Dealing with depressing national news
A 50-something woman surnamed Bang and living in Tongyeong, South Gyeongsang Province said she started feeling depressed when watching the national news since October last year when the scandal involving former President Park Geun-hye and her confidant Choi Soon-sil broke.
It has been one breaking news story after another as the National Assembly passed an impeachment motion against Park in December and an independent counsel arrested those involved in the scandal including even Lee Jae-yong, the vice chairman of Samsung Electronics. Downtown Seoul on Saturdays was largely packed with candlelit protestors who were later “joined” by the former President’s supporters.
Bang is now trying to forget about it and concentrates on her health. “But back then, I was down,” she said.
“People are always affected by social events or tragic accidents,” Yoon Dae-hyun, a professor of psychiatry at Seoul National University said. But what distinguishes the current political turmoil is that it has been going on for some time, and Yoon said that he has seen more people walk into his office to discuss feelings of anxiety or nervousness.
Kim Jong-woo, a professor of Oriental Medicine at the department of psychiatry at Kyung Hee University Hospital at Gangdong, said he sees a different range of emotions among Koreans while the general sentiment had been one of anxiety.
“I think those who opposed the impeachment are anxious that the life they had known will no longer be,” said Kim. People in this group are supporters of the former president who may have grown up under former President Park Chung-hee when the fear about war abounded, he said. For the candlelit protestors, Kim said that there had been anxiety there about attending rallies that in Korean history were known for violence.
“There was also anger about the injustice,” he added. Anger can be dangerous when it is acted upon, but in the case of the candlelit protests, Kim said that a big consensus formed to parse the anger and anxiety into hope to bring about change.
A 56-year-old man named Wang who lives in Seoul said he felt vindicated. “If she had not been impeached, I would have been enraged. Now I feel we have confidence,” he said. “The political agenda, which to date had always seemed to be in the hands of politicians, is now in the hands of voters,” Wang said.
The days ahead are uncertain as Koreans must go to the polls on May 9 to elect a new president, but people like Wang are fresh with the newly-obtained civic empowerment.
People in their 20s also had various emotions. Y.S. Kim, a junior majoring in English Linguistics at Hankuk University of Foreign Stud- ies, said that he also felt a small sense of achievement when news of the impeachment came. “Now with the presidential election ahead, I cannot deny there is expectation,” he said.
Twenty-seven year old J.S. Park in Seoul, spoke about protecting herself from depressing political news. “I am sensitive, so I did not watch too much political news because I knew I would be affected.” Park said her job was already stressful and she did not need to add to it, but added that she was looking forward to the May 9 election.
Kim of Kyung Hee University Hospital at Gangdong assessed that it is time for Korean society to look at conflict as a healthy constant in life.
He also advises people to differentiate what is wrong from what is different. He said that the alleged influence-peddling by former President Park with her confidant Choi falls within the realm of right or wrong, while opinions held by the Korean people is within the latter.
For those still affected by the constant stream of breaking and not the brightest news concerning national politics, Kim advised them not to isolate themselves.
“A wise step would be to listen to people whose opinions may differ from yours or are the same, and decide for yourself. The key is to not shun social happenings around you,” Kim said.
“Having to deal with stress requires a lot of energy, both physical and mental, so obviously people may experience anxiety or an inability to sleep,” Yoon said.
While the old style of dealing with stress was either flight or fight, the professor advised people to “accept” that life is full of ups and downs.
“When we talk about happiness, it is about living a meaningful life,” Yoon said, which invariably will entail pain. “People should accept this aspect about life,” he said.
But there are also practical steps to take before stress prompts burn-out that can lead to irritation and an inability to achieve rapport among others. Three simple steps are increasing contact with people, nature and culture.
“To date, we have been trained on how to survive, but now we should seek something that makes us happy such as a hobby,” Yoon said.
To date, we have been trained on how to survive, but now we should seek something that makes us happy ...