When I told my mom on the phone that I’ve been going to weekly meetings with my psychologist, she didn’t seem happy. It was my junior year at Milton an she said that I should be focusing on school work, and not wasting time at the health center. So I didn’t tell her the full details behind my sudden therapy sessions, and she never asked.

Upon coming to the States for school, one of the biggest culture shock has been the sheer amount of students who are suffering from various mental disorders, and how open they are about their illnesses. From the more common ADD to the extreme cases of bipolar and depression, people felt comfortable when sharing their background of medicine and forms of therapy. The treatment of “insanity,” now referred to through the more politically correct term “mental disorder,” has made great strides over the centuries. Thanks to the moral treatment movement during the Enlightenment Era, “lunatics” are no longer fettered in madhouses. Although there were some dents in between, progression for psychiatry has been on an upward trajectory. Moreover, with the privatization of medicine there is competitive production and reasonable prices for patients. In South Korea’s case, the National Health Insurance Corporation allows an affordable diagnosis and treatment of mental disorder.

On the other hand, advancements in the Korean public response regarding mental illness have not experienced a similar improvement. To this day, there is a stigma against mental health patients as well as a pressure on them to keep their problems hidden. Although some of the misunderstandings have been resolved in today’s society, horror tales of asylum runaways and “mad scientists” continue to thrive as of yet. What most plagues modern “lunatics” is not the marginalization of “screaming schizos” or even the demonization of “psychopathic serial killers” but rather a collective denial of their condition. The prevalence of mental illnesses is estimated to be up to 27.6% of the whole of the South Korean population, according to a report issued by the nation’s Ministry of Health. Most likely, these results are under-recorded as 85% of the patients do not seek medical help. Such striking statistics are in direct response to society’s refusal to acknowledge this problem.

To be fair, an overall perception of mental illness and its patients has improved over the years, especially considering how recent this ‘problem’ came into the Korean society. According to a survey conducted by the Ministry of Health in 2014, there was a meaningful decrease in those who believed “those diagnosed with mental disorders tend to be more dangerous” compared to past years. When it comes to a personal level, however, stigmatization still exists. According to the same survey, 45.3% of the respondents admitted that they would “feel uncomfortable when conversing with those who have undergone treatment for mental illness.” As such, individuals suffering from mental disorders are left with two options: to conquer the illness or to conform to a society where ideals are high but actualities are low.

The gap between the reality and illusion comes as no surprise as the South Korean society is rigged against individuals with mental disorders. For one thing, private health companies often reject those having undergone psychiatry. The current law is full of loopholes and seems to have little intentions of protecting the “feeble-minded” or the “mentally defective.” The misfortunes of the mentally ill do not end there. Employment opportunities in the public service are more or less sealed as applicants are asked whether they are or have undergone psychiatric treatment three years before application. The marks made by such laws were overwritten with ink by the Korean Police in 2014 as they announced: “for safety reasons it is necessary to exclude those psychiatrically disqualified.” Public enterprises were traditionally viewed as the last stand since the law prohibits them from requesting and collecting such records. However, in 2015, it was revealed that SK Telecom, South Korea’s IT plutocrat, had been accumulating individuals’ treatment records on electronic prescriptions. Greed further propelled SK Telecom to engage in a document trafficking with IMS Health Korea at a price of “four Korean won” per case. For just 4 dollars (less than) people’s lives were exposed.

In a world where winning is a matter of will and effort, losing, by any means, would be a sign of mediocrity. A much harsher treatment, however, is given to those careless enough to let their minds slip through their fingers, whether by intention or not. ‘What can be done?’ some may ask, ignorant to the plight of others. A surgical overhaul of society is at the top of the list. A thorough disciplinarian comes next to create the perfect mold for the next generation. Injecting some compassion to the heart of humanity would also do the job.