Effects of classifying game addiction as a mental disorder on the stigma surrounding mental illness in South Korea

In May 2019, the South Korean government has agreed to implement the new ‘gaming disorder’ classification, as instated in the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems (ICD) by the World Health Organization (WHO), into their own Korean Standard Classification of Diseases (KCD) within the next few years. The classification will change how game addiction will be treated in South Korea, in both a medical and societal sense, and will have an especially big impact on how mental illness is perceived. This thesis therefore asks the following question: What are the possible effects of the implementation of the World Health Organization’s classification of ‘game disorder’ into the Korean Standard Classification of Diseases on the stigma on mental illness in South Korean society? Through critical analysis of the relevant parts of the ICD and KCD, exploration of South Korea’s history with the WHO and critical discourse analysis of scholars’ opinions on...Show moreIn May 2019, the South Korean government has agreed to implement the new ‘gaming disorder’ classification, as instated in the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems (ICD) by the World Health Organization (WHO), into their own Korean Standard Classification of Diseases (KCD) within the next few years. The classification will change how game addiction will be treated in South Korea, in both a medical and societal sense, and will have an especially big impact on how mental illness is perceived. This thesis therefore asks the following question: What are the possible effects of the implementation of the World Health Organization’s classification of ‘game disorder’ into the Korean Standard Classification of Diseases on the stigma on mental illness in South Korean society? Through critical analysis of the relevant parts of the ICD and KCD, exploration of South Korea’s history with the WHO and critical discourse analysis of scholars’ opinions on the subject, this thesis has determined that South Koreans are currently unlikely to get treatment for mental illness due to (perceived) stigma and that the classification of gaming disorder can play an important part in alleviating said stigma if the government uses the opportunity to development anti-stigma programs.Show less

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Effects of classifying game addiction as a mental disorder on the stigma surrounding mental illness in South Korea