I think this is an underappreciated point. It's not that this style of parenting is inherently flawed (aside from the emotional abuse), the biggest factor is that she can see that she's not like her friends and the comparatively easy life that her friends have leads to resentment. I'm sure she would be much better off if she were immersed in the Chinese culture where this style of parenting is typical.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suicide_in_South_Korea#Causes
Indeed, social pressure seems to amplify the pain, rather than minimize it through normalization.
"The obsession with academic success has even given rise to a new expression among young people: "umchinah," or my mother's friend's son – the elusive competitor who excels at everything."
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/04/15/student-suicides-le...
You may be right, but in this incident she's is referring to specific Chinese cultural norms, not the high expectations in her upbringing.
Uhm... yeah, aside from that.