It is said that there is a "happiness factory" in South Korea.
It is said to be a "happiness factory", but in fact, it is not happy here at all.
There are many small rooms about the size of a storage room in the factory, which are bare, there is nothing, you can't use your phone or laptop, you can only look at the walls in a daze.
The only way for people who live in the Happiness Factory to communicate with the outside world is through the food delivery port on the door, and there is not always anyone to talk to them.
(People in the Happiness Factory)
Simply put, it's a prison.
It's just that it's not prisoners who live here, but a group of poor parents.
Their children are completely detached from society, and they come here to experience first-hand what it's like to be a child – what it's like to be isolated.
(Exterior view of Happiness Factory)
These parents have a common name for children who have been detached from society, called "Hikikomori".
The term originated in Japan and refers to the phenomenon of adolescents and young adults who are severely detached from society.
According to Japanese clinicians, they can be called "slumbers" if they meet the following characteristics:
1. Spend most of the day at home,
2. Obvious and persistent avoidance of social situations and social relationships,
3. Symptoms of social withdrawal lead to severe functional impairment,
4. The duration is more than 6 months,
5. There is no obvious physical or psychiatric cause to explain social withdrawal.
In Japan in the 90s of the 20th century, the first wave of "stumbling people" appeared, and to this day, they are still relying on the pension of their elderly parents, which is the so-called gnawing of the elderly.
Blindly being demanded by their children will also lead the elderly to fall into poverty and depression, and finally end up with the end of their families.
(Schematic diagram of the "Sleepers")
In South Korea, the situation of "stumbling people" is also becoming more and more serious.
A survey of 15,000 19-34-year-olds conducted by South Korea's Ministry of Health and Welfare last year found that more than 5 percent of respondents were "self-isolating."
If this percentage were to be spread to the whole of Korea, it would mean that there are about 540,000 "slumbering people" living in Korea.
(Schematic diagram of the "Sleepers")
On the other hand, although everyone is "dormant", the reasons for the "dormancy" of young Koreans and Japanese young people are completely different.
In Japan, the "skuju people" are more like "want to be alone".
However, the "dormancy" of young Koreans has a bit of a sense of "lying flat".
A professor of psychology in South Korea said that in the "collectivist society" of South Korea, and indeed in Southeast Asia as a whole, people often do not approve of people who deviate from a standardized way of life.
Looking for a job at the age of 20, getting married at the age of 30, and having a child at the age of 35......
Everyone has an unseen goal at different stages of life, they have to desperately fulfill the requirements, and once life deviates from the norm, they feel that they are worthless, which leads to frustration and shame.
(Young people in Korea)
But the problem is, these tasks are really getting harder and harder to complete.
In the 80s, South Korea was in a period of rapid economic growth, when the country's economic growth rate hovered around 10%, but by last year, Bank of Korea data showed that South Korea's GDP grew by only 1.4%.
The increasing polarization of the job market, the decline in the quality of employment, and the fierce competition for stable employment are preventing young people from fulfilling the invisible goals imposed on them by society and destroying their spirits.
In this context, work has become a luxury, and no one is in the mood to think about love and marriage anymore......
That's why South Korea has one of the highest suicide rates in the world.
(Even if you stay with others, you can't communicate with the "slumbering people")
According to a survey conducted by the Ministry of Health and Welfare of the Republic of Korea on people aged 19-34, the most common reasons why young people become "slumbers" are:
Difficulty finding a job (24.1%)
Relationship problems (23.5%)
Family problems (12.4%)
Health problems (12.4%)
So in a sense, South Korea's "lying people" are actually "lying flat people......
(Tired young Korean man asleep at his desk)
In response to this increasingly common situation, South Korean NGOs have organized a 13-week program, known as the "Happiness Factory."
It is worth noting that the existence of the Happiness Factory is not to "save" these "dormants", but to teach parents how to better communicate with their children.
These parents are held in the Happiness Factory for three days to help them empathize and get to know their children better.
(Parents from the Happiness Factory)
Ms. Kim, 50, was one of the participants in the Happiness Factory, and her son has been isolating himself in his bedroom for three years. But it wasn't until she came to the Happiness Factory to experience it that she truly understood the "emotional prison" that trapped her son.
"I was in pain because I didn't know what I was doing wrong, but now I've finally found something."
Ms. Kim said that her son has always been very smart, and she and her husband have high hopes for him.
But my son was not in good health, because he was always taking time off, he had a hard time making friends and maintaining friendships, and eventually he developed an eating disorder, which worsened the situation.
Later, his son failed the college entrance examination, and he was not admitted to a top university, but only went to a relatively good school.
Later, his situation got worse and worse, and finally one day, his son dropped out of school.
He locked himself in his bedroom, didn't eat or shower, and her heart broke when she watched this scene.
It wasn't until Ms. Kim came to the Happiness Factory and read the notes written by other "sleepy" young people that she realized that her son was only protecting himself with silence because no one understood him.
(Schematic diagram of the "Sleepers")
Ms. Park also attended the Happiness Factory's hands-on course, where she came for her 26-year-old son, who had cut off all contact with the outside world seven years ago.
After running away from home several times, her son would never leave his room again.
Ms. Park took him to a psychiatrist, but her son refused to take the medication and simply became addicted to video games.
After experiencing the Happiness Factory, Ms. Park said that she still has difficulty communicating with her son, but she has begun to understand his feelings:
"I realized that it is important to accept the life of a child and not force him to live in a particular way."
(Parents are experiencing the course)
What parents don't know is that this approach not only helps them understand their children, but also saves them in disguise.
A professor at the Department of Sociology in Korea said that in Korea, "the success of a child is the success of a parent." Therefore, many parents will regard the children of the "dormant family" as their own parenting failure, and thus feel guilty.
Children are afraid of being judged by others and are afraid to talk about their situation with others.
In fact, parents do not dare to discuss their children's topics openly, and over time, parents will also be isolated in their own circles (such as family gatherings).
(Schematic diagram of the "Sleepers")
Of course, for these parents, what they want most is that their children can return to a "normal life".
When asked what she would say to her son if he ended quarantine, Ms. Kim's eyes welled up with tears.
Her voice trembled and she said, "You've been through so much, I know it's hard, but I'll protect you." ”