The Koro syndrome (original Javanese term meaning "turtle head") or Suk Yeong syndrome is a psychiatric disorder , typical of China, India and Southeast Asia, characterized by the unfounded conviction that the penis itself is shortening and introducing itself progressively into the abdomen.
It is also known as genital retraction syndrome , and the patient's anguish leads him to believe that it will ultimately cause his death. It is accompanied by severe anxiety and panic attacks, and sometimes even paranoid schizophrenia. It usually affects young and middle-aged men. It is considered a syndrome related to culture.
Sometimes it also occurs in women, who fear that the lips of the vulva, the nipples or the breasts will retract towards the body. In 1967 there was an outbreak in Singapore, where thousands of men came to think that their penises had been stolen.
