"Hwabyeong", a Korean Cultural Syndrome

Hwabyeong is known as a Korean cultural-bound syndrome which situated at the intersection between depression and anger syndrome. Translated “anger illness” or “fire illness”, hwabyeong mental illness resulted from repressed feelings, has specific somatization in middle-aged women: lump throat chest, feeling of suffocation, palpitations, heat sensation, burning stomach, insomnia etc. While this often stressed clinical study case, can also be found literature, proving power it holds within society. Two such cases contemporary literature are The Vegetarian, by Han Kang, Kim Jiyeong, born 1982, Cho Nam-joo. Despite fact that no one mentions hwabyeong, main characters show clear symptoms disorder. They match pattern those who suffer disease. At first glance, someone might say they gone mad, but looking more closely their background, behavior, different many other women. Yeong-hye Jiyeong two women South Korea experience body rebellion because society’s failure to let them express individuals with personal needs, ambitions feelings.