By Kim Hyo-jin
Some rehab centers say that among college-age patients, those from the three leading universities ― Seoul National, Korea and Yonsei, often referred to collectively by their initials SKY ― have disproportionately high addiction rates for gaming.
This suggests SKY students rely on gaming to overcome the stress of studying, and have a greater tendency to seek doctors’ help.
“Fifty percent of those who consult with me are university students, and over 80 percent of those students are from SKY universities,” said Park Mi-kyung, a consultant at the Internet Game Addiction Prevention and Treatment Association.
“My clients say they didn’t know how to deal with the problems they faced in reality,” Park said.
One such case was a 24-year-old Seoul National University student, surnamed Choi.
Choi stopped going to school, and spent an entire year moving from one PC bang to another.
“Although I realized I had a serious control issue, I couldn’t stop,” Choi told the Korea Times.
Choi was lucky ― he woke up to the virtual reality he had been living, and sought treatment.
But for others, including a student surnamed Kim ― a graduate from a top university in his late 20s ― treatment was not easy to come by.
Lee Tae-kyung, a psychiatrist at Seoul National Hospital, recalled a highly resistant addict surnamed Kim, who displayed characteristics of a junkie, going from a game-playing high to anxiety attacks from withdrawal.
“He stormed out and refused to get treatment. He didn’t seem to be able to face reality,” the doctor said.
His parents later dragged him to the hospital, but to no avail.
Another anecdotal datum from clinical psychiatrists who have treated game addicts suggests SKY university students are particularly prone to online escapism.
One case was Kim, who stopped going to school for six terms in a row.
He managed to graduate, but afterwards wasted three to four years doing nothing but playing online games.
“The addiction started when he was much younger than with other, similar cases,” a psychiatrist said.
“When their child is addicted to gaming, parents think ‘being locked up’ is the best way to solve the problem,” the doctor said. “However, unless their environment changes, things will repeat once they come back from isolation.”