The Dark Side of our Society

An Ethnography of Suicide, Mental Health, and Education in (Post-) COVID South Korea
1. Auflage 2025
ISBN: 978-1-032-62035-0
Verlag: Routledge India

Buch, Englisch, 164 Seiten, Format (B × H): 161 mm x 240 mm, Gewicht: 420 g

Reihe: Academics, Politics and Society in the Post-Covid World

This book is an ethnography of the South Korean education system, the cultural pressures it reflects, and how these contribute to the mental health struggles of the Korean youth. It focuses on the young adult population of South Korea and examines how experiences of stress, alienation, and institutional pressure relate to Durkheimian themes such as anomie (normlessness) and fatalism (oppressive regulation). The author situates this analysis in the context of the post-COVID era, offering insights into youth suicide, educational inequality, mental health stigma, and generational conflict in contemporary South Korea. Drawing on rich ethnographic data, this book sheds light on social dynamics that are locally rooted yet globally resonant.

Part of the Academics, Politics and Society in the Post-COVID World series, this book will be of interest to students and researchers of Asian studies, mental health studies, education, sociology, sociological theory, cultural studies, anthropology, and general readers of Korean culture.

Zielgruppe

Postgraduate and Undergraduate Advanced

Autoren/Hrsg.

Anderson, Bryce

Fachgebiete

• Sozialwissenschaften Pädagogik Pädagogik Bildungswesen: Organisation und Verwaltung
• Sozialwissenschaften Soziologie | Soziale Arbeit Soziologie Allgemein
• Sozialwissenschaften Psychologie Psychologie / Allgemeines & Theorie Psychologische Theorie, Psychoanalyse
• Sozialwissenschaften Psychologie Psychologie / Allgemeines & Theorie Psychologie: Allgemeines

Inhaltsverzeichnis

List of Figures viii Acknowledgements ix Introduction: Beginnings Prologue 1 1 Transitions and Private Education in South Korea 11 2 Engaging Narratives and Methodological Insights 30 3 The Kkondae: Social Expectations and the South Korean Boomer 41 4 Hell Joseon 68 5 Consequences of a Changing Society: Youth Suicide Amid an “Enlightened” South Korea 90 6 Mental Health and Support Systems in the South Korean Context 115 7 Art, Symbolism, and Social Reflection 141 Epilogue: “The Suicide Guy” 147 Index 151

Über Autor(innen)

Bryce Anderson received his PhD in social anthropology from Dalhousie University, Canada, in 2023. He teaches classes in anthropology, cultural studies, and sociology, while conducting research in social theory and suicide.