The Dark Side of Our Society: An Ethnography of Suicide, Mental Health, and Education in (Post-) Covid South Korea

This book is an ethnography of the South Korean education system, the cultural pressures it reflects, and how these contribute to the mental health struggles of the Korean youth. It focuses on the young adult population of South Korea and examines how experiences of stress, alienation, and institutional pressure relate to Durkheimian themes such as anomie (normlessness) and fatalism (oppressive regulation). The author situates this analysis in the context of the post-COVID era, offering insights into youth suicide, educational inequality, mental health stigma, and generational conflict in contemporary South Korea. Drawing on rich ethnographic data, this book sheds light on social dynamics that are locally rooted yet globally resonant.

Part of the Academics, Politics and Society in the Post-COVID World series, this book will be of interest to students and researchers of Asian studies, mental health studies, education, sociology, sociological theory, cultural studies, anthropology, and general readers of Korean culture.

Bryce Anderson is Assistant Professor at Woosong University, South Korea. He received his PhD in social anthropology from Dalhousie University, Canada, in 2023. He teaches classes in anthropology, cultural studies, and sociology, while conducting research in social theory and suicide.