서늘한 여름밤 (Lee Seo-hyun) is a South Korean writer and psychological counseling planner. She received her Master's Degree from the Department of Psychology at Korea University in 2015, and then became a counselor at a large hospital. She soon began drawing and recording her thoughts before then uploading them on the internet. This led to her also starting a popular podcast and authoring 3 different books. In 2017, she established the psychological counseling center ‘Every Mind’. Today, her Instagram and YouTube content reaches countless thousands, providing solace, honesty, and the message for Korean people that, "It's okay".

We spoke with her about her recent appearance on Mark Manson's YouTube video declaring Korean people to be the most depressed in the world. We then spoke about trauma, anxiety, perfectionism, the self, fear of failure, micro aggressions, and much more.

Find her work online 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/seobam_breeze/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@UC7Z6ogmq-3N9KoNACH10Hlg

1-on-1 Coaching: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfEruSwPi33wmq9j35_oKaAhg3sfaPC0XoT2siRzQcpwD1ieQ/viewform

Discussion Outline 

0:00 Generations of War Trauma

2:05 Is Korea the Most Depressed Country in the World?

8:17 What Does Depression Look Like?

13:40 Who Is Most Susceptible to Depression?

16:10 Why Is Our New Generation More Open to Mental Health?

17:40 Psychotherapy and Trauma

22:25 Minorities and Depression

25:25 Drugs and Mental Health

31:45 Are We Becoming too Fragile?

33:25 서늘한 여름밤's Insta and Online Content

43:10 Ego and the Self

48:10 Perfectionism

52:00 The Steps to Self Compassion

55:30 Our Inner Child

1:00:35 The Public Gaze (남의 시선)

1:04:00 Social Media

1:10:40 Psychological Coaching

1:14:35 Breaking Taboos around Mental Health in SK

1:16:50 AI and Mental Health

1:18:45 Toxic Masculinity

1:24:10 Is it Hard to be a Psychologist?

1:27:33 강박 - Being Obsessive

1:29:53 Childhood

1:35:30 Closing Comments

Korea Deconstructed by David Tizzard

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