Safety in Korea. South Korea is a country of stark contrasts. A selection of materials from Irina Malenko. Education in South Korea is one of the best in the world

There is one side to the life of North Korea that is not customary to talk about. Probably in vain, because it is in this area that Korea has significant achievements. We are talking about crime, or rather, the crime rate in the DPRK is very low. In countries East Asia, that is, China, Japan, South Korea and North Korea have one feature - there is almost no crime in them, and some types of crime simply do not exist. In terms of theft and embezzlement, everything is fine - they take bribes and steal, and probably even more than in European countries.

However, there is very little violent street crime in East Asian countries. That is, the streets of East Asia are safe. Japan and South Korea are among the most safe countries peace. In China, things are somewhat worse, but still very good. Many people can say that the Japanese and Koreans are good, they are rich. With their wealth, there is no need to steal or walk around with a knife at night. However, this argument is shattered by the North Korean experience.

Although North Korea is a poor country, its crime rate is low. Of course, it is impossible to speak with complete confidence about the crime of North Korea, since all forensic and police statistics in this country are top secret information and have not been published for seventy years.

The official point of view is that there can be no crime in such a wonderful country as the DPRK, in a country ruled by such outstanding people as the Great Leader Generalissimo Kim Il Sung, the Great Leader Kim Jong Il and Marshal Kim Jong Un. This, of course, is an exaggeration; crime still exists.

I had a lot of conversations with North Koreans, and I couldn’t help but notice: before there was no crime, and in the 1990s - when everything fell apart, when there was famine in the country, when the economy stopped functioning. People told creepy stories about what happened in Korea in the 90s, but there were no stories about murders. Yes, sometimes there were corpses lying on the street, that was the case. But for someone to kill someone for a bag of rice and corn - I still heard about this, but there were very few such cases. Since the late 90's North Korea The elements of the market began to rage, partly permitted, partly even encouraged - and at the same time unofficial, black. Rich people appeared in North Korea, large number semi-legal medium and small enterprises. All this was similar to the events in Central Asia, but only in a more exaggerated version. It would seem that in such a situation one could expect a wave of racketeering (just remember the “wild 90s” in Russia), but for some reason there was no racketeering in North Korea.

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As many of our readers know well, Seoul is perhaps one of the safest cities in the world. Walking through 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 crime are very low (alas, this does not apply to the chances of getting into a car accident, which are Seoul is much bigger than most major cities peace).

However, in recent months, Korean police reports have begun to sound 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. It cannot be said that there were absolutely no economic problems in Korea before, but the previous crisis periods were very short-lived, and none of them can be compared in severity to the current depression.

A crisis means a curtailment of production, and, consequently, unemployment, as well as a significant reduction in the real incomes of the majority of the population. According to the Kukmin Ilbo newspaper, the current standard of living in Korea is approximately 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 a previously unheard of level - 7%, and continues to rise.

It is clear that the crisis and unemployment mean a noticeable increase in crime in Korea. People, often left without a livelihood, are ready to do anything just to get money for themselves and their families. Therefore, it comes as no surprise that recent months in Korea have been marked by an increase in crime. Although the absolute number of crimes is still relatively small (at least when Korea is compared with most industrialized countries), the rate of crime growth is record-breaking.

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

The Seoul Sinmun newspaper reports that at the beginning of July a special seminar was held in the Korean capital on the topic “Methods of fighting crime in the era of the IMF” (the “era of the IMF” - the International Monetary Fund - in Korea is often called the current economic crisis) . The focus of the seminar was on how crime and unemployment are related. The newspaper emphasizes that this connection is not necessarily clear-cut, and that in some countries an 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 government benefits, an increase in unemployment cannot but lead to a worsening of the crime situation.

Lately, what in the West is called “white collar crime” has also been on the rise, that is, white-collar crime, all kinds of fraud and, of course, tax evasion. Koreans, like Russians, do not like to pay taxes and do not consider tax evasion a big sin (the difference, however, is that tax rates in Korea are usually two to three times lower than in Russia). The Hanguk Ilbo newspaper even called Korea “a country of unpaid taxes” in a lengthy article (perhaps Russia could challenge this title). According to this newspaper, which cites a study by Korean economists, only 45% of the theoretically due amount 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 more likely to become victims of crime. Official diplomatic missions have also been targeted at least twice this year. According to the Munhwa Ilbo newspaper, on May 20, criminals broke into a window, broke into the premises of the Norwegian embassy, ​​and broke into the safe there. The thieves were unlucky, as there was not much money in the safe, about 550 thousand won ($400). But the Austrian consulate was less fortunate. On April 15, criminals stole money and jewelry from there for a very significant amount - 150 million won (110 thousand dollars). In fairness, it should be noted that 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 into the contents of the pockets of a stranger from the West they encounter.

Under the new conditions, the Korean mafia has also had more work. It must be said that until recently, the Korean government was generally successful in containing the activities of the mafia. The task of completely eradicating organized crime (quite unrealistic in our time) seems to have never been seriously posed here, but the police kept local organized crime groups within limits and did not allow them to interfere with 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 did not have any dealings with bandits, while formally prohibited prostitution or gambling business could not do without a bandit “roof”. Often, mafiosi were also involved in order to “sort out” non-payment of debts, and in the latter case, respectable businessmen sometimes turned to their “services” (collecting debts through the court in Korea can be, to put it mildly, not easy). Under crisis conditions, it is clear that the number of unpaid debts has increased sharply, and the efficiency judiciary- decreased, and this, as the weekly Sisa Journal writes, led to a real boom in the activities of the local mafia. According to the magazine, the increased income of criminal groups is often used for various types of financial fraud (for example, creating fictitious companies in order to obtain bank loans). The actions of organized crime groups have become so widespread that they are now regarded as a potential threat to the economic stability of the country.

Another sad record is associated with the rise in 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 amounted to 56 thousand people (in addition, about 70 thousand more - a record figure - are under investigation). Korean prisons and, especially, pre-trial detention centers were overcrowded with a sudden surge of arrestees. The number of arrests, as already mentioned, has almost doubled recently. Of course, the prison system was not ready for such a turn of events, and it is difficult to blame it for this, if we remember that over the past quarter century, crime in Korea has been slowly but steadily declining! Overall, Korean prisons are now 130% full, with an average of only 1.5 square meters per prisoner. m. chamber area.

The Segye Sinmun newspaper also published several materials on 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 his 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, there are currently up to 50 people. Many of them ended up in prison because they could not pay a fine (following the American model, Korean courts often give the offender a choice between paying a large fine or imprisonment). The heat and cramped conditions exhaust people. The author of the letter published in the newspaper notes that the situation in the prison only became truly difficult in recent months, when the number of prisoners began to increase rapidly.

There are serious problems, but there is still no need to panic about the “rampant crime” in Korea, since there is no particular “rampant crime”. It should not be forgotten that, no matter how high the rate of crime growth in recent months, the “starting level” from which this growth began was very low. That same 56,000 prisoners may seem like an impressive number at first, but it looks much less impressive when you remember that the US has about 20 times more prisoners in prisons than Korea currently has (while the US population as a whole is only larger in a little over 5 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 was always several times less than even in such prosperous countries as Germany or Great Britain (not to mention about the USA, where for every 100.00 inhabitants in 1994 there were no less than 30 times more robberies than in Korea). The intensification of organized crime is undeniable, but here too 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, was unable to pay his debts, was beaten by bandits sent by his 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 have aroused general interest in Russia, where similar issues have long been resolved 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 noticeable.

South Korea is one of the safest countries in the world.

Crime low in Korea. Locals they can afford not to worry about abandoned things and unlocked cars, which, apparently, indicates unostentatious security. Some serious crimes, such as murders, become a reason for newspaper hype. In any case, you shouldn’t be completely careless, especially in crowded (a rare pickpocket) or deserted (a hooligan or robber) places. However, the likelihood of becoming a crime victim in Korea is perhaps the lowest possible.

Just in case, you should remember that in most tourist places in Seoul there are still special tourist police officers who are supposed to help foreign tourists in solving their problems. They can be identified by their black trousers, purple (blue) jacket and black beret.

In addition, there is a special telephone hotline for tourists (1330), where you can get the necessary information in a non-language (not in Russian yet, but they speak English). The Koreans have also written a safety guide for tourists, which can be obtained for free at. Unfortunately, it has not yet been translated into Russian, but there is also an English version. You can download the guide.

Diseases

However, one should not be completely careless. In 2015 in South Korea the so-called MERS virus(Middle East respiratory syndrome) or coronavirus(coronavirus). As the name implies, this virus is not local to Korea, but entered the country from the Middle East. Few cases were identified in Korea (several hundred people), but among them there is a fairly high mortality rate (about 10-20% of MERS cases, taking into account unconfirmed carriers of the MERS virus, but less than 1% who sought help).

Symptoms resemble those of the flu (temperature 38°C, general malaise, cough, difficulty breathing, sweating). The virus can cause pneumonia and subsequent failure of internal organs, which is dangerous. It is also worth noting that most of those killed by coronavirus are elderly people and in poor health.

Just in case, here is a list of preventive measures that should protect against the MERS virus:

1. Do not communicate with sick people or people with symptoms of coronavirus.
2. Constantly and thoroughly wash your hands, maintain good hygiene, brush your teeth
3. Avoid touching your eyes, nose, mouth (i.e. any mucous membranes) with dirty hands.
4. Cover when you cough or sneeze

As you can see, the same thing was written about the sensational bird and swine flu. There are similarities even in symptoms, mortality estimates and prevention methods. Taking into account the fact that, according to some information, the virus can be transmitted from sick camels, by analogy it can be called “camel virus”. However, this is my speculation. I would venture to guess that raised around MERS the hype will die down just like the panic that gripped the world over bird flu and swine flu.

Currently The coronavirus outbreak is officially considered extinguished. This was announced at the highest level on July 28, 2015. The last patient with the MERS virus was identified several weeks before this date. In total, 36 people have died from coronavirus in Korea.

Bad weather

South Korea is located on the coast Pacific Ocean, therefore, we cannot exclude torrential downpours, typhoons and floods, which can hit the country seasonally and regularly. Typically, if these natural disasters occur, they occur between August and September. The rest of the time, such events are practically excluded.

Everyone, without exception, should be careful on the road. Korean drivers love to drive fast. And this also applies to drivers. Unfortunately, road accidents are not uncommon in the country.

There are many in the world amazing countries with a unique national culture, traditions, mentality that has developed over centuries, historical and natural attractions, which are visited by tens of thousands of tourists every year. Undoubtedly, South Korea is one of these countries. Let's go to this Asian country to present to our reader some of the most interesting facts about South Korea.

Country name

The name of the country is written in two hieroglyphs, and they are literally translated as “Land of Morning Freshness.” By the way, these hieroglyphs have other meanings, but the Koreans chose this, and that’s how they got the romantic name, which has stuck with South Korea in the world.

Uniqueness

The South Korean language originated in ancient times and is considered one of the most original on the planet. Many national traditions trace their history back to ancient times and are highly revered in the modern world.

Security and crime

The world's leading sociological companies call South Korea one of the safest countries in the world. Street and violent crime is practically absent, which is a consequence of the high standard of living and mentality of Koreans.

More about crimes...

Crimes that occur in the country are reported within a week in newspapers and on television, so that the entire population of the country knows all the details and which criminal will be punished.

Education

Briefly speaking about education in the country, Koreans have developed a real cult of education, and students and schoolchildren study 11-13 hours a day. Young people believe that education is a kind of bridge leading to greater opportunities.

Special mindset

All experts note that South Korean students are distinguished by a special mindset, high intelligence and can show ingenuity. Let us also note that the literacy rate of the population is 99%.

Prestigious profession

One of the most prestigious and highly paid professions in Korea is medicine. Because of this, parents are willing to pay huge amounts of money for their boy or girl to study to become a doctor.

Plastic surgery

People from all over the world come to plastic surgery clinics in South Korea to change their appearance. But Korean women, upon graduating from university or college, give themselves a kind of gift, fixing their eyelids or changing the shape of their nose.

Artificial beauty

In the debate between Asian beauties, it is believed that Korean women are the most beautiful, ahead of Chinese and Japanese women. But don’t forget that for many Korean beauties, beauty is a consequence of surgical intervention, and meeting a Korean woman without makeup on the street is almost impossible.

By the way, Korean men are no less obsessed with cosmetics than women.

Everyone has a phone

All South Koreans have mobile phones, even among people without a fixed place of residence. And, most likely, these phones are domestically produced by Samsung. But cellular communications here are quite expensive.

Purity

The streets of cities and towns surprise with their incredible cleanliness, but what is noteworthy is that trash cans are a rather rare occurrence within urban settlements.

Army

Historically, South Korea must have a combat-ready army. The country has universal conscription, and every guy is required to undergo military service. An exception is made only for disabled people.

Due to the hard work of the Koreans and the high development of technology, the South Korean army is one of the best in the world today.

Koreans love to eat tasty and satisfying food, and therefore, when meeting with friends and acquaintances, they ask “How did you eat today?”, and not the usual European “How are you?”. We have already written about this in an article about the world.

About each dish national cuisine a Korean can talk for hours.

Alcohol

Alcoholic drinks, like food, also occupy a special place in the lives of South Koreans. According to statistics on alcohol consumption per capita, Koreans are ahead of Russians.

In a group, only the eldest can hold a glass of beer with one hand and pour the drink for the others. All younger participants in the feast hold glasses with both hands.

Any Korean man knows a lot of table entertainment and toasts. But they prefer to sit on the floor rather than on a sofa or chair, and their favorite alcoholic drink is soju.

Foreigners

Naturally, foreigners are immediately visible in the country, but Koreans divide them into two categories - teachers English language and exchange students. But Koreans always treat tourists with respect.

There are no stray dogs and cats on the streets. Shelters have been created for such animals, and Koreans are happy to take pets from shelters into their homes.

Attitude towards smoking

Smoking in this Asian country it is possible everywhere, and if this addiction is quite common among men, then there are very few women who smoke. There is practically no drug addiction problem in the country.

Family relationships

Young people in South Korea are trying to build their first love relationships on the example of South Korean melodramas. But in family life, unfaithful husbands are not uncommon in Korean society. Moreover, there is room to turn around, because according to statistics, 25% of Korean women are engaged in prostitution.

Conservative

South Korea is a conservative state, where many things are regulated by traditions and state laws. For example, until 1979, the country clearly regulated clothing for women and girls. Not only the length of the skirt was set, but also the hairstyle and hair length.

Parks

There are 20 national parks in a small area, among which theme parks are especially popular.

There is even a park-museum of toilets, which displays rare exhibits of toilets from various historical eras, and one of the parks is filled with sculptures of male genital organs.

Phobias

Despite his heavy alcohol consumption, he is recognized as enemy number one in the country. Koreans are terrified of the color red, which is why they rarely use it in clothing and home decoration.

Special holiday

The country celebrates Valentine's Day on a special scale and romantically. But, unlike other countries, in Korea it is dedicated to the stronger sex.

Politeness

The country traditionally treats elders well and with respect, and greets even strangers when meeting them.

Korea has even developed a special handshake ceremony, and Koreans, in order not to appear impolite, strictly follow this tradition.

Sharp jump

Until the 60s of the last century, Korea was among poorest countries world, but a sharp economic leap brought it to a leading position in the world. Today it is a leader in the production of electronics as well as cars.

Archeology

Many ancient archaeological monuments have been explored throughout the country, and the Dharani Scroll is recognized by scientists around the world as the oldest book publication in history.

Comments on crime and safety levels in Seoul.

“The One” Itaewon

When preparing for a trip to the Land of Dreams, I paid tribute to my paranoia and inquired about what was happening in Seoul.
Of course, I understood that I was not going to Somalia, but still...

On the one hand, developed Asian countries generally have low crime rates.
On the other hand, there are stories about global fights between American Marines in bars, homeless people running after tourists, some soldiers fleeing from the army from hazing, someone was killed and raped...
Literally a week before my arrival, in one of the bars in Itaewon, the brave marines did not share something and destroyed the bar - the police only watched and could not do anything.
In short: hello, our 90s...

However, to truly judge what is happening in Seoul, you need to go there and see it.

Yes, there are a lot of Marines on Itaewon.
After all, the Americans military base in this area.
The blacks are huge - you feel like you're in some kind of Bronx.

There are also homeless people in Seoul - you can see them in the subway closer to closing - going to bed.
Yes, and during the day they meet at quiet stations.

But if you don’t cling to one or the other, they don’t care about you.

And in general, in South Korea, global indifference attracts attention - no one is interested in you until you prove yourself.
In a good or bad sense of the word.
Until then, they simply don’t pay attention to you.

The city is full of video cameras, which are not found except in the toilets...
And it’s not a fact that they aren’t there either.

The police are present on the streets, but they are only really noticeable at night, when police cars are parked at every intersection.

In Seoul I had the opportunity to walk at any time of the day in a variety of areas.
Sometimes he returned to my guesthouse at the most incomprehensible times.
I just walked around the areas when they are boiling nightlife, and when everyone has long since gone to bed and only restless students are staying up at night.
I also wandered around Seoul at night with a navigator, walking in the direction of my “native” Hongdae from Gangnam (5 or 7 kilometers in a straight line) - I walked until I got tired of it.

I was in the metro around midnight, when security guards “discovered” me and explained that the metro was actually closed.))

And of course, he rocked out in bars and clubs in the Hongdae area, keeping an eye on the tipsy Koreans so as not to miss the unhealthy stuff and get out on time.
For those who understand, it’s basically difficult to find a sober person in those places on a Friday night.

And based on the results personal experience I'll say:
It’s not for nothing that South Korea is called one of the safest countries in the world.
Until you start looking for problems yourself, nothing will happen.
And Koreans are extremely friendly, welcoming and treat visitors very well.

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