This paper tries to find an answer to the exceptionally high suicide rate among the young and the elderly in contemporary South Korea by identifying current social phenomena and trends in Korean...Show moreThis paper tries to find an answer to the exceptionally high suicide rate among the young and the elderly in contemporary South Korea by identifying current social phenomena and trends in Korean society. A cultural and sociological approach to suicide is used, and Durkheim's sociological theory of suicide is also mobilised in order to interpret and make sense of South Korea's suicide phenomenon. Ultimately, the identified phenomena of both social groups are analyzed, compared and contrasted in order to see if there is connection between the phenomena and the suicide rate of the South Korean youth and elders.Show less