In Korea, which has the highest suicide rate in the world, the number of suicide deaths increased by 10% this year compared to the previous year. From January to May, the total number of suicide deaths was 6,375, which is a 10.1% increase compared to the same period last year. The number of suicide deaths is not just a statistical figure. If the number of suicide deaths over the past five months is converted to a daily average, it is 41.9 people, meaning that one precious life was lost every hour.
The government sees social isolation, economic difficulties, depression, and anxiety after the COVID-19 pandemic influencing the increase in suicides. It is also said that the influence of copycat suicides following celebrity suicides is significant. No matter how you analyze it, the meaning is the same. Many people live in pain to the point of choosing death, and they cannot find anyone to share their pain.
Is it because it is so common that we carelessly overlook the issue of suicide? This was the question asked in a recent column of the Catholic Peace Weekly? Are we so insensitive to the news of suicide that pours in almost every day—victims of real estate fraud, civil servants and teachers suffering from malicious complaints, ordinary people suffering from financial difficulties, and socially isolated youth? Although we seem to ignore suicide, somewhere, even now, those who attempted suicide are silently crying out for their voices to be heard.
The main cause is the excessive competition in Korean society. Korea starts medical school entrance exam classes from elementary school. Korea’s long working hours, which are famous worldwide, are still the same. Competition without a second chance, those who fall behind are buried in society. There is no social safety net for the underprivileged. We are the ones who tell young people who are struggling: "Youth is painful" and that "effort is lacking". The people of a country where each person lives for himself are suffering from extreme mental conflict and loss of hope.
The political divide adds fuel to the fire. More than half of the population says they don’t want to date if the political vision differs. It doesn’t seem like an exaggeration to say that we are already in a state of civil war. Politics should help resolve this problem but rather amplifies the conflict. We have a failure to accept diversity which divides people in battle between good and evil over every issue. They fight desperately during the election period as if they will never see each other again.
To solve the problem of suicide, society must first change its attitude toward suicide. We must not view suicide as a personal problem. There is no such thing as personal suicide. All suicides are social murders. We must realize that this is a problem for all of us. Not only religion but also education, local governments, health institutions, and all groups related to suicide must work together to overcome it.
Above all, we must restore our community. Our country has the lowest birth rate in the OECD. On top of that, with the suicide rate at number one, the Korean community is now self-destructing. We must look back and see if the formula for success that created today’s Korea is no longer working. If you want to go fast, you go alone, but if you want to go far, you must go together. We need a community embodying a new zeitgeist beyond industrialization and democratization.
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