Numerous suicides take place globally, of which very few will be broadcast to us. When these few cases are broadcasted, public opinions about suicide are made. If the news adds appropriate social trends and the title of articles that attract people's attention, discussions on why ‘the person committed suicide yesterday’ chose that faith arise as a social issue.

People pay tribute, and politicians give various opinions and bring new laws about suicide to the National Assembly. Cases 5 of celebrity suicide led to legislation on ‘using one's real name for internet comments.’ Also, the suicides of Gosiwonchon students led to youth welfare discussions. These cases show how the phenomenon of suicide affects society and individuals in a cross-section. In addition, suicide patterns in modern society are so diverse and unique that it makes it difficult for other members of society to think appropriately for each phenomenon of suicides. Then, we have to think about how to understand suicide and what actions to take in a society that might influence us to commit suicide.

 

*Gosiwonchon means an area where many Gosiwons are gathered. Gosiwon is a residential facility for Korean students who prepare various exams for several years. Many of them study to be a government officer.

 

Social Tendencies of Suicide

Absolutely many people do not tend to commit suicide, but the suicide rate is more stable than other general mortality rates. This is because suicide occurs in any era or place.

However, we all know that there is no specific gene that could cause one to inherit suicidal temptations. Of course we can't clarify the reason for suicides that occured 100 years ago.

Suicide in such a very different society, in a very different era, cannot unify its causes and is difficult to compare on the same line. But what if I lived 100 years ago, and furthermore, I lived right next door to the victim? If so, I would have been under similar social influences as a member of the society to which the person belonged, and it is highly likely that I vaguely understood his suicide.

Most of the celebrity suicides that have occurred over the past four years have been due to depression. However, we cannot easily say that their depression was only caused by personal reasons. Even if you don't necessarily speak out about the suicide situation and engage in social movements, most people vaguely know where the celebrity's depression originated. Also, I know that it would be quite hard for me to guess that my actions are the cause of their death, for example, to be evaluated by many people, and to receive praise from criticism, and benevolent views. When a celebrity said it was comfortable to walk around without a bra, the confrontation between supporters and critics became

controversial. The important thing is that tens of thousands of people put an individual's taste in underwear to the court of public opinion, not which opinion is right or wrong.

Feminists argue that bras are tools that violate women's health. Some argue that celebrities’ remarks have exceeded the appropriate level, and anti-feminists argue that feminists’ claims are wrong. In this situation, we were all busy focusing 4 on the issue. However, after hearing the news of the suicide of one celebrity who has once been criticized about her ‘lack of wearing a bra’ and feministic opinion, no one would have thought about the fight that took place every time in the comment section of the photos she uploaded to SNS, in which I myself participated enthusiastically. Even if you are not familiar with that fight, you would hear stories about the "public trial of celebrities" that erupted here and there after death. Only then do we think: "Ah, right. It is not pleasant to be judged by the public.” So, we all already know the power of collective idéas that form negativity.

 

The Implications for Suicide Itself and Beyond

Each individual has various egos, but when individuals gather, the ego is bound tobe the result of a combination of multiple consciousness states outside the individual. Therefore, a group formed by a combination of individuals has a different entity from an individual, and a collective state occurs within the group, which affects the individual. Personal factors in suicide “are not just about the person, but because their mental state has been influenced by social events or other people, resulting in less resistance to suicidal tendencies. In other words, when various tendencies cannot offset each other, and one tendency grows, some people commit suicide. This is why there are people who think the tendency of suicide is not pleasant when it comes to them, but also those people do not understand why it should lead to death. Therefore, we know that even in the same way, the difference in accepting the magnitude of the impact varies from individual to individual.

Therefore, it can also be seen that there will always be people who commit suicide. If so, suicide always occurs, sometimes causes changes in society, and makes us aware.

Originally, suicide is anyway life-threatening, so suicide is usually just a type of ‘non-positive thing’ that people think of. At the same time, what we should all regard as ‘positive’ is also an idea created by society. However, these kinds of social intuitions are not always the same as each individuals’ idea. Abortion is a life-threatening act, but it is the same as it can conflict with personal interests. As such, social demands sometimes mean individual sacrifice. Suicide also occurs in a society where suicide is not socially acceptable.

This is because I thought it would be more helpful to pursue the interests of myself and individuals right now, even if punishment, such as to the family of the person who committed suicide, was expected to be thought of as ‘pitiful and miserable’ person. Suicide in modern times seems to be rarely criticized socially. The same is true of suicide in Korea.

Social issues, like celebrity's suicide, strongly remain in the public's memory, except when suicide is chosen to avoid the consequence of the crime committed. The characteristic of modern society is that individual interests and convenience have become important values. In an era where interests are the most important, it is contradictory that the collective memory of suicide diminishes quickly. Also, if the one who attempted suicide had not died, we might have been able to blame him. The person would have been criticized that he/ she could try something to overcome the situation but did not, or that depression was a disease that could be cured.

However, as a result, since he/she is already dead, we do not blame him for the measure or will they have shown. The object of awareness at this time may be frustration in society that we would have felt someday, or maybe the appearance of ourselves who would have been criticized if the one who committed suicide had not died.

Regulations of Suicide and Freedom in Modern Society

In this way, we cannot dismiss the reason for suicide as an individual reason. However, it is not known whether suicide is normal or abnormal for society just by having a strange sympathy for the person who committed suicide. The reason why we are free to talk about suicide is that most members of our society have accepted the phenomenon of suicide. The meaning of accepting here does not mean that I am in favor of suicide. However, instead of focusing on the abnormalities and shock traditionally felt towards the phenomenon of suicide, they began to talk about the causes of suicide and the relationship with society. Instead of talking about an individual who committed suicide, many experts have talked about a society that makes an individual commit suicide, confusion that individuals who feel suicidal tendencies will feel, and information that will help people around them. It has become easier to commit suicide (because there are various ways to reach death without pain), and it has become easier for those who tend to commit suicide to form a discourse.

However, making people afraid of suicide cannot be a solution. Then, we must think about what attitude modern society should show in pursuit of freedom and progress.

Society can no longer be close to individual life. This is because not only do members not want it, but even if society forces it, it is difficult to:grasp all of the various areas of life of an individual. Except for ‘war situations or enlistment, I think that when an individual feels belonging to a country or society, it is probably the only time he or she goes to another country or society. Therefore, society needs a group where members can feel a stronger affiliation.

 

Conclusion

People will continue to commit suicide. I've thought suicide was the last cry of victims, but this is just a mere conclusion made by a person who doesn't know much about suicide. One can commit suicide without desperate reasons, and one may not necessarily commit suicide to convey a message. Perhaps some suicides have become a big issue in an unexpected direction. However, we can no longer pretend not to know about the suicides that continue to occur in our society.

Suicide is definitely a social pathological phenomenon, so we must pay attention to the suicides that occur in our society.

It is important to think about whether the politician who committed suicide after being pointed out as a sex offender was only afraid of death. Also, whether it was because of the parents who suppressed him or society that a student who had poor grades chose death. In order to do so, as mentioned earlier, it must be a society where we can talk about suicide.

It doesn't mean that a person's life is so important because one person died from suicide. Instead of focusing only on the dictionary meaning of "suicide," that is, "people leading to death by themselves," we should discuss what aspects of our society cause them to die. This is because incidents that strengthened suicidal tendencies of suicidal people certainly exist next to us. If suicide occurs in the society in which I live, it is influenced by society, so the influence can also work on me. When such a situation comes, not choosing death does not mean that the situation is pathological. Even if I haven't experienced the situation myself, suicide is happening somewhere in society that strengthens suicidal tendencies.

Therefore, society should be formed by regulating by law the positions of groups to which individuals can feel connected and belong. In addition, it is necessary to constantly recall that the group is always around an individual. So, individuals belonging to society should be aware that suicide is a pathological phenomenon in society and try to be aware that the collective tendency of individuals can directly affect that phenomenon.

 

* Web resources and hotlines for those who need support

한국 생명의 전화

LifeLine Korea

http://www.lifeline.or.kr

1588-9191

한국 생명존중희망재단

Korea Foundation for Suicide Prevention

http://kfsp.org/

1393

서울시 자살 예방센터

Seoul Suicide Prevention Center

http://www.suicide.or.kr/

1577-0199

서울과학기술대학교 상담센터

SeoulTech Counseling Center

http://counsel.seoultech.ac.kr/

02-970-9340

If you or someone you know is having a hard time, you are not alone.

 

Reporter,

Yougyeong Yoon geannie0611@seoultech.ac.kr