Guilt vs. Shame
Re: 70% of South Korean College Students Have Thought of Committing Suicide and Death plunge over rotten dumplings
It has often been observed that the West is a "guilt culture" while the East is a "shame culture." Guilt, whether Jewish, Catholic, or of some other stripe, can be overcome, as it is internal. Shame, external, cannot. Catholic and Orthodox Christians even have recourse to the Sacrament of Reconciliation (Confession), which provides a very real relief from guilt. (Psychoanalyst Karl Jung noted that in Catholic Vienna, most of his patients were Protestants or Jews.) Korea has been called the most appearance-oriented society on earth. Therefore, losing face is a loss of everything. It is my hope that Koreans can be liberated from this cycle of shame.
Re: 70% of South Korean College Students Have Thought of Committing Suicide and Death plunge over rotten dumplings
It has often been observed that the West is a "guilt culture" while the East is a "shame culture." Guilt, whether Jewish, Catholic, or of some other stripe, can be overcome, as it is internal. Shame, external, cannot. Catholic and Orthodox Christians even have recourse to the Sacrament of Reconciliation (Confession), which provides a very real relief from guilt. (Psychoanalyst Karl Jung noted that in Catholic Vienna, most of his patients were Protestants or Jews.) Korea has been called the most appearance-oriented society on earth. Therefore, losing face is a loss of everything. It is my hope that Koreans can be liberated from this cycle of shame.
Redeemed by Our Savior, I work out my salvation with fear and trembling in Pohang, South Korea, where I live with my wife, daughter, and son and teach English at a science and technology university. Baptized a Methodist and raised a Missouri Synod Lutheran in Buffalo, NY, I spent six years as a guest of the Anglican Communion before being received by the Grace of God into the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church on the Feast of Saint Andrew, my patron, anno domini 2002.
<< Home