By Oh Young-jin
Assistant Managing Editor
One morning last week, I took a taxi to a nearby subway station, part of my routine morning commute. It was close to 8 o'clock so there were other commuters trying to catch a cab but, as would be the case on some days, not many taxis were available.
So I thought I was doing a favor when I asked the taxi driver to give a ride to one of those who were still waiting, without specifically indicating who he should pick up. The cabbie instantly obliged my request, apparently anticipating an additional fare.
We stopped and took in a lady in her early 20s. She sat in the passenger seat next to the driver, with me seated directly behind her. I expected her to reckon my favor perhaps with a slight nod of her head or a ``Thank you." What the driver and I received instead was a glance that couldn't be mistaken for anything other than one of suspicion and concern. It was the driver between the two of us who first put two and two together and asked her whether she wanted to get out. She declined but said with a hint of apology, ``It is a dangerous world. Nobody can be trusted.''
Then I realized that the lady put the cabbie and me on her imaginary lineup of potential suspects for crimes yet to be committed.
I felt upset at that point, but it didn't take long for me to understand her plight. After all, what activated her self-protective instinct was obvious. It was Kang Ho-soon, the psychopath killer. For days, the nation was struggling to cope with one chilling revelation after another regarding Kang's senseless murders. What is scary about Kang is that his victims vary widely in age and occupation, making him an opportunistic murderer who would kill anybody that triggered his killer instinct.
This type of criminal is hard to understand. For instance, what triggers his killer instinct? Is it a certain color, or perhaps a particular type of scent? There are too many questions about Kang, but few have been answered, providing no key to his tightly-sealed criminal mind. Even scarier is the media's portrayal of his life after being caught. He jokes, eats square meals, has no trouble in sleeping and even talks about selling rights to his story for fees in hopes of giving his children monetary security. One too many Hollywood movies, perhaps. It is a behavior that can't be expected from a fellow human being.
People tend to fear what they have no knowledge about. This human tendency applied to the lady with whom I shared the cab.
From her standpoint, anybody is a potential attacker until proven otherwise. Especially those who offer favors ― they are the first type of suspect that would ring alarms in her head. A recent survey confirmed this behavior pattern. Online job portal, Career, said that about 72 percent of 583 working women felt insecure about their safety in the aftermath of the Kang case, with 61 percent of the ``insecure ones'' going home earlier than before. About 27 percent said that they call home when they are late; 20 percent don't talk to strangers; 17 percent have purchased self-protection gear; and 5 percent subscribed to a tracking device system through their cell phones.
The same goes with children. If you happen to be in an elevator in your apartment building alone with a child and try to make a friendly conversation, more often than not, the child would respond by making no response at all. They just stare ahead as if they were alone, apparently sticking to parental guidance.
When considering strangers, seeing them as potential attackers is perhaps an inevitable result of self-protection in a society where, in all likelihood, Kang will not be the last cold-blooded murderer. But, still, it saddens me, thinking that people no longer trade a friendly ``Hi!'' or smiles with one another when they cross the path in a street, and instead have to live with the constant fear that they may be the next victim of a crime of opportunity. Perhaps it is better for one's peace of mind to regard it as the price to pay for living in this society and pray for safety on a daily basis. But the price seems to be too high.