The Curtain Opens on the Golden Age of Alts

The rise of alts that started a few years ago in the broadcasting industry has fully taken root as a current trend. The term “alt” (alternate character) originated in gaming. It is as if the concept of creating “another me” within a virtual space has evolved and expanded into the real world.

Department of Psychiatry alum Dr. Han, Sung-hee views this phenomenon in a positive light. As a psychiatrist who has seen firsthand the psychological struggles people today face over the course of her career, she says, “the act of using alts as distinct virtual identities to express oneself freely can be a positive force in an otherwise difficult life.”

The Emergence of Alts

The source of the alts craze in Korea is TV star Yoo Jaesuk, who appeared in one program as Producer “Jimmy Yoo,” boss of the fried chicken restaurant “Dalkter Yoo,” trot singer “Yoo San Seul,” and more. He was everywhere, transforming himself into various characters. The public went wild at the diverse appearances a single person could craft for himself in this manner, signaling the beginning of the golden age of alts.

“That alts are such a trend is evidence that our lives have become that much more difficult,” says Dr. Han. “The excessive competition we face in real life and the pressure that it brings stirs up the temptation to avoid it, through the fantasy of putting on a mask and escaping. Much like using a video game setting as an emotional outlet, the wise use of alts, or different versions of the self, in real life can help relieve some of the pressure. However, to draw strength from alts, one’s ‘original’ character, or one’s identity in real life, must be sturdy and stable.”
Comparing alts to “a short vacation from a suffocating daily life,” Dr. Han added, “You need to have somewhere to come home to if you really want to enjoy a vacation. The use of alts is similar.”

“Today’s youth are the first generation who are able to create various identities that define them. While the previous generation saw sacrifice for the family as a given and neglected to take care of themselves, this generation is living in a changing world. I recommend taking on a role outside of work that can be enjoyed for the rest of one’s life and making it truly and uniquely ‘mine.’ With an alt like that, wouldn’t life feel more enriched?”

“To draw strength from alts, one’s ‘original’ character, or one’s identity in real life, must be sturdy and stable.”

Two Alts, “Cellist” and “Author”

Dr. Han herself has other sides to her life outside of work that she has enjoyed for a long time, which are much like alts of her own. If her original is a psychiatrist, her first alt is a cellist. She was unable to study music at university due to her father’s disapproval, and to ease her regrets she picked up the cello when she was over 40 years old. It has already been over 20 years since she started playing as a hobby, and now she occasionally performs for friends.

“When I play the cello, it’s as if the energy that I used up working is being recharged. Trivial thoughts vanish from my mind and it feels like a weight has been lifted from my heart. I also enjoy hearing the stories of people I’ve met while learning the instrument. I wouldn’t be able to find the same kind of joy from only focusing on work, and that’s why the cello is so dear to me.”

“A hobby that provides you with an alt isn’t something one necessarily has to be good at. It’s fine to enjoy it solely as a way of having fun, free from comparison and competition, or the greedy desire to be good at it,” she emphasized. This is her secret to continuing to learn the cello despite her busy schedule.

Another alt she happily immerses herself in is that of author. After the publication of A Psychiatrist’s Letter to Her Daughter in 2013, she published two more books, Now It’s Time to Hug Myself and To My Daughter who is Already 40. While A Psychiatrist’s Letter to Her Daughter deals with the anxiety of people in their 30s about the vague future, To My Daughter who is Already 40, published in January 2024, talks about the sense of crisis and frustration faced by people in their 40s. As a psychiatrist and mother, she delivers comfort and support to those in their 40s, including her daughter, who are experiencing difficult changes in their lives.

Studying Abroad in the U.S. at the age of 60, A Choice without Regrets

Dr. Han, who enrolled in the School of Medicine in 1974, was the first female psychiatrist to graduate from the Department of Psychiatry at Korea University. At a time when certain majors did not accept female students at all, she did not give up on her dream, and eventually achieved it. Even after becoming a psychiatrist, she worked hard on the basis of a sense of duty, believing that younger female students getting opportunities partly depended on her performance.
Dr. Han first took up a position at the National Center for Mental Health. As she gained more medical experience, she decided to open a private practice to see patients one-on-one. She was 50 years old at the time. Everyone discouraged her due to her middle age, but she ran this practice capably for ten years, and even published books during that time.

When she turned 60, she went to the U.S. to study. After completing several years of training at the National Institute for Psychotherapies in New York, Dr. Han obtained the notoriously difficult American psychoanalyst and international psychoanalyst licenses. “The path I took as a doctor is far from what people commonly think of as a formula for success, but I have no regrets. If I went back to the past, I think I would make the same choice. I just followed my own wishes.”

Although she is close to 70, our alum Han Sung-hee says she still wants to do many things, and she is curious about herself ten years from now. She says that as people get older, life should become more diverse, and that as long as people are alive, life should be fun, meaningful, and worthwhile. These are not dimensions that others can bring about for you but what you yourself must discover by taking on challenges one by one. For those who want to live a youthful and happy life, this is the model guideline for them.