The supposed positive correlation between the economic and social health of a nation is not as clear-cut as it seems, and the South Korean experience is proof. Sixty years down a path of rapid development interrupted only by the devastating financial crisis of 1997, the already existing stigma around mental health has been magnified by […]
South Korea
The Politics of National Mourning
On Tuesday, November 12, 60 year old Lee Joon-Seok was sentenced to 36 years in prison. Upon hearing the verdict, outraged family members of the deceased demanded an appeal and a revision to the death sentence. Lee was initially accused of murder for his conduct as captain during the sinking of the Sewol ferry, where […]
No Home for Defectors
Immigration, especially when it increases significantly in a short time span, tends to alter a host country’s social and political climate. A conservative backlash, both cultural and political, usually develops in response to the introduction of otherness. Take, for example, the Scandinavian countries: 44Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. Previously the go-to examples of social responsibility and […]