A recent CBS News article describes how jumping in front of subway trains in South Korea (and how the government is piping in soothing music and calm announcements to discourage such ‘jumpers’).

Again, I don’t claim to have all the answers but my guess is that the paradoxes and contraditions inherent in the traditional Asian cultural emphasis on group conformity and sacrificing individual gain for group benefits has something to do with it. In other words, when there is success, the whole group supposedly benefits. But when there are difficulties and failure, instead of the entire group being blamed, individuals are held responsible -- they didn’t try hard enough or that it was just bad luck.

It seems rather unfair, doesn’t it? When you succeed, everybody gets to claim some credit but when you fail, you’re left out in the cold. As a result of this contradiction, there are very little resources or services for people who are experiencing difficulties and therefore, people have nowhere to turn except to take their own lives, rather than face the ovewhelming social stigma attached with being a “failure.”

Having said that, the question becomes, is the complete opposite any better? That is, is society better off when the overall focus is on individual effort to success and that failures are often blamed on society or structural barriers? Kinda like the U.S., perhaps?