“Delinquencies by Gangsters’ Group Have Reached Alarming Levels”

A schoolteacher has claimed that half of the primary, middle and high schools in Seoul have an “Il-jin-hoe (gangster’s group)” on campus. According to the claim, student gang members indulge in violence and delinquent activities, including open sexual intercourse through their meetings.

On March 9, Jeong Se-young (52.picture), a teacher of the J middle school in Dongdaemun-gu, Seoul, and a member of the Education Movement Committee of the Young Korean Academy, lectured at the “Anti-Campus Violence for Workers Workshop” held at the Seodaemun Police Station, Seoul. Jeong’s talk noted that “knowing about gangster’s group could reduce campus violence up to one tenth.”

Jeong is worried that student gangs may develop into more organized gangs. Currently, senior members teach a new gang member the gang’s hierarchy, fighting techniques, and contraceptive measures. The teacher claimed that gang members share lascivious material and information through Internet sites, suggesting that school gangs are already more organized than many might think.

Jeong also claimed that the students in the Seoul area have a union of student gangs and even held a “one day rock café” on Saturdays and Sundays during their 2003 winter vacation. During the café, 500 to 1200 students participated, even though the entrance price for the café was 7000 won for each person. Jeong further commented that the union in Seoul area alone totals about 2000 gang members.

One of the most popular programs of the cafés appears to be the so-called “sex machine,” in which naked male and female students imitate sexual intercourse and “select a slave” who will dance suggestively, sit by their partners, and serve them drinks for a fee.

Jeong even asserted that he has met some students who have claimed that they participated in sexual intercourse at the gang-related event held in the M café at the entrance of the Sungshin Women’s University in 2000 and 2001.

Many of the gangsters’ groups go unnoticed=Jeong said, “The schools and the office of education don’t conduct proper investigations and that they curtail or conceal the violence on campus committed by gangsters’ groups. He added that out of the 1200 primary, middle and high schools in Seoul area, about 600 schools have student gangs.

During his talk at the workshop, Jeong also mentioned that about 20 students in each school are presumed to have joined student gangs and that the center was instructing a total of 9 student gangs - three gangs for each grade of middle school in Seoul.

Jeong has said that although schools have uncovered a gangsters’ group with 551 members from five primary schools in Seoul during an investigation from March to May in 2002, the investigation was suspended on a recommendation from the Office of Education.

At the workshop, Jeong outlined his plan for school gangs, a plan that combines a mixed education structure, increased vigilance, and school anti-violence plans. He recommends an investigation structure involving front line school staff and the Office of Education. In the structure, two or three schools would combine resources and share information to detect student gang activity.

He mentioned that he became interested in student gangs while examining a case in which female students were assaulted before their graduation by student gang members. Since then, Jeong has collected various data through interviews with his students.

Meanwhile, an official of the Police Station has said that not all student gangs are violent or bad. The official claimed that some of Jeong’s assertions and announcements maybe exaggerations to some extent.

Na-Yeon Lee needjung@donga.com larosa@donga.com