Pedophile's arrest sparks heated debate
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Canadian national Vadim Scott, who worked as an English teacher in Korea, was arrested on charges of sex with a boy in Cambodia last month.
By John Redmond
The arrest of an English teacher, Canadian national Vadim Scott, in Cambodia on charges of sex with a boy, has touched off a heated debate among the expat community in Korea, especially those in the media.
Many in Seoul’s much smaller international community several years back knew Scott through his work in Korean rock music, TV and film. One of them is expat magazine “ROKon” founder Shelton Bumgarner now based in Richmond, Virginia.
Bumgarner created ROKon in 2005 to fill the void left by now-defunct locally produced English language magazine K Scene, formally Seoul Classified. Groove magazine was also getting off the ground.
Having known Scott through interviews and band performances, he too has added a much needed perspective on the question many are still asking, “If all the rumors were true, why did no one act?”
On his blog norimagazine he responded to requests about information on the Canadian suspect with a statement, by saying that “I continue to get steady traffic of people looking for information about Vadim Scott, so I will share some of my personal interaction with him and you can make up your own mind about what it all means.”
Following this he paints a clear unbiased picture of the musician, who at one point almost became a member of legendary Australian rock band INXS, and his exploits in Seoul.
Bumgarner also recalls a rather painful experience of wanting to ask Scott if these stories (of sex with young boys) were true.
The Korea Times spoke with Bumgarner about his thoughts on the situation and how it is being handled in the expat media.
“What he is alleged to have done is really bad. I did not see anything objectionable in what they wrote about him. He was a public figure in the expat community in Seoul and what they wrote about his past gave context to the piece,” he said.
He seemed to be concerned about the lack of coverage in the Korean media.
“I am shocked this story has not gotten more play in the Korean media. He was a TV personality of sorts, after all. Maybe if he’s convicted.”
He spoke of his surprise when these stories turned out to be true and how this was often the case.
“Yes. I am surprised the rumors turned out to be true. Maybe I was rationalizing, but I thought it was just someone who didn’t like him making stuff up to get back at him for some reason. I, at one time, was also ‘famous’ in Seoul and knew how vicious the expat community could be to anyone who was in the spotlight. So, I actively disregarded what I heard about him.
“In hindsight, I would have taken people more seriously and gone out of my way to cut off interaction with him. Although, it is tough to do so given how small the expat community is in Seoul.”
Bumgarner’s blog is www. norimagazine.com.