Growing Pains

South Korea is a very interesting place with very interesting people.
It was essentially a third-world country prior to the Korean War. An armistice was signed over 50 years ago, which ended the war but doesn't mean peace between North and South Korea. The Korean War effectively bombed Korea back into the Stone Age and both countries have been experiencing significant growing pains since.
North Korea is still destitute, with its' people chronically poor and starving, but South Korea has become one of the world's powers. South Korea is currently in the top 20 world economies. They are far ahead in technology and it seems pretty much everyone owns at least one smart phone and countless other electronic devices.
Military service is mandatory for Korean men due to the threat just north of the lower half of the Korean peninsula and, my students say, because the Korean people never again want to be put in the position they were in nearly 60 years ago when they were attacked by the North Koreans, not to mention the Japanese attacks. The Korean people are a very proud people and their culture and heritage is everything to them.
In the same vein, education is of the utmost importance to the South Korean people. With knowledge (or at least high scores in standardized tests) there is power. There is a wide and obvious clash between the older generations and the modern Korean.
Taking a stroll down the street on any given day, I can see Halmoni (grandmother) and Harabujee (grandfather) squatting by their crops of the day, making whatever money they can. Meanwhile, a mucky-muck suit speedwalks by while speaking rapid-fire into his cellphone and simultaneously consulting his smartphone for the latest e-mails. Most Koreans have multiple cell phones.
Success, money, power, appearance and, interestingly enough, traditional values are crucial. It's a difficult world to fit in as a modern Korean. There is constant pressure to succeed while still trying to follow the Confucian ideals that Korea was founded on. I'm so glad I get a hall pass when it comes to living in this world.
Unfortunately with all this constant pressure comes points of breaking down. I'm constantly navigating through the H-A-M-M-E-R-E-D men stumbling along the streets and sidewalks starting at 7 p.m. every night. It's a given to go out with your boss and co-workers every night after work and drink to near black-out stage (or as Koreans call it "cutting the film"). I encounter it daily. I'm convinced Koreans just don't have livers. There's no way a person can consume that amount of alcohol every single night and live. It's amazing and South Korea has one of the highest life expectancy rates in the world. I see men who are highly respected CEOs of companies or majors (or higher ranking) in the Air Force by day who turn into belligerent drunks by night, fighting with peers and subordinates.
There was a recent report in one of the English-language newspapers in Korea stating a high-level companyman was cited for entertaining his clients with trips to hostess rooms, which is a polite way of saying the man took his clients out for nights on the town with prostitutes using company funds. Alcoholism and adultery are a way for over-worked and over-stressed men to cope. However, women in the workforce aren't allowed to act in such a manner. They have to find their own way through the stress and pressure for perfection.
Another effect of the pressure and growing pains within the Korean society is suicide. South Korea has one of the highest suicide rates in the world. Students, teachers, entertainers, parents and politicians killing themselves is a usual, daily occurrence here. It's frightening how common suicide is in Korea. A politician committed suicide because his brother allegedly brought shame on the family. Suicide is a way to rectify wrongs. The politician wanted to clear his family's name and right the supposed wrong. Suicide is, obviously, also a way to escape a life of too much pressure and difficulties.
Counseling is seen as a taboo here and, although Korea recognizes suicide as a growing and serious problem, there doesn't seem to be any way for them to combat it at the present time. All these problems are growing and I fear for the future of Korea. This is a beautiful country, with beautiful people and I hope there is a healthy way to confront problems as they arise.