This book is an ethnography of the South Korean education system, the cultural pressures it reflects, and how these contribute to the mental health struggles of the Korean youth. It focuses on the young adult population of South Korea and examines how experiences of stress, alienation, and institutional pressure relate to Durkheimian themes such as anomie (normlessness) and fatalism (oppressive regulation). The author situates this analysis in the context of the post-COVID era, offering insights into youth suicide, educational inequality, mental health stigma, and generational conflict in contemporary South Korea. Drawing on rich ethnographic data, this book sheds light on social dynamics that are locally rooted yet globally resonant.

Part of the Academics, Politics and Society in the Post-COVID World series, this book will be of interest to students and researchers of Asian studies, mental health studies, education, sociology, sociological theory, cultural studies, anthropology, and general readers of Korean culture.