A retirement party was planned for a popular university professor in Seoul. Four hundred people were expected but just over 200 turned up. "People are just so depressed, they don't even want to go out," said the organiser.
That was last week. Every day since the economic crisis has worsened in South Korea and the national depression has deepened. The won has gone into freefall with no bottom in sight. Five merchant banks closed yesterday. Television news said last night supermarket prices would rise 610 per cent.
The psychological impact of failure here is devastating, observers say. "Korean people are having emotional problems dealing with it," said Mr Park Jae Ha, a senior official with the Korea Institute of Finance. "They work very hard for their kids and they invest their money. They believe they can do anything. Suddenly now they are faced with a national financial failure. They have never, never experienced this kind of situation. And people are very angry."
Mr Lee Seh Yong, an official of the Korean Federation of Press Unions, said: "The government was not honest with the people. They didn't know it was coming. That's why they are shocked. That's why we have psychological unrest in the country."
On all sides one hears similar sentiments as the world's 11th biggest economy comes to terms with the humiliation of accepting a $57 billion rescue package from the International Monetary Fund, and the tough conditions the IMF imposed.
For the proud Koreans, who with their love of song, drink and W.B. Yeats are sometimes called the Irish of Asia, it is a matter of deep shame. There is a bitter anecdote going round Seoul, said Mr Lee. "They say IMF stands for `I am F' as in F for examination failure."
Having suffered for so long as a colony of Japan, the Koreans were as proud of their prowess as the Irish are now to be called the Celtic tiger. The financial ignominy they are experiencing would be akin to the pound in Ireland falling to 45p against sterling.
Much resentment is directed against the United States, which many believe used its dominance in the IMF to force South Korea to swallow harsh medicine, so that foreign banks would have their loans repaid and US products could enter the South Korean market. A New York Times editorial which suggested the IMF was pushing South Korea too hard was reprinted in almost every Korean daily newspaper as vindication of their case.
The outlook for the new year is bleak. The number of unemployed is expected to rise from 2.4 to 7 per cent as insolvent companies go bankrupt. The prospect of civil unrest looms on the horizon. The Korean Congress of Trade Unions has declared it will organise a strike if there are large-scale layoffs.
This is the country where people had come to expect a job for life. Sacking an employee without cause is unlawful. "You have to knock the boss's teeth out to get fired," an observer said. The other side of the coin is that there are no unemployment benefits for the million who could become redundant as companies close.
"That's why it is very serious for a worker to lose a job," stated Mr Park, who said firms were trying instead to reduce wages.
On the streets of Seoul, a bustling modern city with giant TV screens flashing from tall buildings, riot police in black combat gear and carrying long sticks lounged menacingly outside closed merchant banks yesterday.
People readily vented their anger on the government, and particularly President Kim Young Sam, who has warned the nation of "bone-aching pain".
"Everyone is unanimous that he is to blame," said a trade union organiser. "When two or three people are talking in a restaurant they say: `He's such a moron!'."
The only good news for Koreans is that the president will be out of the "Blue House" on December 18th. On that date an election will be held for a new tenant of the presidential residency in Seoul where President Kim - also said to be very depressed - is keeping a low profile.
Mr Kim's one-time supporter Mr Lee Hoi Chang, the ruling party joint favourite in the election, distanced himself from his former leader with a newspaper advertisement on Tuesday demanding that he apologise for the mess. He used the word sajue, meaning to grovel. The president is expected to grovel today.
No one seems to have a clear idea what to do. Patriotic women demonstrated in the streets last week to urge Koreans to leave their spare dollars in the banks and stop travelling abroad. But the plunging value of the won means that few can now afford to go overseas in any event. Planes are flying out of Seoul half empty and leading travel agents have gone bankrupt. "We are selling only 10-20 per cent of what we did last year and most overseas package tours have been scrapped," said a travel worker.
While they are angry and cynical, South Koreans may have little choice but to fulfil the IMF conditions. Overburdened with debt far exceeding assets, many firms and finance houses have gone bankrupt since January. The crisis was brought to a head by the slide in other Asian economies.
The three main presidential candidates have all promised the IMF that they will adhere to the harsh conditions if elected. But in TV debates they hinted that they will try to renegotiate the terms.
"That's kind of garbage," you know, said a financial consultant. "They have no choice. Once elected they will follow the recommendations. There is no other way. And maybe that is what we needed."
In the middle of the economic turmoil, the big talking point in the election campaign was the height of the second son of Mr Lee Hoi-chang, candidate of the governing Grand National Party.
Mr Rhee In-je of the New Party by the People challenged Mr Lee to produce his son Lee Yeo-Soon to see whether he evaded military service by lying about their height. The young man flew into Seoul yesterday from Boston, where he is studying, was measured and found to have given his height accurately as 165 cm to the Defence Ministry. Mr Lee has called on Mr Rhee to withdraw from the race, in which the trade union favourite Mr Kim Jae Jung is said to be slightly ahead.