No words.

8:22 PM Jmo 0 Comments

There are some things that are...extremely hard to put into words. But I witnessed something this past Friday night that I have to at least try to put down. Perhaps in an attempt to clear it from my mind.

Friday night on the way to dinner with a group of friends we were walking through a district close to my apartment, when I noticed a group of Koreans looking upwards and pointing at a building. It was hard to read the expressions on their faces. Some looked concerned, others shocked, some had what appeared to be strange nervous smiles on their faces, and one woman was crying. It wasn't until we walked a little further into the crowd that we saw why. On the ground was a young woman who had apparently jumped out a window. Committed suicide. There wasn't any blood but she was crumpled. Her body was as close to the pavement as humanly possible. I can't even begin to explain. I don't think I can.
My friends and I started to panic. We were looking through the crowd to see if anyone was on the phone with an ambulance. We felt helpless. What really disturbed me was how far away the crowd was standing from her. Everyone was just standing there and gawking. No one was attempting to see if she was breathing or anything. I know that there's nothing you can really do for someone in that state, but culturally, it was an eye-opener. My friends and I debated on what to do. I knew she was gone but some wanted to attempt CPR. But we waited until the ambulance came and pointed them in the right direction.
Suicide is common here in Korea. Especially in younger people. There's so much pressure placed on them academically it's insane. Needless to say, the test results for the big high school exam were just released. It's safe to assume that may have been the reason. Unreal.