South Korea is facing a suicide crisis as a huge number of people are becoming depressed due to the pressures of modern life and killing themselves.
The sad statistic that 40 people kill themselves every day is blamed on the country’s hyper-competitive society where young people are under constant pressure to succeed while the middle-aged and elderly complain of ever-growing financial burdens.
But in a strange response to the country's growing suicide epidemic, bizarre 'death experience' schools are being set up to teach depressed pupils to appreciate life again, by showing them what it’s like to be dead.



After life: Inside a 'death experience' school, where depressed pupils in South Korea are taught what it's like to die, which makes them appreciate life. Pictured, a student pretends to be dead as she lies in a coffin



Curious: Depressed pupils sit in their coffins which is are sealed by an 'angel of death' where they lay inside in the dark for ten minutes to reflect on their lives

They are made to sign fake wills and are locked inside coffins where they are given mock funeral services.
And at the Seoul Hyowon Healing Centre in the capital, business is booming.
Sitting between rows of coffins, with pens and paper littering small desks, the students listen as the head of the centre, former funeral company employee Jeong Yong-mun, explains that the problems we face in life are a part of life. They are told they must accept them and try to find joy in their hardships.
Among the students are teenagers who can’t cope with exam pressure in school, parents who find themselves useless after their children have left home, and the elderly terrified of being a financial burden on their young families.
South Korea has rocketed from being one of the poorest countries in the world to the 12th biggest global economic power in just a few decades.



Farewell: The students write wills and pen letters to their families telling them how they feel about them. When they wake up they say they feel refreshed afterwards and appreciate life

But the sudden financial boom has come at a cost. The rapid ideological shift from collectivism to individualism, disintegrating the traditional family unit and leaving many people feeling isolated and alone.
Fewer than a third of the population still believes that they should financially support elderly relatives, according to the National Statistics Office - which suggests there is a new culture of ‘looking after number one’.
And the elderly are worried about being a burden as they are four times more likely to commit suicide in South Korea than in any other developed country.
The only country with a higher death rate is the small South American nation of Guyana, which sees 44.2 suicides per every 100,000 people. In South Korea some 28.9 people kill themselves for every 100,000, according to the World Health Organisation.

At the Hyowon Healing Centre 'death school' the fake funeral ceremony begins with the students having their ‘funeral portrait’ photo taken where they lay inside a coffin and wear a traditional dress.
Afterwards, they write a will or compose a farewell letter to their families, before reading their last words to the group.
The idea is to dwell on the ‘collateral damage’ of death, to think of the pain involved for their relatives left behind and consider the practicalities of their suicide.
Then the hour of death comes, and the group leader tells their students that it’s ‘now time to go to the other side’. Candles are lit, and a person dressed as the ‘Korean angel of death’ enters the room.



Graduates: After going through the 'death experience', students emerge from their coffins speaking of feeling 'refreshed' and 'liberated' from their troubles

The students lay down in their coffins before being sealed in by the angel, at which point they are faced by the crushing nothingness of the ever-after.
They are then left alone in the dark inside their coffins for at least 10 minutes, where they take time to contemplate life from an outsider’s perspective.
Students wake up afterwards and emerge from their coffins, where, they say, they feel ‘refreshed’ and ‘liberated’ from their troubles.
They are spoken to again by head of the centre Jeong Yong-mun: 'You have seen what death feels like, you are alive, and you must fight!'

 curran12 wrote:
This kinda gets my dander up. Rather than do anything to treat the depression, or get these kids the care that many of them need, they lay them in a box for 10 minutes after writing a practice suicide note.

Pretty fething disgusting if you ask me.

 curran12 wrote:
This kinda gets my dander up. Rather than do anything to treat the depression, or get these kids the care that many of them need, they lay them in a box for 10 minutes after writing a practice suicide note.

Pretty fething disgusting if you ask me.

 jreilly89 wrote:
A really strange approach. However, I hope this has positive results. Suicide and depression still have a huge stigma around them and its rather sad. I hope centers like this do more than just illuminate the situation and actually try to help people through therapy.

 Ghazkuul wrote:

 curran12 wrote:
This kinda gets my dander up. Rather than do anything to treat the depression, or get these kids the care that many of them need, they lay them in a box for 10 minutes after writing a practice suicide note.

Pretty fething disgusting if you ask me.

Murphy's Law #3: If its stupid but it works, it isn't stupid

 Tannhauser42 wrote:
Seems somewhat similar in practice to showing young people graphic images of drunk driving car wreck fatalities to scare them into driving sober.

 Ghazkuul wrote:
No idea if its working, but just as a general rule

 curran12 wrote:

 Ghazkuul wrote:
No idea if its working, but just as a general rule

Let me know when 10 minutes in a box and a letter starts fixing what is usually a lifetime of stress and depression.

I am a little bit heated on this subject because I studied this back in college. And more recently had the pleasure of helping a friend who was on a suicide watch.

It is disgusting to think of it as such a simple and pointless thing to 'fix'. And it is even worse that this school is likely making a tidy profit from this mental health equivalent of snake oil.

 Frazzled wrote:
If only they had Tex Mex.

 curran12 wrote:

 jreilly89 wrote:
A really strange approach. However, I hope this has positive results. Suicide and depression still have a huge stigma around them and its rather sad. I hope centers like this do more than just illuminate the situation and actually try to help people through therapy.

Judging by the article, it doesn't. Unless I am mistaken the process is:

1. Show up.
2. Write a practice suicide note (always a good thing for someone contemplating suicide amirite)
3. Lay closed in a casket for 10 minutes
4. Get a message from the head of the center/school of 'You have seen what death feels like, you are alive, and you must fight!'

No mention of therapy, no mention of counseling or any kind of extended work to actually help these people. I wouldn't be surprised if there is a nice little price tag on this school.

 hotsauceman1 wrote:
Suicide is a result of when interests often outweigh their means. And unlike what people think, Suicide is a societal problem more than a social one.
What is sounds like Korea is facing is Fatalistic suicide specifically.

 hotsauceman1 wrote:
Sorry. Basically, Many sociologists believe that suicide occurs when you do not have the means to obtain your needs(AKA your interests.)
there are four types of suicide.
Fatalistic is the one on display in korea, meaning that it is suicide because of pressure from the outside of society for conforming or going a certain direction you want.

 daedalus wrote:
That's pretty morbid. Consider me fascinated.

 Frazzled wrote:
If only they had Tex Mex.

Personally, whenever life gets me down, I find a good taco usually cures all ills. We don't have good tex mex in STL, but we have more than a few Mexican restaurants. 54th Street is the closest thing we have here, and it's an abomination.

 whembly wrote:

Los Fuentes is the place!

 hotsauceman1 wrote:
Sorry. Basically, Many sociologists believe that suicide occurs when you do not have the means to obtain your needs(AKA your interests.)
there are four types of suicide.
Fatalistic is the one on display in korea, meaning that it is suicide because of pressure from the outside of society for conforming or going a certain direction you want.

 hotsauceman1 wrote:
Sorry. Basically, Many sociologists believe that suicide occurs when you do not have the means to obtain your needs(AKA your interests.)
there are four types of suicide.
Fatalistic is the one on display in korea, meaning that it is suicide because of pressure from the outside of society for conforming or going a certain direction you want.

 daedalus wrote:

 hotsauceman1 wrote:
Sorry. Basically, Many sociologists believe that suicide occurs when you do not have the means to obtain your needs(AKA your interests.)
there are four types of suicide.
Fatalistic is the one on display in korea, meaning that it is suicide because of pressure from the outside of society for conforming or going a certain direction you want.

For those who would like to know more, is there names for the others, and some reference where we can read? I am intrigued.

 jreilly89 wrote:

 hotsauceman1 wrote:
Sorry. Basically, Many sociologists believe that suicide occurs when you do not have the means to obtain your needs(AKA your interests.)
there are four types of suicide.
Fatalistic is the one on display in korea, meaning that it is suicide because of pressure from the outside of society for conforming or going a certain direction you want.

That's an interesting take and I certainly think it has some significance, but I think it's also kind of an oversimplification of the problem. I think suicide stems from several areas (some societal, some personal) and claiming it's only from one source is a shallow reasoning.

 hotsauceman1 wrote:

 daedalus wrote:

 hotsauceman1 wrote:
Sorry. Basically, Many sociologists believe that suicide occurs when you do not have the means to obtain your needs(AKA your interests.)
there are four types of suicide.
Fatalistic is the one on display in korea, meaning that it is suicide because of pressure from the outside of society for conforming or going a certain direction you want.

For those who would like to know more, is there names for the others, and some reference where we can read? I am intrigued.

Anomic, Egotistic, Altruistic and Fatalistic
This is kinda watered down. but still explains it breifly. if you really wanna know. Read Durkheims book, Suicide
http://sociologyindex.com/suicide.htm

 daedalus wrote:

 hotsauceman1 wrote:

 daedalus wrote:

 hotsauceman1 wrote:
Sorry. Basically, Many sociologists believe that suicide occurs when you do not have the means to obtain your needs(AKA your interests.)
there are four types of suicide.
Fatalistic is the one on display in korea, meaning that it is suicide because of pressure from the outside of society for conforming or going a certain direction you want.

For those who would like to know more, is there names for the others, and some reference where we can read? I am intrigued.

Anomic, Egotistic, Altruistic and Fatalistic
This is kinda watered down. but still explains it breifly. if you really wanna know. Read Durkheims book, Suicide
http://sociologyindex.com/suicide.htm

Thanks for the link. Surprised to see the dates for Durkheim. When I picture Sociology, I always picture something a bit more... modern.

I'll check out my library to see if we have a copy.