South Korea is and should by all means be very proud of what they've achieved in their country.
In the past decades the country has turned into a prosperous industrial society.
However, just as many other countries there're issues they need to and are trying to find solutions for. A major problem in South Korea is the extreem high suicide rate.

South Korea has the highest suicide rate among the 30 OECD countries, and the suicide deaths doubled in the last decade and is the most common cause of death for those under 40 years old.

According to the Korean Times; Korea is a country of suicides.
The biggest cause of suicide is financial worry, or more precisely, people experiencing a relative sense of deprivation. Nothing illustrates this batter than the surge in the suicide rate after the 1997-1998 financial crises, which drove numerous wage earners out of jobs (for good in most cases) and began to severely widen the income gap among Koreans.

We can also see that Korea's share of public spending out of its gross domestic product is the lowest in the club of the rich, industrial countries.  The loose social safety net also explains why the suicide rate among senior citizens here in Korea is by far the world's highest. Another reason is extreme competition. The foremost cause of death among teenagers is suicide, mostly resulting from poor school records and heavy peer group pressure.

This situation poses a great challenge for President Park Geun-hye, whose key election pledge was to work toward a ''happy nation” and ''grand unity.” In short, President Park will have to reduce the suicide rate back to the level when her father was president.

President Park needs to find a way to have a stronger social safety net especially for the marginalized and hopeless. Her government should also take far better care of the 3.7 million people with mental health problems.

To lower the suicide rate, Korea should become a more compassionate and caring society even at the expense of slower-growing economy.

I and surely many Koreans will be watching whether and how Park will turn her promises into reality.

South Korea is stepping up its campaign against scholl bullying in the wake of a young victim's suicide last week. A 15-year-old, jumped out of him apartment home in the southeastern city of Gyeongsan last Monday after being bullied for roughly two years. His death has shocked the nation and called into question the government's efforts to stop school violence.

http://world.time.com/2013/03/17/south-korea-rattled-by-suicide-of-bullied-teen/#ixzz2RMHe90pH

 

A message in Korean reading "Forget Everything" placed by the South Korean government to dissuade suicides at Mapo Bridge over Seoul's Han River