Not Really Surprised

With the shooter at Virginia Tech being South Korean and me being in South Korea, I really feel like I should comment upon the situation. First off, the people here are so shocked and really feel so sorry for everyone. The government has really bent over backwards to send their condolences. This is a very nice thing to see.

When I heard that the shooter was Korean, I thought that it made perfect sense. Having lived here for one year (it's officially one year today) I feel like I have some kind of grip on Korean culture, or at least on the Korean way of life. Why I was not surprised by the incident is the glaring fact that Koreans do not acknowledge mental illness or depression. As a result, the suicide rate is quite high in Korea. This ignoring of mental problems stems from the number one rule in Korea... you have to save face. By acknowledging mental illness, you would be admitting that someone has a problem and that things are not all perfect. This would bring shame upon the family, so it simply doesn't exist here. People don't get diagnosed or helped for these problems, and if you follow this train all the way to it's obsurd ending... you will always end in some kind of tragedy.

A student yesterday told me that the Korean news is reporting that Cho Seung Hui (which Good Morning America gets wrong constantly... Cho is not his first name but his last) went on his rampage due to a girl breaking up with him. I let my student know that wasn't exactly true, and that Seung Hui clearly had mental problems. Even the news here won't admit that the guy had mental problems. My co-teacher told me that Seung Hui was very lonely. Another watered down excuse that doesn't point towards the actual cause. Here it's just better to live in denial then it is to acknowledge the problem and treat it.

This is just my opinion. There are people out there who will tell me that I'm 100% wrong, but living here in this culture, and reading about the lack of treatment for mental illness... well, if you were in my shoes you'd be thinking the same thing too.