"South Korea, the Most Depressed Country in the World" ... Korean Society as Seen by a US Bestselling Author

"Intense Competition and Confucian Culture Pose Great Burden on Youth"
"Now Facing the Challenge of Looking Within Themselves"

An American bestselling author and influencer has drawn attention by shedding light on depression in Korean society.

On the 22nd, Mark Manson, a famous American author and YouTuber with 1.44 million subscribers, released a video titled "I Traveled to the Saddest Country in the World" on his YouTube channel. The 24-minute video features his visit to Korea, where he meets various people and explores the issue of depression in Korean society.

Manson first met Nicholas Plott, an American StarCraft commentator who has lived in Korea for 15 years, to analyze the StarCraft craze that swept Korea in the 1990s.

Famous American author and influencer Mark Manson
[Photo by Mark Manson YouTube Channel Capture]

Plott said that an ecosystem where players shared strategies and competed with each other helped drive the development of Korea's gaming industry. He recalled, "I was amazed to see 15 to 16 gamers sharing bunk beds in an apartment on the outskirts of Seoul, training in an environment similar to PC bangs. They were almost on the verge of exhaustion but never made any excuses."

This formula for StarCraft's success was applied to various fields such as large corporations, sports, and K-pop. Manson pointed out, "An environment is created where people can focus solely on their work, and intense social pressure and competition are applied to extract as much as possible from them. While this formula has proven effective, it has also caused psychological discouragement."

He further explained that Korea's emphasis on competition has historical roots, including the Korean War. "After the war, Korea's economic growth was not a matter of choice but survival," he said. "To build the nation economically, the government created a harsh education system, which ultimately became a tremendous burden on Korean youth," he added.

Seohyun Lee, a writer who majored in psychology at Korea University, said, "Competition is intense not only in education but in all areas of Korean society. In Korea, if you don't score 100 points, you are considered a failure, so many people are perfectionists. This constantly creates a feeling of failure, which is closely linked to depression."

Famous American author and influencer Mark Manson
[Photo by Mark Manson YouTube Channel Capture]

In response, Manson elaborated on the psychological concept of "cognitive distortion." He explained that the "all or nothing" mindset is the most common example of cognitive distortion and expressed concern, saying, "It seems Korean youth are always judged this way. This has a negative impact on mental health."

Moreover, Manson saw this as related to Confucianism, which has influenced Korean society as a whole. In Confucian culture, society revolves around the family rather than the individual, so if someone feels depressed and stops working, they are treated as a "lazy person" who fails to fulfill family obligations.

He also analyzed, "In the workplace, people often lack autonomy and control over their lives, having to leave work when their boss does and attend company dinners unconditionally. Constant harsh evaluations based on Confucian values make them feel inferior."

However, despite these side effects, Manson viewed "Korea's strength as having one of the rarest and most special forms of resilience in the world." He said, "Koreans have always found breakthroughs to survive crises, such as the Japanese colonial period and the war. Now, they face a new challenge of looking deeply within themselves. I believe they will find their way," he encouraged.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.