Crime in South Korea. Dangerous places in Korea or why it is better to avoid Russian areas. Attitudes of Koreans towards Russian-speaking migrant workers

This is the Russian district "Hanyang" in Ansan.

In fact, the topic is very long, if you paint it in detail. Therefore, I will tell you briefly, and if you have any questions, you can ask them in the comments to the article. At the end of the article, I will write my personal opinion from personal experience.

In my opinion, the areas that are not safe are:

• where there are a lot of American military - according to the Koreans, they behave vulgarly and sometimes even get into a fight. Koreans recommend not to walk at night in areas like Itaewon.
• where there are a lot of our migrant workers - constant fights, drunken screams and even murders.
• deserted places and places where people drink a lot can be very dangerous.

And now a little more...

Fights, robberies and even murders are quite rare in Korea, but alas, in places where there are large concentrations of migrant workers, the crime rate is very high.

"Russian areas" are referred to as unsafe areas. Russian areas are understood as places where people from the countries of the former USSR live - in fact, there are 1 out of 100 Russians here - figuratively speaking. Basically, Russian Koreans, Uzbeks, Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, etc. live here. There are cities in Korea where there are many Russian-speaking migrant workers. These cities include Ansan, Gwangju, Suwon, Ulsan and Busan. In Seoul, there is a Dongdaemun market, where there are also many Russian-speaking migrants.

Basically, migrant workers commit crimes because of domestic disagreements or when they drink too much alcohol. In Ansan, the most dangerous area is Ansan-yeok (Ansan subway station area). According to the stories of local residents, murders are often committed in that area.

Most often, the victims of fraud are those who trust "our" or "compatriots" - that is, Russian-speaking immigrants from the countries of the former USSR. Therefore, Russian tourists, having heard Russian speech, try to move away from this place as soon as possible.

Many Koreans do not like the American military, and most administrative crimes - such as drunken fights - are deliberately closed without bringing to trial. Drunk American soldiers attacked tourists and even tourist girls. Therefore, if you see the American military, it is better to step aside.

Attitudes of Koreans towards Russian-speaking migrant workers

Unlike tourists addicted to K-POP and Korean dramas, migrant workers do not really delve into Korean etiquette, which is why Koreans consider them vulgar. Let me give you two examples… I recently saw a Caucasian who speaks Korean quite well. He went to the checkout in the store, gave a credit card with both hands, the seller also accepted with both hands with a slight bow, knocked out a check and handed the card back with sincere good wishes and gratitude. The second case ... a Russian Korean comes up to the counter, throws a card on the counter, the seller knocks it out and also throws the card on the counter. As they say - what a hello, such an answer! =)))

My opinion + advice

If one of your “friends” comes up to you and obsessively offers his help, move away from him. If he does not lag behind, tell him that you will call the police and you can directly shout “Police!” or "Kyeongcharyn!" Koreans will come to your aid and the police will follow. Even if you did not see the cameras, this does not mean that they are not there - this person has long been on surveillance cameras. The scammers will be afraid and run away - and you do not need to prove anything, just this person will fall under the close attention of the police and that will be enough.

Be vigilant not only with "ours", but also with local Koreans - there are also enough scammers among them.

And don't be afraid! You are a tourist, and for Koreans, tourists are guests, and they will protect guests as members of their families! The police are your Oppas and Unnies, and protecting you is the duty of not only the police, but all Koreans! Remember that behind your shoulders is your mighty country! The states essentially trust the people of Korea for your safety. Feel free to ask Koreans for help!

Oh, and my opinion from personal experience ... I live in a Russian region, and I generally like it. There are drunken howls outside the window, maybe fights, but I have hankuk friends here and there are cameras everywhere. Our area is often patrolled by police cars and a police foot patrol (3-5 people each). I live near the University, so there are a lot of students in my area. But for some reason, when I invite someone from Seoul to visit, they refuse and say that I live in the most criminal city in Korea, because there are many of ours. Everyone has their own opinion - from personal experience or just prejudice. Whatever it was, I still plan to move to Yongin (the city where the largest amusement park Everland is located) and then I can compare Ansan with Yongin. In the meantime, it seems to me that Ansan is a good city.

South Korea is a land of stark contrasts. A selection of materials from Irina Malenko. May 21st, 2015

South Korea has seen an increase in the number of crimes committed by older people.

Figures released by police last Sunday show that the number of violent crimes committed by South Koreans aged 65 and over rose sharply - by almost 40% - between 2011 and 2013, according to the Korea Times. Although South Korea is known to be experiencing a declining birth rate and an aging population, the overall senior crime rate is growing at an even faster rate compared to the increase in the proportion of older people in the South Korean population (an increase of 9.6% over the same period).

"The main reason why older people are increasingly committing crimes is that no one cares for them," says criminal psychology professor Lee Soo-jung. Poverty and depression are major concerns for older South Koreans. The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) estimates that 49% of older South Koreans live in poverty.

Now in Seoul, the capital of South Korea, the number of pensioners has surpassed the number of children for the first time, and the figures show that more than 250,000 old people live alone.

150,000 people took part in the May Day demonstrations in South Korea, protesting against the anti-worker plans of the South Korean authorities.
Irina Malenko
On May 1, the 125th International Workers' Day, the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KTU) and the Federation of Korean Trade Unions (FTU) organized the largest celebration of the day in South Korean history, which brought together about 150,000 people who took to the streets to express their dissent with the government planning to "rebuild" the labor market.
At 3 pm, about 50,000 members of the CCP gathered for a demonstration at the Seoul Plaza, where about 22,000 police officers were waiting for them. Members of the CCP called on the authorities to stop their unilaterally planned restructuring of the labor market, which requires new, additional sacrifices from workers, while at the same time demanding nothing from the "business world", and called for an increase in the minimum wage, which currently stands at 5,580 won (US$5.17), up to 10,000 won (US$9.26).
"We must move forward more resolutely to secure basic labor rights for all workers, to prevent a change for the worse in the pension system for civil servants, to reject the false 'normalization' of public corporations, to get to the bottom of the Sewol ferry tragedy," repeal the ordinance on the useless organs created by the special "Sewol" Law and put an end to the political corruption that came to light during the Sang Wang Jeong scandal," said CCP President Han Sang Gyun.

A nationwide labor rally was organized by the PCF under the slogans of preventing a turn for the worse in the labor market and defending workers' livelihood rights. He gathered about 100,000 union members (as well as an estimated 40,000 police officers) at Yeouido Park in Seoul at 2 pm.

"Union activists are relentless in calling for a correction of the two-tier structure of the labor market in order to reverse the growing polarization of society, but the government is responding by trying to push through so-called reform that will only exacerbate this polarization," according to Kim Dong-man, president of the FKP, who announced, that the workers plan to go on a general strike if the government continues to push through its "reorganization" plans.

The police responded to the march of the workers to the presidential palace by immediately blocking the road, setting up a barricade of cars and throwing tear gas at the demonstrators. Against the march, policemen from 190 units were mobilized, with a total force of about 15,000 people. Fighting broke out when some of the union members tied ropes to the barricades in an attempt to get them out of their way. As of 8 pm on May 1, 12 people had been arrested.

Hundreds of family members of the Sewol ferry victims also joined the gatherings and demonstrations.

There are more and more homeless foreigners in South Korea (abridged translation)
Irina Malenko
...It was on the evening of April 22 near Exit 2 of the Seoul Station. A homeless man who was sitting in a flower bed near the exit looked to see if there was much left in a bottle of Korean rice beer left on the sidewalk by other homeless people. A few hours later, passers-by found his body. A Kazakh passport and a mobile phone were found in his pocket, which showed only that he received calls from abroad.
It was established that his last name was Yem, he was 53 years old, he was a third-generation Korean from Kazakhstan. With the help of the Kazakh consulate, the police were able to track down his relatives, and two weeks later his daughter arrived in Seoul to take her father's ashes with her.

How did the former Soviet Korean Yem become homeless and die on the street in the so-called. "prosperous" South Korean state?

His daughter said that her father was a history teacher in Kazakhstan and knew little of the Korean language. In 2010, he received a visa to South Korea for 5 years. His last residence was listed as a motel in the Sendong district of Seoul. After working for a medical device company for a while, Yem temporarily returned to Kazakhstan two years ago when he was involved in a car accident. Despite the fact that he could not fully restore his health after that, Yem was forced to return to work in South Korea, but could not find a job. On April 10, the police found Em sleeping on the street. 5 days before his death, a social worker asked him if he had food. Yem replied that he couldn't swallow anything solid and so had to survive on rice beer...

A Chinese citizen of Korean descent named Lim, 29, came to South Korea in early 2014 and worked in restaurants and factories in Incheon. When he couldn't find more work and ran out of money, he started living near Yongsan Station in Seoul. In September 2014, Lim "moved" to Seoul Main Station and remains homeless to this day.

A Sri Lankan man who was found near a train station in Busan early last year entered South Korea on a work visa and became homeless less than a year later after losing his job.

"The vast majority of migrant workers live in the hostels of the company that hired them. When they lose their jobs, they are forced to stay overnight and often end up homeless," said Lee Jae-sang, director of the Seoul Migrant Workers Center. Thus, migrants have nowhere to live while they are looking for a new job.

Among the Seoul homeless are Indians and Americans, abandoned by their Korean wives or girlfriends. Half of the foreign homeless are Chinese Koreans, three are of European descent. The Seoul authorities are "allowing homeless people who are able to speak Korean and who look like Koreans to use temporary shelters for South Korean homeless people."

Most of the homeless foreigners ended up on the street because they no longer have jobs and nowhere to go. About 90% became homeless due to physical injuries sustained at work, but it is almost impossible for them to obtain compensation from South Korean companies that exploited their labor.

How much do you know about South Korea? Probably some snippets of news. South Korea has recently been on the buzz - the president of the country was imprisoned for corruption, the aggressive northern neighbor - the DPRK is nearby, and the economy and production of robots are very developed in South Korea. That, perhaps, is all that the average citizen has to say about this unique country. Meanwhile, the Republic of Korea, as it is correct to call this state (South Korea is an informal name used in the media), is actually much more interesting and multifaceted. Today we will tell you about some interesting facts about this country.

1. South Korea is a very calm and safe place.

If you ever visit the Republic of Korea as a tourist, then you can not worry at all about your integrity and safety, as well as the integrity and safety of your personal belongings. South Korea has one of the lowest crime rates in the world, all the streets are very well lit and there are cameras everywhere, so even at night you are most likely not in danger.

Koreans treat foreigners with special reverence, so a potential South Korean gopnik is more likely to rob his fellow Korean than a European. Robbery, robbery or murder here are unprecedented things, and even if they happen, believe me, the culprit will be found and punished very quickly.

2. People in South Korea are very spontaneous.

When communicating with representatives of the South Korean nation, you may at first consider them tactless. Still, because they will probably ask you a couple of personal or even very personal questions. For example, why did you come to their country? Or how old are you? And what's your job? What is your salary, is it enough? Do you have a significant other or children? If not, then why, you are already old! At first, such faux pas can be confusing for a civilized European, but don't be offended by the South Koreans!

In fact, they are just very direct and in their culture such questions are the norm. Don't believe? Then ask your interlocutor how many children he has and why he chose as his wife exactly the person with whom he is together, and not another. We assure you, he will gladly tell you everything! Oh yeah, and don't forget to shake hands properly. If you want to show respect, do it with both hands, not just one.

3. Koreans are very shy when it comes to communicating with the opposite sex.

The morals of South Korea, despite the development of this country, are Asian strict. Recall that boys and girls here live and study separately up to adulthood. Based on this, the average South Korean begins to communicate with girls for the first time at the age of twenty. The period of "walking by the hand" and "an affair in kisses" can last up to several years!

Yes, for us this is definitely strange, given the fact that on television or in a fashion magazine it may well be discussed whether it is normal to sleep on the first date. We assure you that this is not normal in South Korea, so if you suddenly really like some South Korean young girl, we assure you, it’s better not to try. You run the risk of greatly disrupting the Korean tradition of relationships between the sexes.

4. South Koreans love plastic surgery.

This state has its own standards of beauty, both female and, albeit smaller, male. That is why - think about this figure! – every fifth Korean woman has plastic surgery on her face and/or breasts! It's all about such concepts of beauty, which are rarely found in nature. That is why South Koreans tend to change and modify their appearance. By the way, there is even a certain tradition - to give a school graduate a certificate for plastic surgery. However, it's interesting, isn't it?

5. Dentistry? If you are not a millionaire, then forget it!

It's amazing, but it's a fact: for unknown reasons, the cost of a dentist in South Korea is not just a lot, but VERY much. That is why almost every ordinary resident of the country cannot afford to visit the dentist regularly (even with their high salaries). Therefore, it is customary here to take very good care of your teeth: brush them after every meal, constantly rinse your mouth, and so on. And in many cafes and restaurants they give free disposable brushes.

6. Girls from South Korea can't see themselves without makeup.

It's a well-known fact: South Korean ladies are some of the most made-up women in the world. It's all about the beauty standards of this society again: it is believed that it is necessary to take care of yourself very carefully in order to be attractive. That is why Korean women really take a long time to go to the movies or go on a date. Believe me, your girlfriend, who puts on makeup for half an hour just to go to the store, didn’t stand next to her! 🙂

7. South Korean fashion is very special.

Believe it or not, one of the main fashion forges is not Milan or Paris, but South Korea. For example, it was here that girls started wearing miniskirts a few years before they spread around the world. No wonder they say about this state that it is already one foot in the future!

8. Education in South Korea is one of the best in the world

Education is one of the most important social institutions in this country, along with the institution of the family. Parents spend their last money to give their offspring a good education, they hire private tutors and give them to any courses in the hope that the child will receive as much knowledge as possible, and the profession of a teacher or teacher is considered very prestigious.

Children know from childhood that they must go to a good university, get a better education and find a well-paid job. Because of this, there is a very high scientific competition for admission to universities. Also, the children of South Korean officials are prohibited from teaching children abroad. Perhaps that is why education is so advanced? 🙂

9. Slope away from the army? Just not in South Korea!

South Korea has been living in a “hot peace” with North Korea for seventy years. There is a constant threat of hostilities and the invasion of the northern neighbor, so that all males without exception are required to serve in the army for a little less than two years until the age of twenty-eight. And, in contrast to our latitudes, “everything” really means everything, except perhaps the most sick and unfit. Not serving in the armed forces in South Korean society is considered a great shame.

The girl, having learned that you were not in the army, most likely will not even want to talk to you, considering you not quite a full-fledged man. This is very strange and highly debatable (after all, a real man is distinguished by his qualities and actions, and not by the ability to shoot or march in formation), but the fact remains: in South Korea, there is indeed universal military service and the great authority of the army in society. This, by the way, the country is very similar to Israel.

10. South Korea is one of the most advanced and developed countries in the world

Probably everyone knows about it. The development of science and technology in South Korea has so much surpassed ours and even Western in many respects, which is hard to imagine. It is not for nothing that many people call the Republic the state of the future. We will not rant for a long time, we will only say that in pairs at the University of Seoul, students create robots and learn the basics of cloning. Not bad, isn't it? 🙂 Well, you shouldn't even talk about the fact that there is high-speed free Internet everywhere, and even the homeless use gadgets.

11. South Koreans are terrible alcoholics!

Not in a bad way that they are all drunken outcasts, of course not. It's just that South Korea traditionally leads the list of the most "drinking" countries in the world. Residents of the country love to drink in their free time! Almost everyone drinks, and the refusal of an evening in a cheerful noisy company in some bar without a good reason is considered, to put it mildly, tactless behavior. Have you already found a contradiction?

How is it that almost everyone drinks and even gets drunk quite regularly, but at the same time the crime rate is one of the lowest in the world?! And very simple! Koreans have a very strict drinking culture. The rules of etiquette during an alcoholic feast are hammered into the head of even children! And it pays off: often drunk Koreans are very nice, cheerful and good-natured people. They love to sing and dance, but never fight or misbehave. We would like to learn!

12. South Korea has a lot of superstitions.

This is incredibly strange, because in a seemingly educated and advanced country, society can be so traditional and superstitious? But like this. This is what is called developed Asia, gentlemen! Their culture is conservative, but at the same time they are very far gone in matters of technology.

Yes, this is also possible, conservatism is not necessarily stagnant! So do not be surprised at the strange behavior of the Koreans if you suddenly find yourself there: have respect for the traditions of this people, including superstition. 🙂

As you can see, South Korea is a unique state with unique people! Now you know much more about it. Tell your friends, they will be interested too!

As many of our readers are well aware, Seoul is perhaps one of the safest metropolitan areas in the world. Walking in Seoul at night, unlike, say, walking through many areas of New York at night, is not a deadly adventure, and the chances of becoming a victim of a crime here are very small (alas, this does not apply to the chances of getting into a car accident, which in Seoul is much larger than most major cities in the world).

However, in recent months, Korean police reports have become much more alarming than before. The reason for this is quite obvious - the severe financial and economic crisis that suddenly hit the country at the end of last year. This is not to say that there were no economic problems in Korea before, but the previous periods of crisis were very short, and none of them can be compared in severity with the current depression.

The crisis means curtailment of production, and, consequently, unemployment, as well as a significant decline in the real incomes of the majority of the population. According to the Kukmin Ilbo newspaper, the current standard of living in Korea is about the same as it was in 1988, that is, in other words, the crisis has thrown the country back almost a decade. Unemployment has reached an unprecedented level - 7%, and continues to grow.

It is clear that the crisis and unemployment mean a noticeable increase in crime in Korea. People, often left without means of subsistence, are ready to do anything to get money for themselves and their families. Therefore, no one is surprised that recent months in Korea have been marked by an increase in crime. Although the absolute number of crimes is still relatively low (at least when compared to most industrialized countries in Korea), the rate of increase in crime is simply a record.

According to the data for the first quarter of this year, which, in particular, were published in the Kukmin Ilbo newspaper, the number of people detained by the police on charges of criminal offenses increased by 76.8% compared to the first quarter of last year. At the same time, the number of persons arrested on charges of robbery increased by 51%, and on charges of theft - by 24% (another newspaper, Gyeonghyang Sinmun, cites somewhat different statistics, and claims that the increase in the number of arrests for charges of robbery amounted to "only" 38.3%). At the same time, it should be mentioned that the number of arrests for murder charges has decreased, and, moreover, quite significantly, by 7.7%. The number of rapes also remained practically stable. Thus, it is obvious that the current wave of crimes is of an "economic" nature and is directly related to the decline in living standards. Kukmin Ilbo quoted a spokesman for the Police Department as saying that among those arrested, there is an unusually high proportion of people who have not been prosecuted before, and that many of them are unemployed.

The Seoul Sinmun newspaper reports that a special seminar was held in the Korean capital in early July on "Crime Control Methods in the IMF Era." . The focus of the seminar was the question of how crime and unemployment are related. The newspaper emphasizes that this connection is not necessarily unambiguous, and that in some countries the increase in unemployment does not automatically mean an increase in crime. However, according to experts, in Korea, where there is practically no social security system, and where a person who has lost his job cannot count on generous state benefits, an increase in unemployment cannot but lead to a worsening of the crime situation.

Recently, what is called "white-collar crime" in the West, that is, official crime, all kinds of fraud and, of course, tax evasion, has also been growing. Koreans, like Russians, do not like to pay taxes and do not consider tax evasion to be a big sin (the difference, however, is that tax rates in Korea are usually two to three times lower than in Russia). The newspaper "Hanguk Ilbo" in a lengthy article even called Korea "a country of unpaid taxes" (perhaps Russia could challenge this title). According to the newspaper, which cites a study by Korean economists, only 45% of the total amount theoretically due goes to the state budget, while the remaining 55% is hidden by taxpayers.

Foreigners, especially from Western countries, who in Korea are considered rich people, so to speak, "by definition", are now also becoming victims of crime more often. Official diplomatic missions have also been victims at least twice this year. According to the newspaper "Munhwa Ilbo", on May 20, the criminals broke the window, entered the premises of the Norwegian embassy, ​​and broke into the safe located there. The thieves were not lucky, as there was not much money in the safe, about 550,000 won ($400). But the Austrian consulate was less fortunate. On April 15, criminals stole money and jewelry from there for a very solid amount - 150 million won (110 thousand dollars). To be fair, the Korean government, which is extremely concerned about the country's international prestige, is doing everything possible to prevent crimes against foreigners. Knowing this, Korean criminals most often overcome the understandable temptation to inquire about the contents of the pockets of a stranger from the West who comes across them.

Under the new conditions, work has also increased for Korean mafiosi. It must be said that, until recently, the Korean government as a whole was successful in curbing the activities of the mafia. The task of completely eradicating organized crime (in our time is quite unrealistic) here, it seems, was never seriously set, however, the police kept local organized crime groups within the framework and did not allow them to interfere in legal business. Traditionally, organized crime in Korea dealt with illegal or semi-legal business, where the authorities turned a blind eye to its activities. Shops, shops, workshops, not to mention medium-sized companies, usually had nothing to do with bandits, while formally prohibited prostitution or gambling could not do without a bandit "roof". Often, mafiosi were also involved in order to "deal with" non-payment of debts, and in the latter case, respectable businessmen sometimes turned to their "services" (to get debts through the courts in Korea is, to put it mildly, not easy). Under the conditions of the crisis, it is understandable that the number of outstanding debts increased sharply, and the effectiveness of the judiciary decreased, and this, according to the weekly Sisa Journal, led to a real boom in the activities of the local mafia. According to the magazine, the increased income of criminal gangs is often used for all sorts of financial fraud (for example, to create fictitious firms in order to obtain bank loans). The actions of organized crime groups have taken on such a scale that they are now being regarded as a potential threat to the economic stability of the country.

Another gloomy record is connected with the growth of crime.

According to the Gyeonghyang Sinmun newspaper, the Ministry of Justice reported that the number of prisoners in Korean prisons at the beginning of June was 56,000 (in addition, about 70,000 more - a record figure - are under investigation). Korean prisons and, especially, pre-trial detention centers were overwhelmed with a sudden flood of arrests. The number of arrests, as already mentioned, has almost doubled recently. Of course, the prison system was unprepared for this turn of events, and it's hard to blame it for that, given that over the past quarter century, crime in Korea has been slowly but steadily declining! In general, Korean prisons are now 130% full, and there is an average of only 1.5 square meters per prisoner. m. of camera area.

The newspaper "Segyo Sinmun" also published several materials that are devoted to the suddenly complicated situation in Korean prisons. Its pages contain excerpts from a letter from a young prisoner who writes about what is happening in the prison where he himself is serving a sentence (by the way, for violating the National Security Law, that is, on charges of aiding North Korea). According to him, in a cell designed for 10-15 prisoners, now there are up to 50 people. Many of them ended up in jail because they couldn't pay the fine (following the American model, Korean courts often offer the criminal a choice between paying a hefty fine or going to jail). The heat and crowding exhaust people. The author of the letter published in the newspaper notes that the situation in the prison became really difficult only in recent months, when the number of prisoners began to increase rapidly.

There are serious problems, but there is no need to panic about the "rampant crime" in Korea, since there is no particular "rampant" there. It should not be forgotten that, no matter how high the growth rate of crime in recent months, the "starting level" from which this growth began was very low. That same 56,000 inmates may seem like an impressive number at first, but it looks much less impressive when you consider that there are about 20 times more prisoners in the US than there are now in Korea (while the US population as a whole is only larger in 5-odd times). An increase in the number of robberies by a third or even one and a half times is not very good news, but the number of robberies per 100,000 people in Korea has always been several times less than even in such prosperous countries as Germany or Great Britain (not to mention about the United States, where for every 100.00 inhabitants in 1994 there were no less than 30 times more robberies than in Korea). The activation of organized crime is indisputable, but even here it is necessary to make some amendments. When a couple of months ago one of the average businessmen, who, as a result of the current economic crisis, found himself unable to pay his debts, was beaten by bandits sent by a competitor and ended up in the hospital with a serious head injury, many newspapers and magazines wrote about it. This incident was perceived in Korea as something out of the ordinary, as an unusual and serious crime. There is probably no need to explain to readers of the Moscow criminal chronicle that such an incident would hardly arouse general interest in Russia, where similar issues have long been settled not with fists and brass knuckles, but with machine guns.

So, in general, Korea remains a safe country, but here, too, crime, alas, is becoming more and more tangible.

You can often hear from bloggers and tourists that Korea is one of the safest countries in the world. In 2018, South Korea ranked 49th place out of 163 in the Grobal Peace Index ranking of the safest countries on the planet, losing higher positions to Japan, Canada, and Europe. When compiling the rating, data on the level of crime within the country, international politics, military spending, the presence of refugees, the number of prisoners, etc. are taken into account.

The level of socio-economic status, the features of the political system have a great influence on the level of crime. So, after the war of the 50s in Korea, the level of general crime increased significantly, organized gangs appeared ( 깡패 ), which received funding from Japan, the United States, Hong Kong thanks to the open door policy pursued by the government. The first Korean groups did not have special weapons equipment, and their activities were directed against the remaining Japanese occupiers. Already in the 80s, organized crime flourished, and in the 90s the Korean government declared war on it. In the early 2000s, it was possible to eliminate most of the gangs, but some (for example, the gangs of the Seven Stars or 칠성파, Two Dragons or 쌍용파) are still functioning, receiving support from officials and politicians.

The period of the late 80s - early 2000s can be generally characterized as dangerous. Suffice it to recall a serial killer from Hwaseong who committed 10 murders of women aged 14 to 71. This story became resonant and formed the basis of some famous films. The maniac himself was not caught. The mass murders of police officer Woo Beom Gun, maniac Kang Ho Sun and cannibal Yoo Young Chul - their crimes are proof that South Korea has also faced the horrific consequences of a crime situation for several decades. And today's security in the country is the result of the long and hard work of Korean society in general and the police in particular.

"Traditional crimes" such as murder, armed assault, and theft are rare in Korea. There are 2.5 homicides per 100,000 inhabitants per year, and murders with firearms 0.04 per 100,000 people per year. You can also be sure that a lost phone or a large amount of money will be returned to the owners. However, with the progress of the offense become more sophisticated. Fraud, crimes of mentally ill people, sexual harassment, harassment, involvement in sects, violence, corruption, and accidents are becoming more common.

Among the species fraud popular is the so-called. voice fishing(보이스 피싱). Fraud, in which a person is contacted by phone, offered any services, discounts, asked to provide their data. Often they offer to follow unknown links, download an unknown application, as a result of which a sum of money is deducted or personal information becomes available. Koreans spend a lot of time on the Internet and social networks, and therefore cybercrime is very common.

According to a study by The Telegraph in 2017, almost 80% of Korean men mistreat their girls(out of 2,000 men interviewed, 1,593 pleaded guilty). 71% of men who admitted to ill-treatment of girls said that in this way they "tried to control" their activities, communication, lifestyle, clothing style. Of the 1,593 men, 38% admitted to having committed sexual harassment, 37% to psychological abuse, and 22% to physical abuse. At the same time, about 62% of the women interviewed said they had experienced sexual violence during their dates. Psychologists suggest that this behavior of men is due to the deeply rooted patriarchy in Korean society. The rate of such offenses has been steadily increasing since 2014. Between 2012 and 2016, 467 girls were victims of relationship violence.

mental disorders are also not uncommon in Korea. People who have not received proper treatment are a danger to society. So, in 2003, a fire broke out in the Daegu subway, which claimed the lives of 192 people. The arsonist is Kim Dae Han, a 56-year-old unemployed former taxi driver. He suffered a stroke and was partially paralyzed. His dissatisfaction with the treatment resulted in depression and a desire to commit suicide. Kim Dae Han was declared mentally unstable and sent for treatment. The Koreans themselves say that recently on the streets you can meet strangers, probably mentally ill, offering food or drink. It is undesirable to take anything from their hands, since the most unexpected items (for example, mixed glue or needles) may be in food or water. The same situation is with parcels.

In Korea, the so-called. "new religions". One of the most popular movements is Shinchonji. It means "New Paradise and Earth" and represents "apocalyptic Christianity". Mr. Li, its founder, considers himself the second coming of Christ. More than 200 thousand people are supporters of this movement throughout the country. Mr. Li's assistants try to establish friendly relations with recruits, cheer them up and help them deal with life's difficulties. However, as soon as communication is established, the recruit is forced to end relations with family and loved ones, leave home, donate money for the benefit of the church. All free time is devoted to reading the Bible. And it is one of the many shadow religious groups operating in South Korea. Also, one cannot help but recall Mr. Yoo Byung Eun, the organizer of the Salvation Sect, the owner of the management company of the Sewol ferry.

At the end of 2017 total number of prisoners was 55,198 people (in Russia - 587,111 people, in the USA - more than 2 million), of which almost 7% were women, 0.5% were minors. At the same time, much attention is paid to the growing level of recidivism. About 1/5 of convicts return to correctional institutions within three years after their release. This figure is especially high among criminals who commit offenses on sexual grounds. It is difficult for a former prisoner to find a job, and social ties are lost. Programs for the rehabilitation of such people are very scarce, but the pressure is significant.

And yet, the crime rate in Korea is significantly lower than many other countries. What cause general security?

1) Tight control by society in the truest sense of the word. Korean residential neighborhoods are permeated with social ties, neighbors know everything about each other, and it is very difficult to commit any offense.

2) Koreans respect the law and rules. Here one can also see the influence of Confucianism and the principle of obedience.

3) Koreans don't have time to break laws. They are either busy at work, or at the university, or are preparing to enter. Most of the crimes are committed in poor areas populated by foreign migrants.

However, whatever the reasons for Korean security, it must be remembered that much depends on the people themselves. By refusing dubious offers, observing simple self-defense measures, you can make your stay in your own country much safer.