1. Introduction
The crime rate among teenagers in Korea is soaring nowadays. According to Korean Institute of Criminology(KIC), the number of teenagers who had committed crime has increased from 72,770 to 91,633 in ten years(2004~2013). Since Korean society compels teenagers to behave well and study hard all the time, juvenile delinquents have been treated as not only the trouble makers but also the 'social outcasts'. Below are some of the stereotypes against juvenile delinquents.
Juvenile delinquents have low level of education and financial status
Juvenile delinquents are impulsive and can not control their emotions effectively
The family background of juvenile delinquents must be unfortunate
Juvenile delinquents are not serious about their lives and not responsible to their behaviors
Juvenile delinquents are likely to commit crimes again if they grow up
Juvenile delinquents look dangerous and threatening
From these stereotypes, it can be inferred that juvenile delinquents are highly stigmatized. These stereotypes are the dominant stories about juvenile delinquents in our society. As the single story frequently hinders the truth to be revealed, our group found it necessary to challenge these stereotypes and look out for more stories. That is why our group has chosen juvenile delinquent in Korea as the subculture for the ethnography project.
To start with, the definition of juvenile delinquents should be established. In our ethnography project, juvenile delinquents are the ones whose age is higher than 13 and lower than 19 and who have been to Juvenile Hall at least for one time.
2. Plan for the Ethnography Project
Our group is going to conduct four interviews. Two of the interviewees are juvenile delinquents and as sex might be one of the factors to determine different attitude towards juvenile delinquents, our group decided to interview both female and male. To expand the view towards juvenile delinquents and hear more stories from different perspective, our group will also interview the police who serves for Kwan-ak district of which crime rate is one of the highest in Seoul and the faculty member of An-yang Juvenile Hall.
For the project, our group is going to meet on 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday and Thursday in Gwan Jung study room nearly every week.
3. Preliminary Research
3.1 Korean Society views Juvenile Delinquents with Cold Eyes
In this article, typical stereotypes against juvenile delinquents are shown. The writer views juvenile delinquents as thoughtless trouble makers who do not regard their crime seriously. In addition, the writer insists that the punishment for juvenile delinquency should be more stern as 'easily forgiving' juvenile delinquents make them commit the crime again.
3.2 Family, the cause of juvenile delinquency?
In this article, the writer emphasizes on juvenile delinquents having a dark family atmosphere by giving out some example of them. The
article also shows the importance of education not only to the juvenile delinquent him/herself but also to their close family.
3.3 What are juvenile delinquents like in the facility?
The video is about a famous TV show host, Paek ji-yeon visiting juvenile hall to see for herself what life in the facility is like. She interviews juvenile delinquents and finds out that what these teenagers need is really just attention, instead of punishment.
Transcript of the video:
Teenage crime is increasing and becoming
more serious as ever. 1 out of 50 teenagers are committing crime. Over 5 years,
teenage crime has increased up to twice as much as before.
Teenage crime isn’t only limited to
school’s problem, but it’s spreading as society problem.
This is a place where problematic
teenagers, also known as juvenile delinquents live and gather.
This is the only place in Korea where 99
girl juvenile delinquents live. For what reason do these girls had to come to
this juvenile hall?
This is Jeong-sim girls information
industrial school. It caught my attention.
Isn’t the school a little bit unexpected?
Probably because a lot of people still
remember the school as juvenile hall.
It is because the students are still
sensitive and need education just like other normal students. That’s why the
juvenile hall’s name changed to school.
Let's see around the school and talk.
Sure.
We do not know much about the school. Why
don't we go on and meet the students?
The students are very excited to meet you
as well.
My first impression of Anyang juvenile
hall, also known as Jeong-shim girls information industrial school wasn't much
different from that of other normal schools. Even some facilities were better
than other schools. There are up to 1 to 10 juvenile adjudication according to
how serious the crime was. Around 12 to 19 years old girls come to this school,
and they can stay here up to 2 years maximum. The only juvenile hall that has
long term service time.
This is an office, and the one behind that
is where students live and study.
There are metal fences.
Yes, it is because the government claimed
this area as detention facility. Due to that, we need at the very least
security in order to keep the students inside the facility.
So that means that the students aren't
allowed to go out on their will.
Yes, of course. There are special occasions
where students are allowed to go outside, such as going on a field trip, or
participating in a cultural experience.
The only difference that I could see is
that there are metal fences.
The reason that these students came to this
facility vary from violence to theft. These teenagers are examined by
prosecution, inspected by police and go through trial.
These kids don't even feel sorry. Where did
you spend the money? Did you bully weaker students? They aren't different from
gangsters. They will keep bullying other students as they grow up. The core
problem of school violence is right here.
Age averages from 16 to 18 and most of them
spend here for about an year. Because of the metal fences, they are separated
from the society, but it isn't much different from other normal schools inside.
What situation led those students to here?
Hello. There are different kinds of socks.
Do they give out same socks? I was shocked. The facilities in here are so clean
and well organized. Who do you miss the most?
Mom! Grandma! Sister! Dad!
Do you like your dad the best?
yes
Do you communicate well with your dad?
yes
How long have you been here?
More than an year.
How is life in here?
It's hard. You have to wake up early,
around 6 30 a.m. Isn't it really fresh waking up early?
Because it's surrounded by mountains here,
the air is really fresh.
Then when do you sleep?
We sleep around at 9 P.M.
Wow, you guys sleep early.
Why don't we have a time of confession. How
come you came to this facility?
I hung out with my friends, and ran away
from home. From then on, I put my hands on sniffing glue and that's what made
me come here.
When did you first commit a misdeed?
I ran away from home when I was sixth grade
in elementary school, and started to sniff glue.
Why did you run away from home?
I just didn't like home back then.
Even when your parents were being good to
you?
My parents are divorced and my mom and dad
don't live together.
So you don't like your home?
I liked my dad, but I didn't like my home.
Weren't you scared? I mean, once you ran
away, you can't go back.
It wasn't like I was determined to run away
at first. I hung out with my friends until late, which made me reluctant to go
home. That's how I ran away from home.
Was it fun hanging out with your friends?
What do you do?
Just hanging out with them was fun.
Where did you guys hang out?
When it's warm outside, we went to park.
When it's cold outside, we went to friend's house.
Don't their parents worry about you?
They don't really ask much about us,
because those parents work outside for very long.
Wasn't it convenient since parents didn't
have time to care about you guys?
Yes, we didn't want attention.
How did your first running away from home
turn out?
At first, my dad hit me for no reason
because he was drunk. That's why I ran away from home so that I wouldn't be
hit. From then on, I began to not like home.
How about you? How did you come to this
facility?
I came because of blackmailing. I took away
classmates' money and hit them. I acted how my close friends acted toward
classmates.
Adults say that whoever you are with makes
whoever you are. Do you agree?
Yes, I agree with that saying.
Was it fun when you were doing it?
After doing it, I was really scared and
guilty. I thought this would be my last chance because I already went to
juvenile hall.
So this is your second time serving. Then
why did you come here first time?
I was guilty of violence and violation of
traffic laws.
How?
I drove a car.
When did you drive??
I drove my friend's dad's car when I was
15. I did this out of curiosity and fun. Before then, I was interested in
driving. There was an accident in the highway. On my way to kangwon province
from Kyeongi province, I was driving in 140kmh. When I was trying to change the
traffic lane, one of my friends told me that we were about to hit guardrail.
That made me frustrated and the handle went out of my control. From what I
remember, car span around.
Weren't you hurt?
No. Nobody got hurt.
Then did you serve time here? or somewhere
else?
I stayed here the first time, too. There
were 2 years of probation period, but I committed blackmailing after the period
was over. That's why I was sentenced to juvenile adjudication number 10.
Weren't you determined that you wouldn't
come back to this facility the first time you got out?
Of course, I was determined.
Then what was the reason?
Being out of the facility made me carefree
and lighthearted. That's probably why I came back to this facility.
Then what should we do to so that you stay in
the right path?
Back then, I lived apart from my family
with my friends. Hanging out with my friends again made me commit crime again.
How did it feel like when you came back to
the facility again?
This is the end of my life. I have no hope.
This was how I thought when I came back to the facility.
How do you feel now, after spending an year
here in this facility?
I feel good. I don't regret coming into
this facility.
Then how were your behaviors at first?
I didn't regret my wrongdoings. In my
diary, I wrote how I was so innocent and didn't deserve juvenile adjudication
number 10.
Then whose fault was it?
I blamed my friends, and the police officer
who caught me. However, my facility teacher told me that I was wrong and I
should reflect on my behavior once again. From then on, I feel like I changed.
Teenagers didn't need spanking. What they
really needed was love and attention.
As you might all know, ages that commit
crime are becoming lower and lower by every year. What do you think the reason
could be?
Because the teenagers can see those crimes.
So you mean, they learn those crimes by
actually witnessing those crimes. They learn it from the media and the
internet, am I correct?
What they learn from school takes big part
in committing crime, especially from upper classmen. For example, when upper
classmen take away my money through force, I naturally seek for under classmen
so that I could take their money as well.
Nowadays, I think that the students have
nothing to fear.
Then what do you suggest that we should do
stop these teenagers from committing these wrongdoings?
I guess the best way is to make them avoid
such occasions. The first is the most important of all. Once you get into such
wrongdoings, you can't get out of it.
So that means there should be punishment
right away?
There are certain limits to punishment.
Instead, you should make those teenagers reflect on their behavior. If you
punish them, you can make them become more defiant. There needs to be someone
who can hold that teenager so that he/she can stay on the right path. The most
important factor is family environment. Based on my experience, I remember my
dad hitting me when he was drunk. The most surprising thing is that I act the
same as my dad. Unconsciously I learned and started copying what my dad used to
do to me.
However, the family environment isn't
something that we could choose when we are born. Then what should the society,
or the government do about these problems?
What we need is attention.
Maybe finding a way to ask for help?
We do ask for help, but they don't really
help us.
Even in school?
Yes.
To sum up, when you guys were doing
wrongdoings, there were voices inside your head that said "please help
me", isn't that right?
Yes.
But you are saying that there weren't places
where you could ask for help?
Yes.
