A classroom at the College of Humanities

South Korea has had one of the highest suicide rates in the world being second only to Guyana according to the World Health Organization. Suicide has been an ongoing problem in South Korea and has been impacting all ages of people including university students among whom there have been many suicide cases.

In response to the alarming levels of suicide, a class focusing on “happiness and life” will be offered beginning this Fall semester. It was announced that this course was created to benefit those students experiencing difficulty in adjusting to the university life.

This course was developed to address the increased levels of stress among SNU students. According to statistics between 2012 and 2015, the number of students who sought professional help to cope with stress or anxiety rose from 5550 to 7122 (a 28% increase). Last year 97 students required suicide prevention-related help. Of these, 14 had previously attempted suicide, 64 had had impulses to commit suicide, and 19 students reported having suicidal thoughts.

This course was created through a collaboration of professors specializing in subjects such as philosophy, psychology, and evolutionary theory. These professors sought to define various understandings of happiness and explore how to lead a fulfilling life. According to SNU Professor LEE Soo Yeon, who teaches biology within the Department of Liberal Education, “By looking at the value of life, we plan to teach that life is something that should not be taken lightly.” AHN Byungjik, Director of the Faculty of Liberal Education, said, “We wanted to give the students an opportunity to learn how to live a satisfied life.” This class will hopefully give students the tools to manage stress and allow them to rediscover the value of life.

Written by Yu Young Jin, coin1234@snu.ac.kr
Proofread by Professor Travis Smith, Department of Asian Languages and Civilizations, tlsmith@snu.ac.kr