Misconceptions about Crimes by U.S Soldiers

Even though I was unable to attend the class for this weeks’ presentation I feel that the issue about “US soldier crimes” is something that needs to be addressed, because it is in some ways related to how most Koreans perceive foreigners in general. Now, I’m not American, so my opinion is completely unbiased. Okay, now, the fact that USA has been instrumental in preventing war & saving S. Korea is something the world has acknowledged. Now as grateful as the Koreans might be to their savior, it is irrational to imagine that they (or anyone sane for that matter), as an expression of gratitude, might overlook the heinous crimes committed by the army personnel.

Recently, I asked some of my friends to go and hang out in Itaewon, but they said that place is full of drug-addicted foreigners and U.S soldier criminals. I was rather surprised by what they had to say. Any group that predominately consists of 18-25 year old men is going to have violent criminals in its midst. When the violent crimes against Koreans inevitably occur, they serve as a beacon for anti-Americanism, and even anti-Foreignism. .

Let’s see what the real criminal statistics say about GI crimes in Korea. I got most of this information from reliable online news articles. USFK currently has approximately 27,500 soldiers stationed in Korea. This means that .00131% of the population of USFK service members in Korea are the ones causing trouble while the other 27,464 soldiers are minding their own business and respecting Korean law. When we talk about serious crimes; The Korean National Policy Agency considers Murder, Robbery, Rape, Violence, & Larceny as major crimes when compiling Korean crime statistics, of these five major categories USFK soldiers committed 23 cases of serious crime. When the USFK population is divided by this number, the ratio comes out to 1 serious crime for 1196 soldiers.

Now let’s see how this compares to Korean crime rates. The Korean National Police Agency has 2007 statistics for serious crimes committed by Koreans on their website. The KNPA has arrested 385,704 Koreans for serious crimes out of a population of 49 million Koreans. If the total Korean population of 49 million is divided by the number of serious criminal convictions, the ratio comes out to 1 serious crime for every 128 Koreans.

In another report, in 2010, the data shows, police around the country charged 1.8 million South Koreans with crimes, about 3.8% of the overall population of 48 million. By contrast, 33,586 non-Koreans were charged with crimes, about 2.7% of the country’s foreign population of 1.26 million.

So, if we look at the statistics, it’s much safer to be around a GI or a foreigner than to be around a local citizen. I think that they make a big deal every time a foreigner does something bad, while, not much attention is given when the locals are committing crime, even at a much higher rate. While I also find the occasional crimes committed by GI's embarrassing, I think it does not make those few bad soldiers your ambassadors to the world. One of my close friends, who used to be a G.I and is now a primary school teacher said that he loves Korea, but thinks the U.S army, should leave. According to him, they don't get much for the billions they spend to defend the Koreans.

Smoking Pot in Korea

As the presenter mentioned, marijuana is actually much less hazardous to the body than cigarettes or strong liquor and personally, I find the attitude that "if it is illegal, it should be illegal" completely senseless and self-defeating- which seems to be the case here. I, for one, believe mature adults should have the right to put whatever they want into their bodies- and to pay the consequences, in a way it’s quite same as euthanasia.

However, I do not trumpet this opinion in Korea, nor do I lecture my friends here. If asked, I simply explain the difference between cultures and what is considered acceptable, despite its questionable legality.

In my opinion, between the risks and penalties and the way Koreans think about drug use, combined with the way drug use is so often associated with foreigners, it just isn't worth it to use drugs while you're in Korea. Don't do it, don't look for it, just stay out of that mess. I've actually met people who came to Korea to successfully clean up, and get off the ganja, and they succeeded. Korea's good for that. Korea's not a good place to get high, unless your drug preference is either alcohol, or really spicy food. Pot is a big problem here, and if someone resents that marijuana is legally or practically decriminalized in most parts of Europe and especially in the Netherlands, but it's still very illegal here, then it’s better to smoke it when you go to places like Glasgow, Liverpool, Amsterdam, or Berlin.

I respect the laws of Korea as an exchange student. I would expect the same of Koreans living in other countries.