The author considers the popularity of modern psychoanalytic ideas in Seoul, Korea, and argues that the modern psychoanalytic conceptualization of aggression turned inward, as in the narcissistic defense, resonates with Koreans on both a cultural/social and an individual level. Examples, including events and phenomena known as Hwa-byung, Han, Suicide, and Korean Air 801, are given to portray destructive self-attacks in contemporary Korea. Furthermore, the author shares his experience teaching and practicing psychoanalysis in Seoul to examine the use of the narcissistic defense as particular to Korean society and culture.