The present author had an opportunity of direct clinical participation in the epidemic outbreak of hysteria at Yaechun county, Kyungpook province, June, 1976. The total cases involved in the epidemic numbered 25 girl students (including six recurrent cases) at the age of thirteen to sixteen years. The duration of illness lasted only a few days with no lasting effects, and cardinal symptoms were regularly observed； headache, altered state of consciousness, hyperventilation, paralysis of extremities, convulsive attacks and abdominal pain and numbness As to the sociocultural background of the community, that of Yaechun area has been notified by one of the most conservation in its traditional cultural value system, which is recently superimposed by industrialization process and therefore is rather conflictful in its value system. Another important precipitating factors seemed to be related with a long lasting drought which had been a potent stress to the most residents before the epidemic. In addition there was a climate of unrest in the school due to a construction of new buildings and imminence of term examination at that time. The most marked characteristics of the courses of the epidemic were extreme suggestibility among girl students and strong need for attention-getting. And psychodynamics among patients group could be easily analyzed as positive and negative identification including competitiveness. Lastly, the author was much impressed by the attitudes of the school teachers in managing the patients of the epidemic before and after the outbreak which were considerably misleading due to their own anxiety and misunderstanding of psychiatric illness.
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