By Kim Ji-myung
Behind a problem child there are always problem parents, my counselor friend told me. Traditional Korean custom, as far as I remember, was to hide a family member with mental or psychological problems from society.
Those handicapped or mentally-troubled members of the village were taken as signs of curses from goblins or punishment from above. The family usually tried to discount the seriousness of the problem as a temporary drop of energy or a lack of spirit.
They were not welcome nor accepted as full members of society. But they did not seem to have accumulated anger and frustration, which may have been absorbed by the extended family system.
Seldom do we see aimless shootings out of rage or religious convictions here. Lone-wolves in Korea don't have pistols, and only military veterans know how to shoot them. Korea is wise in that killing machines are not in the hands of ordinary citizens. However, the world is changing.
Dreadful signs are appearing, shadowing the future of Korean society. Let me tell you a story of a small girl, her problem and her school's problem, which may affect Korean society in the future.
Korea is no longer a family-based society, coercing people with moral and ethical codes; old age does not mean wisdom but only dotage. Spiritual guidance by respect and authority has long-since been destroyed, and we need a realistic control-system to replace it.
Murders without reason often occur, even by juveniles. In a recent case involving schoolgirls, they surprised people not only by their terrible violent act but by their absolute lack of remorse or repentance.
Recently, I happened to learn about another elementary school violence case. The villain was a second- grade girl at an elementary school, which means she is just 8 years old. Located in the heart of a decent middle-class community of homogenous cultural composition, the school has good teachers, wonderful school programs and sophisticated parents. Let me call her Geu-ae (that kid).
This issue of Gue-ae was finally tabled at the school violence committee — maybe that is why her criminal actions were listed in this way:
1. Slaps classmates face without any reason. Even bespectacled friends got hit. She punched the stomach of a student of another class, causing great pain.
2. She will frequent boys' restrooms. Pulls pants and shirts from behind. Kicks boys' genitals.
3. During the class, she shouts four-letter words and insulting phrases to the teacher.
4. Shows her cruel drawings to friends, depicting a lying person with exposed intestine colored red.
5. Says to a boy classmate that she wants to disembowel him in the parking lot. Well, there are 11 more items like this on the list. Among them is an expression of family hatred where she calls her father "monster" and says she wants to kill him.
My attention is not exactly on Geu-ae but on how this issue is being handled by the school.
Extreme bullying in classes and horrific sexual crimes by adults against young girls have happened in recent years. As a result, the government nstalled systems to check the identity of visitors, school police systems, CCTV cameras, anti-bullying measures and school violence committees among others.
As for Gue-ae's case, the parents of the "victims" tried to talk with her parents, but they refused to respond. Also, the first obstacle to the official proceedings of the committee was her parents' refusal to cooperate. At the end of the day, nothing happened.
The school authorities including the principal, it is rumored, merely wanted Gue-ae to transfer to another school. That is the easiest solution for them, saving them from the cumbersome job of finding psychological or other professional treatment for Gue-ae, and avoiding any legal or administrative responsibilities. If no measure is taken by the parents or the committee, it is just "sweeping the problem under the rug," an all-too-common response in Korea.
The problem won't go away, but will grow from a hill into a mountain. Sending problem students to other schools is just a "hot-potato" game among administrators. I think the systemic reforms to solve "problem-member issues" must begin by praising problem-solving efforts by leadership and not problem-free records. This not only applies to schools but to all official organizations including the military.
Kim Ji-myung (heritagekorea21@gmail.com) is the chairwoman of the Korea Heritage Education Institute (K*Heritage).
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Those handicapped or mentally-troubled members of the village were taken as signs of curses from goblins or punishment from above. The family usually tried to discount the seriousness of the problem as a temporary drop of energy or a lack of spirit.
They were not welcome nor accepted as full members of society. But they did not seem to have accumulated anger and frustration, which may have been absorbed by the extended family system.
Seldom do we see aimless shootings out of rage or religious convictions here. Lone-wolves in Korea don't have pistols, and only military veterans know how to shoot them. Korea is wise in that killing machines are not in the hands of ordinary citizens. However, the world is changing.
Dreadful signs are appearing, shadowing the future of Korean society. Let me tell you a story of a small girl, her problem and her school's problem, which may affect Korean society in the future.
Korea is no longer a family-based society, coercing people with moral and ethical codes; old age does not mean wisdom but only dotage. Spiritual guidance by respect and authority has long-since been destroyed, and we need a realistic control-system to replace it.
Murders without reason often occur, even by juveniles. In a recent case involving schoolgirls, they surprised people not only by their terrible violent act but by their absolute lack of remorse or repentance.
Recently, I happened to learn about another elementary school violence case. The villain was a second- grade girl at an elementary school, which means she is just 8 years old. Located in the heart of a decent middle-class community of homogenous cultural composition, the school has good teachers, wonderful school programs and sophisticated parents. Let me call her Geu-ae (that kid).
This issue of Gue-ae was finally tabled at the school violence committee — maybe that is why her criminal actions were listed in this way:
1. Slaps classmates face without any reason. Even bespectacled friends got hit. She punched the stomach of a student of another class, causing great pain.
2. She will frequent boys' restrooms. Pulls pants and shirts from behind. Kicks boys' genitals.
3. During the class, she shouts four-letter words and insulting phrases to the teacher.
4. Shows her cruel drawings to friends, depicting a lying person with exposed intestine colored red.
5. Says to a boy classmate that she wants to disembowel him in the parking lot. Well, there are 11 more items like this on the list. Among them is an expression of family hatred where she calls her father "monster" and says she wants to kill him.
My attention is not exactly on Geu-ae but on how this issue is being handled by the school.
Extreme bullying in classes and horrific sexual crimes by adults against young girls have happened in recent years. As a result, the government nstalled systems to check the identity of visitors, school police systems, CCTV cameras, anti-bullying measures and school violence committees among others.
As for Gue-ae's case, the parents of the "victims" tried to talk with her parents, but they refused to respond. Also, the first obstacle to the official proceedings of the committee was her parents' refusal to cooperate. At the end of the day, nothing happened.
The school authorities including the principal, it is rumored, merely wanted Gue-ae to transfer to another school. That is the easiest solution for them, saving them from the cumbersome job of finding psychological or other professional treatment for Gue-ae, and avoiding any legal or administrative responsibilities. If no measure is taken by the parents or the committee, it is just "sweeping the problem under the rug," an all-too-common response in Korea.
The problem won't go away, but will grow from a hill into a mountain. Sending problem students to other schools is just a "hot-potato" game among administrators. I think the systemic reforms to solve "problem-member issues" must begin by praising problem-solving efforts by leadership and not problem-free records. This not only applies to schools but to all official organizations including the military.
Kim Ji-myung (heritagekorea21@gmail.com) is the chairwoman of the Korea Heritage Education Institute (K*Heritage).
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