Studies on Depression and Suicidal Urges Among Actors" are also alarming. After interviewing 260 actors, she concluded that  "four out of every 10 actors here have been suffering from depression and have had suicidal urges from time to time....About 20 percent have actually purchased toxic agents or "devices" for suicide."

The usual suspects blamed for this disturbing trend  include:

• too much stress in an overly-competitive and achievement-oriented society
• the breakdown of family ties
• the over-reliance on anti-depressants to cope with one's mental illness instead of getting treatment from professional psychologists or psychiatrists
• the shortage of professional counsellors trained and employed in schools, colleges, civil and private institutions

 There's also the fear that there may be something like donor fatigue developing to the extent that this problem is ignored. One becomes so used to hearing such sorry tales that we lose our ability to be shocked enough and then we stop addressing  the problem. It's not just a problem for people in one country but it's particularly marked in this one so I'm interested to know how the trend can be reversed.

Some may think the initiative rests with the government but surely different parties and even individuals can do something as well. Couldn't English language teachers in Korea who come from cultures which are more open about depression consider this topic for discussion in class? Is not possible for  church groups or those in the Buddhist temples and mosques in the country to offer some kind of avenue to discuss these issues?

 The media can do a lot more;  for instance, one Australian paper which carried the report of Park's death put up  a helpline number for those who were suffering depression and feeling suicidal) so why can't the Korean media do the same?  Bloggers and even Twitterers can also open up discussions, not so much idle speculation about why Park chose to take his own life but what can be done to discourage similar actions in the future.

That's why I applaud Rain who dared to talk in public about his own struggle with depression . ( I didn't really see the interview but only read about it in another blog, though). We need more celebrities and ordinary people sharing their stories so that the stigma attached to depression can be removed.

sources:
1. http://www.allkpop.com/2010/04/park-jin-hees-suicide-thesis-paper-generates-interest
2. http://www.koreaherald.com/national/Detail.jsp?newsMLId=20100630000044
3. http://popseoul.com/2010/06/30/park-yong-ha-found-dead/
4. http://www.dramabeans.com/2010/06/park-yong-ha-discovered-dead-at-home/
5. http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/entertainment/view/1066628/1/.html
6. http://world.kbs.co.kr/english/news/news_focus.htm?lang=e¤t_page=2
7. http://k-popped.com/2010/04/rains-depression-story.html
8. http://www.rjkoehler.com/2007/04/24/coping-with-depression-and-mental-illness/
9. http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1847437,00.htm
10.  http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2010/04/117_64133.html
11. http://2sao.vietnamnet.vn/p1001c1011n20090804140117052/park-yong-ha-ky-niem-5-nam-hoat-dong-nghe-thuat-tai-nhat-ban.vnn
12. http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/asia-stunned-as-south-korean-tv-star-and-singer-park-yong-ha-kills-himself/story-e6frg6so-1225886591214