These days, lectures and books regarding depression, anxiety, and the weariness of people are increasing at an exponential rate. To escape from such wicked aspects of life, people have become enthusiastic about “healing” their spirit, and “the healing business” is now on everybody’s lips. The current shockwave of various healing programs including the famous television program “Healing Camp” shows how much people are nowadays excited about healing their lives.

   
 

Some psychologists say the mental crisis in modern society is not due to the irregularities of society, arguing that it stems from personal defects, such as brain deformity or mental instability. Yet, the fundamental reason why modern crises influence people is due to our irrational and absurd society. The extreme bipolar society system, winner-takes-all competition, collapse of the communal lifestyle, and the prevalence of corruption are the roots of mental breakdown.
   

▲ Professor Lee So-Young.

Photographed by Jeong Ji Hyun
Unlike medical or physical remedies, healing seeks to be a natural and mental remedy that embraces “worn-out” people. “Specs” and “Healing” are the two terms that are on everybody’s lips. Not only university students, but also employers expend a lot of effort in managing their “Specs.” “Specs” is an abbreviation for the word specification, which indicates the function of a machine. Thus, whenever we refer to our Grade Point Average (GPA) and Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) scores, we are indirectly acknowledging that we are tools used to operate the massive machine; our society. Through the process of allowing oneself to be a tool used in operating society, many individuals long for the hand of consolation. This is represented by the ever increasing “Healing” phenomenon. 

Korean society does not provide any remedy for its malicious tumor. Most Koreans suffer from irrevocable pain regardless of social class, position, age, or gender. It is crucial to reform society in order to heal the growing tumor of people’s hearts. However, this is a difficult task and people choose to rely on personal mental therapy. According to Professor Oh In-Young (History), “In short, people are in a paradox where individuals are carrying the burden of healing as society keeps adding it more.” He implied that, these days, people have a tendency to solve social problems from an individual perspective. Certainly, social matters need to be revised in a wider spectrum.

Korea ranks at the top in suicide rate among Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries. This is a startling fact! January statistics show that every 34 minutes, a Korean takes his or her own life, and an average of 42.6 people die every day. Rather than looking at this gloomy statistic from a personal viewpoint, viewing it from a total perspective is necessary to find out why the healing lifestyle is spreading these days. Park Su Hyeon (’11, Psychology) mentioned “Healing, in other words, means having sympathy toward others. This occurs only when people put themselves in other people’s situations.” She continued, “In the past, people were not inclined to really think and care about others. I think this is the fundamental problem and the reason healing has become such a growing social issue.”

Though healing has appeared in the mayhem of dysfunctional society, it has a positive purpose. People heal each other by sympathizing. Kwon Mook Hyun (’07, Sociology) commented, “People are inclined to get sympathy when they are faced with hard times.” As a senior, Kwon cannot escape the bitter reality of the urgent need for finding a job. He elaborated, “When I talk to my underclassmen or fellow seniors, most of the time we sympathize with each other. It helps us to gain hope and look toward a brighter future.” As university students, not to mention KU collegians, the primary goal is to get a fancy job that will enable them to sit on piles of money. Yet, the reality tells them it is just so hard to get there. One of the ways students can gain energy is to talk to each other and share their troublesome stories.
   

▲ A photograph taken in Anam street, portraying the busy life of students and employers.

Photographed by Jeong Ji Hyun
Listening to others’ stories and sharing the pain lessens the possibility of being a socially isolated person. Similarly, there are people healing each other by becoming conscious about their existence. Professor Lee So-Young (BK21 Social Conflict Reseach) mentioned her own experience, “10 years ago, I participated in a seminar called ‘Experience Week’ organized by Findhorn Educational Foundation. There I learned it is possible to heal people’s heart not only by lecturing to them, but by touching their hands and smoothly passing my hand over their hunched back.” She continued, “Through this method, people can acknowledge their existence and thus no longer believe they are alone.” In terms of healing, people should take the chance to look back on themselves and look around. People no longer live by themselves, but by the warm attention of others.

In fact, healing started to emerge as a social trend just recently. Yet, it is not the abrupt advent of a new lifestyle. Living under capitalism has made people unable to live without money, except in rare cases. As they march toward a materialistic life, they are apt to leave the spiritual essence behind. Healing is a social phenomenon trying to rejuvenate the mental energy of modern people. Lee Seung-Ju (’11, Sociology) commented, “The bond between society and an individual is impossible to break. Thus, problems we face during our lifetime are intimately related to our society, as well.” The reason healing has become such a heated issue nowadays is because it represents the uncertain and uneasy lives of many people. Professor Lee elaborated, “Healing and its advent are closely related to our social structure. When we try to look at our society from a much wider perspective, we develop a sense of discernment. This is the first step toward a better society.”

Flipping through the newspapers from previous dates, there is no doubt that Korean society requires a cure. Healing, rather than being an individual remedy, is now a social cure. To view a society demanding healing is to examine a body which is suffering from an injury. If the doctor does not treat and properly care for the wound, the patient will eventually die. Similarly, the society we live in must be treated with special care. Perhaps the Korean society is now in the condition of “Mental Collapse,” as so many people put it nowadays. In particular, considering that “Healing” refers to the consolation of mental hardships or healing the mental state, it can be seen that the spirit of the society is starting to exhaust.

In the swirl of the healing trend engulfing our society, people need to find a place to belong and the ability to consider themselves as having a priceless existence. Now as a remedy for Korean society, the process of healing seems to have an everlasting position. Perhaps in the future, we can hope for a situation in which people can be happy enough without the effort trying to heal themselves.
 

저작권자 © The Granite Tower 무단전재 및 재배포 금지