Genital retraction syndrome in a Korean woman : A case of Koro in Hungary

Koro is a culture-specific psychiatric disorder occurring primarily in Southeast Asian cultures. It is manifested by acute anxiety associated with the fear of genital retraction, accompanied by fear of death induced by the thought that complete disappearance of the genital organ will result in death. Koro has been described in non-Asian patients as well, leading to a debate concerning the culture-specific nature of the syndrome. Giving a psychopathological, nosological definition of this peculiar syndrome is also problematic. In this paper, we report a case of koro in a young, Korean female patient. We briefly present the etiological factors related to the development of the syndrome and the most significant psychopathological characteristics.