Abstracts Category : Other

Pastoral carefor the elderly faced with the option of suicide in South Korea : anarrative approach

by Yoeng Sik Mun

This study is an attempt to analyse and understandelderly suicide within the context of pastoral counselling in thecurrent Korean society. This research on elderly suicide iscarried out from the perspective of postfoundationalist practicaltheology, using a narrative method as a methodological approach.For this purpose, Korean novels that deal with elderly suicidewere analysed and in-depth interviews with four co-researchers whohave attempted suicide or have any family members who committedsuicide were conducted. This research was conducted on a socialconstructionist basis. The power of modern discourses wereanalyzed using the narratives of the four co-researchersexperiences. The aim of this analysis is to figure out the ways inwhich the dominant discourse of South Korean society constructsthe lives of the co-researchers. The harmful influences of thesediscourses have been deconstructed through the interviews. Inorder to better understand the narratives of the co-researchers,an interdisciplinary team approach to this research was employed.As informed by the various interpretations and new understandingsthat all four team members provided, I am impressed by the powerof the narrative approach. This study demonstrates that elderlysuicide is not a trivial problem but a very serious problem inSouth Korea. The contribution of this study is to show thatelderly people are able to re-author their own lives, as opposed tothe social common belief that they are obstinate and unchangeable.I would never have reached this conclusion without listening tothe narratives of the co-researchers.Advisors/Committee Members: Muller, Julian C. (advisor).