this post was submitted on 29 Jan 2024
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Mark Manson, an American bestselling author and famous YouTuber, has made headlines by posting a video that he "traveled to the world's most depressing country" after visiting Korea. Manson, a best-selling author who has written famous self-development books such as "The Art of Turning Off Nervousness," is a YouTube creator with 1.44 million subscribers.

Manson recently released a 24-minute video on his YouTube channel under the theme of "Traveling to the World's Depressing Country." During his visit to Korea, Manson met with Americans, psychologists, and psychiatrists living in Korea to look into depression in Korean society.

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[–] drmoose@lemmy.world 83 points 9 months ago (5 children)

Korea is surprisingly dystopian and no other country is exactly like that tbh.

The internet (and many other areas) are completely captured by monopolies that control everything. There are so many inhumane, draconian laws too. This all contrasts with advance tech and pop production so starkly it kinda breaks people's brains.

[–] GhostFence@lemmy.world 16 points 9 months ago

Behold the corporate state.

[–] QuantumSparkles@sh.itjust.works 6 points 9 months ago (1 children)

So the world of Cyberpunk 2077 basically

[–] darth_helmet@sh.itjust.works 8 points 9 months ago (1 children)

Yeah, the genre of cyberpunk in general can be loosely summarized as “it’s the libertarian wet dream future and it sucks”

[–] dlpkl@lemmy.world 6 points 9 months ago (1 children)

"...but the aesthetic is dope"

[–] nilloc@discuss.tchncs.de 5 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago) (1 children)

Cyberpunk libertarian dystopia aesthetic: dope.

Actual libertarian dystopia aesthetic: same as now but more annoying. And more bears.

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[–] sugartits@lemmy.world 65 points 9 months ago (11 children)

Which Korea are we talking about here?

South Korea or Best Korea?

[–] buycurious@lemmy.world 56 points 9 months ago

You are now a mod of c/Pyongyang

[–] vzq@lemmy.blahaj.zone 35 points 9 months ago (1 children)

You are joking, but it took me about 15% of the article to figure out definitively he was talking about ROK not DPRK.

[–] sugartits@lemmy.world 22 points 9 months ago (1 children)

You are joking

You are now banned from /c/Pyongyang

[–] thorbot@lemmy.world 5 points 9 months ago

Ban comes in, ban goes out, can’t explain that!

[–] MxM111@kbin.social 16 points 9 months ago (1 children)

From the article:

He also expressed regret, saying, "It is the result of Korea maximizing the bad points of Confucian culture and the shortcomings of capitalism."

[–] sugartits@lemmy.world 13 points 9 months ago (1 children)

I don't really understand what that means.

So to be safe, you are now banned from /c/Pyongyang

[–] Viking_Hippie@lemmy.world 7 points 9 months ago (1 children)

I like this whole schtick you have going 😁

[–] sugartits@lemmy.world 4 points 9 months ago (7 children)

You are now a moderator of /c/Pyongyang

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[–] magic_lobster_party@kbin.social 13 points 9 months ago (1 children)

When people say “Korea”, they probably mean the south one (unless they’re a fan of Kim Jong Un).

[–] sugartits@lemmy.world 18 points 9 months ago (2 children)

You are now banned from /c/Pyongyang

[–] magic_lobster_party@kbin.social 5 points 9 months ago (1 children)
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[–] prole@sh.itjust.works 4 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago) (1 children)

Yes we all remember that old joke from Reddit.

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[–] OsrsNeedsF2P@lemmy.ml 57 points 9 months ago (2 children)

Nicholas Plot, an American StarCraft professional commentator who has lived in Korea for 15 years, said, "One of the things that surprised me when I first came here was work ethics. They almost collapsed from overwork but didn't say anything. In an apartment in suburban Seoul, 15 to 16 game players trained in an environment similar to a PC room, using bunk beds, he said. "When there is a small ecosystem where everyone pushes each other to get better and better, Koreans completely dominate (the environment). At the same time, I had no choice but to think about the psychological slump it created," he said.

This is reasonably accurate. Korea is very heavy on the grind. If you ever want to learn work ethics and how to have fun with the short amount of free time you get, this is the place.

Source: 대한민국에서 살고 있어

[–] ExhibiCat@lemmynsfw.com 32 points 9 months ago (1 children)

It doesn't sound like the kind of work ethic I want to learn. That's basically voluntary slavery.

Individualism is great.

[–] SkepticalButOpenMinded@lemmy.ca 6 points 9 months ago (2 children)

I agree with the first part, but I’m confused by “Individualism is great”. Not sure what individualism has to do with it.

Is this supposed to contrast with the US, a country where people work some of the longest hours in the developed world? I think the whole “the West is free and individualistic and Asians are conformist robots” thing is a myth.

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[–] Viking_Hippie@lemmy.world 15 points 9 months ago

Source: 대한민국에서 살고 있어

No, YOUR mother is a craven harlot!

[–] APassenger@lemmy.world 44 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago)

The video title is "Depressed" not "Depressing."

He based that on the suicide rate. It's hard to have a metric for happiness/depression, but that's a credible one.

The article took liberties with the message.

He spoke directly with many people across South Korea. Interview style and not coming at it with a load of certanties.

By the second sentence he said, "South Korea."

I don't know why so many people here have to imagine a slight and then react against it.

[–] robocall@lemmy.world 20 points 9 months ago (3 children)

But Korea has their superior fried chicken and the corn dogs with potatoes on the outside. It can't possibly be bad.

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[–] oce@jlai.lu 17 points 9 months ago (2 children)

Seems very similar to Japan except South Korea has been gaining popularity in the West more recently.

[–] NoneOfUrBusiness@kbin.social 18 points 9 months ago (4 children)

AFAIK Japan is also pretty bad but not as much as Korea.

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[–] SkepticalButOpenMinded@lemmy.ca 11 points 9 months ago

These countries have similarities, but this seems more like simplistic stereotypes and generalizations.

South Korea's suicide rate is almost double that of Japan's. Japan has a lower suicide rate than the US, and similar to European countries like Sweden.

South Koreans work some of the longest hours of any rich country. They're closer to India and Mexico than Europe. The Japanese work fewer hours than the US. Yes, Japanese people work too much, but I think Americans don't realize that they work too much too.

[–] Justas@sh.itjust.works 9 points 9 months ago (1 children)

I guess he hasn't been to Eastern Europe yet.

[–] Squizzy@lemmy.world 16 points 9 months ago (1 children)

How do they compare, I've been to a few eastern euro countries and the people are happy and vibe is fun. The standard of living might not be high but it isn't high stress worker drone society boxed in by societal expectations.

[–] Justas@sh.itjust.works 10 points 9 months ago (2 children)

You have probably been in big cities where a lot of stuff is happening but visit the countryside and it is full of broken people and dying towns.

Another thing to note is that further south you go, the happier people will seem, while in the north, long winter days and lack of Vitamin D can really mess with local people.

The people over 45 have it especially bad here, since the world they used to know is no longer there, they can't adapt to it, they don't make as much as some younger people do, and they are beginning to lose their friends and family. While life is amazing and exciting to the young adults you are most likely to talk to in bars. The contrast actually adds to depression.

When it comes to comparisons, I think the main difference is that in East Asia, people have to deal with too much order and monotony.

In East Europe, the life as you know it might disappear at any moment. Life is fragile and fleeting and everything around you and everything you know will be dead one day. Nature itself reinforces that fact every year.

[–] Corkyskog@sh.itjust.works 12 points 9 months ago (1 children)

Isn't that basically just all rural areas at this point? I am not aware of any rural towns where you will have a jolly good fun time.

At this point it just seems like a trade off of rural living. You need to be part of some community if you want to live a happy existence in a rural area.

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[–] The_v@lemmy.world 8 points 9 months ago (1 children)

You basically just described every rural town, anyplace in the world I have traveled to.

The younger generation leaves the rural communities for the opportunities found in larger cities and towns. What is left behind is 50+ year olds with no-one to pass the farm onto. Eventually they sell out to someone or go bankrupt. The consolidation of land resources continues.

My wife and I are some of those the fled the rural hellscape. Those that stayed behind have spent their lives in poverty and ignorance. Both of my grandparents went bankrupt farming and died living with some of their kids in a city.

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