Victims of crime, socially stigmatised in South Korea, find their voices on YouTube

SEOUL – YouTuber Ondoni Ssem was previously just another popular fitness instructor on the video sharing platform. But her online identity changed overnight when she uploaded a video in late February.

In the video, she revealed herself to be the sole survivor of an infamous familicide that happened in Seoul’s satellite city of Yongin in 2017, in which her stepbrother killed her father, stepmother and younger brother.

With her confession, the YouTuber with more than 200,000 subscribers joined a growing group of individuals who are finding their voices on the platform, despite the social stigma surrounding them.

“The real reason I became a YouTuber in 2019 was to shed light on the familicide,” the YouTuber, whose real surname is Jeon, told The Korea Herald on Wednesday. Her initial thought was that if she were to become famous on YouTube, she would be able to use the platform to help bring justice to her father, who was brutally murdered.

The killer, convicted of three counts of murder, is now serving a life sentence in prison.

“I uploaded the recent confession video in the hope that it would heal my depression,” Ms Jeon said. Since the tragedy, she has been battling depression. But YouTube has gradually become an outlet for her to communicate with the world, she added.

In late 2022, another YouTuber who goes by the username “Today’s dduk ddark” shared her battle with depression and bipolar disorder. She even uploaded a vlog from a closed ward at a psychiatric hospital to which she had herself admitted.

Refuting longstanding stereotypes in South Korea that closed wards are places with dark corridors and where the patients must wear straitjackets, she described it as a “warm and friendly environment where everyone dined together and played board games and ping-pong”.

Another YouTuber, known as PTSD Eunny, who started her channel in early 2022, has shared her experience as a rape victim. As reflected in the name of her channel, she suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder, she said.

Confessions of the stigmatised

Crime victims and those with mental illnesses have at least one thing in common in South Korea: They suffer from societal stigmatisation.

A 2021 survey by the Ministry of Health and Welfare involving 5,511 South Koreans aged 19 and above showed that 27.8 per cent of the respondents, or one in four individuals, either suffer or have suffered from a psychiatric disorder. But only 12.1 per cent of the individuals said they received treatment, because of fears of being stigmatised.

This situation is often tied to the nation’s high suicide rate. For South Koreans under the age of 40, the most common cause of death is suicide, Statistics Korea data released in 2022 showed.

On average, 37 people took their own lives each day in South Korea in 2021. This is the largest number among the member states of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, data showed.

Social stigma often compels victims of crimes, especially those involving familicides or sex crimes, to go into hiding or relocate to a new neighbourhood. This is why Korean TV usually alters their voices and covers their faces when they appear on screen.

However, Seoul National University psychology professor Kwak Geum-joo sees signs of progress, with victims now having an avenue to come forward on YouTube.

“It’s a positive indication that attitudes towards crime victims and mental illness are gradually changing in Korea,” she said in a phone interview.

“It’s also the mentality that some people feel it is a lot easier to discuss their feelings with strangers than with family members or friends.”

Ms Jeon said that the positive feedback she has received so far from her followers and viewers made her want to share her story on YouTube. “The communication and positive messages you experience on YouTube give you the courage to open up,” she said

But at the same time, one must be wary of the side effects of such confessions, said Prof Kwak.

“With their identities revealed, they could be more vulnerable to online hate and people could approach them by taking advantage of the vulnerabilities they shared publicly,” she noted.

“It’s not a one-to-one therapy session with a doctor. It’s something that’s new and completely different – and those who are sharing their stories must be aware of that.” THE KOREA HERALD/ASIA NEWS NETWORK