hankyoreh

By Jung Hwan-bong, staff writer　
Accounts of the fear and anxiety suffered by victims are surfacing in the wake of revelations of large-scale surveillance of civilians by state organizations.
Speaking in a recent media interview, television personality Kim Je-dong described his feelings after being monitored by saying he “always shakes a bit going up on stage” and “can’t get a good night’s sleep.”
Psychiatrists and psychologists agreed that surveillance victims would have difficulty functioning normally due to stress.
Seoul Neuropsychiatry Clinic director Seo Cheon-seok said, “It’s frightening enough to have a stalker following you around, but when it’s a powerful state organization doing it under assumed legality, it creates tremendous stress.”
Seo said long-term surveillance leads to depression and an increased likelihood of stress-related ailments, including gastritis, stomach ulcers, and high blood pressure.
“It’s horrifying to even imagine someone continuously peering into your life,” Seo said.
“And when it’s a state organization, they can use a lot of different methods like eavesdropping and personal information collection,” he added. “So the fear the victim feels is certain to be even greater.”
Institute for Medicine & Human Rights and Yonsei University College of Medicine adjunct professor Lee Hwa-young said a study last year of the health of people who lived under police surveillance while taking part in the democratization movement showed similarities to the state surveillance victims, who also lived under a watchful eye.
“Since continued monitoring and tracking produces such extreme stress, it could leave the victims suffering from insomnia and nightmares,” Lee explained.
Lee added that the biggest problem with surveillance and monitoring was the disruption of human relationships.
“Because of the concern that anyone you meet could also fall victim or actually be monitoring you, victims tends to avoid people and become isolated,” she explained.
Woo Jong-min, a professor of psychiatry at Inje University Paik Hospital in Seoul, said that while the symptoms differ according to the amount and type of surveillance, victims may experience reactions of stress and anger.
“It may give lead people to avoid saying critical things because of the sense of psychological confinement, self-censorship, and anguish,” Woo said.
Yonsei University psychology professor Hwang Sang-min said, “Civilians tend to believe that public authorities are there to protect them, and they may feel some anger and anxiety when confronted with the situation of becoming their surveillance target.”
　
Please direct questions or comments to [englishhani@hani.co.kr]