The Korea Times
amn_close.png
amn_bl.png
National
  • Politics
  • Foreign Affairs
  • Multicultural Community
  • Defense
  • Environment & Animals
  • Law & Crime
  • Society
  • Health & Science
amn_bl.png
Business
  • Tech
  • Bio
  • Companies
amn_bl.png
Finance
  • Companies
  • Economy
  • Markets
  • Cryptocurrency
amn_bl.png
Opinion
  • Editorial
  • Columns
  • Thoughts of the Times
  • Cartoon
  • Today in History
  • Blogs
  • Tribune Service
  • Blondie & Garfield
  • Letter to President
  • Letter to the Editor
amn_bl.png
Lifestyle
  • Travel & Food
  • Trends
  • People & Events
  • Books
  • Around Town
  • Fortune Telling
amn_bl.png
Entertainment & Arts
  • K-pop
  • Films
  • Shows & Dramas
  • Music
  • Theater & Others
amn_bl.png
Sports
amn_bl.png
World
  • SCMP
  • Asia
amn_bl.png
Video
  • Korean Storytellers
  • POPKORN
  • Culture
  • People
  • News
amn_bl.png
Photos
  • Photo News
  • Darkroom
amn_NK.png amn_DR.png amn_LK.png amn_LE.png
  • bt_fb_on_2022.svgbt_fb_over_2022.svg
  • bt_twitter_on_2022.svgbt_twitter_over_2022.svg
  • bt_youtube_on_2022.svgbt_youtube_over_2022.svg
  • bt_instagram_on_2022.svgbt_instagram_over_2022.svg
The Korea Times
amn_close.png
amn_bl.png
National
  • Politics
  • Foreign Affairs
  • Multicultural Community
  • Defense
  • Environment & Animals
  • Law & Crime
  • Society
  • Health & Science
amn_bl.png
Business
  • Tech
  • Bio
  • Companies
amn_bl.png
Finance
  • Companies
  • Economy
  • Markets
  • Cryptocurrency
amn_bl.png
Opinion
  • Editorial
  • Columns
  • Thoughts of the Times
  • Cartoon
  • Today in History
  • Blogs
  • Tribune Service
  • Blondie & Garfield
  • Letter to President
  • Letter to the Editor
amn_bl.png
Lifestyle
  • Travel & Food
  • Trends
  • People & Events
  • Books
  • Around Town
  • Fortune Telling
amn_bl.png
Entertainment & Arts
  • K-pop
  • Films
  • Shows & Dramas
  • Music
  • Theater & Others
amn_bl.png
Sports
amn_bl.png
World
  • SCMP
  • Asia
amn_bl.png
Video
  • Korean Storytellers
  • POPKORN
  • Culture
  • People
  • News
amn_bl.png
Photos
  • Photo News
  • Darkroom
amn_NK.png amn_DR.png amn_LK.png amn_LE.png
  • bt_fb_on_2022.svgbt_fb_over_2022.svg
  • bt_twitter_on_2022.svgbt_twitter_over_2022.svg
  • bt_youtube_on_2022.svgbt_youtube_over_2022.svg
  • bt_instagram_on_2022.svgbt_instagram_over_2022.svg
  • Login
  • Register
  • Login
  • Register
  • The Korea Times
  • search
  • all menu
  • Login
  • Subscribe
  • Photos
  • Video
  • World
  • Sports
  • Opinion
  • Entertainment & Art
  • Lifestyle
  • Finance
  • Business
  • National
  • North Korea
  • 1

    INTERVIEWKorean adoptee in Germany reunites with birth family after 42 years

  • 3

    Korea to start mass production of KF-21 in 2024

  • 5

    Will exempting foreign nannies from minimum wage boost Korea's birth rate?

  • 7

    Kim Min-gyu, Go Bo-gyeol bid farewell to 'The Heavenly Idol'

  • 9

    Daughter of North Korean dictator seen wearing $1,900 Dior jacket

  • 11

    Will Apple Pay launch boost local iPhone sales?

  • 13

    INTERVIEW'Welcome to world of art therapy'

  • 15

    Lee Som, Ahn Jae-hong to play married couple in Tving's new series

  • 17

    Indonesian students advise Korean bank on entering Indonesian market

  • 19

    Long viewed as an outsider, conceptual artist grabs global spotlight in his twilight years

  • 2

    Zebra captured after escaping from Seoul zoo

  • 4

    Zoo shares sad story of what caused Sero the zebra to escape

  • 6

    Yoo Yeon-seok threatens to sue people spreading accusations about him

  • 8

    Sandstorm from China forecast to push up fine dust levels in Korea

  • 10

    Retailers rush to adopt Apple Pay system

  • 12

    Kim Nam-gil to embark on Asia fan-meeting tour

  • 14

    INTERVIEWExpert pitches Laotian rural reform to solve NK's chronic food shortages

  • 16

    INTERVIEWForbes-listed entrepreneur pursues partnerships with Samsung, LG, SK to help Ukraine

  • 18

    US Fed lifts key interest rate amid banking sector fears

  • 20

    Samsung, SK chiefs prepare for trips to China amid intensifying 'chip war'

Close scrollclosebutton

Close for 24 hours

Open
  • The Korea Times
  • search
  • all menu
  • Login
  • Subscribe
  • Photos
  • Video
  • World
  • Sports
  • Opinion
  • Entertainment & Art
  • Lifestyle
  • Finance
  • Business
  • National
  • North Korea
Lifestyle
  • Travel & Food
  • Trends
  • People & Events
  • Books
  • Around Town
  • Fortune Telling
Sat, March 25, 2023 | 10:53
Healthcare
For many, Chuseok is the season of rage
Posted : 2017-10-09 14:36
Updated : 2017-10-10 10:40
Ko Dong-hwan
Print PreviewPrint Preview
Font Size UpFont Size Up
Font Size DownFont Size Down
  • facebook
  • twitter
  • kakaolink
  • whatsapp
  • reddit
  • mailto
  • link
Foreigners and Koreans in traditional clothing play yut, a traditional Korean board game, as they celebrate Chuseok. The holiday is meant to be a joyous reunion of family members and relatives, but it also harbors many risks of a rage-fuelled mental illness called 'hwa byung.'/ Korea Times file
Foreigners and Koreans in traditional clothing play yut, a traditional Korean board game, as they celebrate Chuseok. The holiday is meant to be a joyous reunion of family members and relatives, but it also harbors many risks of a rage-fuelled mental illness called "hwa byung."/ Korea Times file

By Ko Dong-hwan


"Hwa byung," a uniquely Korean cultural syndrome that translates roughly as "rage virus" affects more than 10,000 people each year, especially during or after Chuseok, the Thanksgiving holiday season.

With this year's extended holiday of almost 10 days now over, the number of people stricken with the heart-wrenching mental illness is expected to soar.

Last year, among more than 13,200 people diagnosed with the illness at Oriental medicine clinics, more than 4,000 cases came after the holiday season throughout September and October, according to the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service.

Hwa byung, with "hwa" meaning fire and "byung" illness, affects people who no longer can endure emotional pressure, usually anger, in situations they perceive as unfair.

Symptoms include breathing and gastric problems, palpitations, insomnia, headaches, anorexia, depression and anxiety.

Hwa byung is listed in the fourth edition criteria of the "Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV)." Wikipedia lists it as "Korean somatization disorder."

The illness often strikes during the holiday season when family members and relatives get together. The occasion might appear joyous from the outside, but it is nerve-wracking and stressful to many who suffer emotionally in various situations.

Women in patriarchal family settings are silently forced to cook holiday food and wash dishes for many people. Relatives who have not seen each other for some time make provocative comments out of misunderstandings, resulting in arguments. Young adults who are unemployed or unmarried get disturbing criticism from elders. All these scenarios and more build up psychological tension.

"Hwa byung often occurs out of family disputes," said Prof. Lee Hae-guk from the College of Medicine at the Catholic University of Korea.

"To resolve the tension, family members should go for a casual outing and have conversations about their emotional situations."

Hwa byung is more common among women than men during the holiday season, mostly because of Korea's deep-rooted patriarchal system that takes for granted women's labor in the kitchen and elsewhere to serve men and other elderly members. Among last year's haw byung patients, there were four times as many women (10,697) than men.

Actress Hwang Eun-jeong, 37, said, "I stayed at my mother-in-law's home for two days every Thanksgiving holiday, waking up at 3 a.m. to prepare food for the family reunion.

"I had to keep making different dishes for men who were busy chatting and drinking. I was delirious and confused as to whether I was married or hired at a restaurant."

Hwang's story is shared by millions of Korean women with conservative husbands who are unwilling to understand their wives' agony.

Some men offer the excuse that it is their "role" to brag about their wives'cooking skills and how they make the gathering more joyous. But such self-justification often only stokes spousal disputes, putting more women under extreme pressure to the point of hwa byung and/or even divorce.

Each year on average, the divorce rate increases by 11 percent during the month of Chuseok, and by almost 40 percent following the New Year's holiday season in January to February ― another huge family reunion occasion.

A lawyer on a TV Chosun talk show observed, "How hard it must be for women to go through the holidays that they want a divorce?"

Emailaoshima11@ktimes.com Article ListMore articles by this reporter
 
Top 10 Stories
1Zoo shares sad story of what caused Sero the zebra to escapeZoo shares sad story of what caused Sero the zebra to escape
2Burnout: Cardiothoracic surgery residents work 102 hours a week Burnout: Cardiothoracic surgery residents work 102 hours a week
3North Korea will pay price for reckless provocations, warns Yoon North Korea will pay price for reckless provocations, warns Yoon
4Churches, Seoul gov't unite to fight low birthrate Churches, Seoul gov't unite to fight low birthrate
5Second daughter of Daesang chairman promoted to vice president Second daughter of Daesang chairman promoted to vice president
6More companies adopt electronic voting amid increase in shareholder activism More companies adopt electronic voting amid increase in shareholder activism
7What's next for Do Kwon? What's next for Do Kwon?
8FTC criticized for delaying approval for Hanwha's acquisition of DSME FTC criticized for delaying approval for Hanwha's acquisition of DSME
9Samsung Display strike looms due to deadlocked wage negotiationsSamsung Display strike looms due to deadlocked wage negotiations
10Over 70% of firms unwilling to embrace longer workweek Over 70% of firms unwilling to embrace longer workweek
Top 5 Entertainment News
1Yoo Yeon-seok threatens to sue people spreading accusations about him Yoo Yeon-seok threatens to sue people spreading accusations about him
2Kim Min-gyu, Go Bo-gyeol bid farewell to 'The Heavenly Idol' Kim Min-gyu, Go Bo-gyeol bid farewell to 'The Heavenly Idol'
3Kim Nam-gil to embark on Asia fan-meeting tour Kim Nam-gil to embark on Asia fan-meeting tour
4Lee Som, Ahn Jae-hong to play married couple in Tving's new series Lee Som, Ahn Jae-hong to play married couple in Tving's new series
5Long viewed as an outsider, conceptual artist grabs global spotlight in his twilight years Long viewed as an outsider, conceptual artist grabs global spotlight in his twilight years
DARKROOM
  • Turkey-Syria earthquake

    Turkey-Syria earthquake

  • Nepal plane crash

    Nepal plane crash

  • Brazil capital uprising

    Brazil capital uprising

  • Happy New Year 2023

    Happy New Year 2023

  • World Cup 2022 Final - Argentina vs France

    World Cup 2022 Final - Argentina vs France

CEO & Publisher : Oh Young-jin
Digital News Email : webmaster@koreatimes.co.kr
Tel : 02-724-2114
Online newspaper registration No : 서울,아52844
Date of registration : 2020.02.05
Masthead : The Korea Times
Copyright © koreatimes.co.kr. All rights reserved.
  • About Us
  • Introduction
  • History
  • Contact Us
  • Products & Services
  • Subscribe
  • E-paper
  • RSS Service
  • Content Sales
  • Site Map
  • Policy
  • Code of Ethics
  • Ombudsman
  • Privacy Statement
  • Terms of Service
  • Copyright Policy
  • Family Site
  • Hankook Ilbo
  • Dongwha Group