Young Koreans use ‘mental illness’ to turn dread into jokes

“I’m about to get hit with ‘jeongbyeong.’” For Kim, a 23-year-old college student, the phrase is almost always ready to roll off the tongue. The word is short for the Korean term “jeongsinbyeong,” which literally means “mental illness.” But Kim was not making a blunt confession about having a psychiatric disorder. “It is more of an expression for a sense of helplessness and anxiety — when the word ‘stressful’ does not quite capture the feeling,” Kim said. Jung, another 22-year-old college student who said he often uses “jeongbyeong,” described it as a word that conveys a tangled psychological state: anger, anxiety, dread, depression and powerlessness all mixed together. “About to get hit with jeongbyeong.” “Appearance jeongbyeong.” “Employment jeongbyeong.” Among young Koreans, the word mental illness has become a dominant shorthand for psychological strain and everyday stress. It began as an offensive slur and at times drew criticism for being used in ways that demeaned people actually struggling with mental illness, but young people today incre