Two days ago a 23-year old woman was hanging out with her friends and boyfriend late at night in Gangnam. She wanted to use the restroom of the karaoke but when she was taking too long, her boyfriend went to check on her. Later, he found her stabbed to death.He as so shocked that he collapsed after seeing his deceased girlfriend.
A 34-year old man – who has been identified as a former theology student who dreamed of becoming a minister – impulsively committed murder against the 23-year old Korean female in the washroom of a karoke in Seoul, Gangnam. He was later arrested while working at a BBQ restaurant near Gangnam Station. He was using the exact same knife that he used to stab the innocent woman.
The 34-year old culprit, identified as Kim, stated that he had committed the murder because he “Often felt ignored and mistreated by woman and could not take it anymore,” this statement caused Koreans to believe the crime was a hate crime against women and drove them to fear for their safety.
The police later found out that Kim had schizophrenia and had been hospitalized many times.The police say that it was because Kim had a mental illness. However, Kim was out to get ANY woman and it didn't matter who it would be. He went to the bathroom and waited for whoever was to come into that restroom at the wrong place and at the wrong time.
“In a society where general gender discrimination is tolerated, there are cases where women suffer violence because they are women,” said Lee Na-young, a professor of sociology at Chung-Ang University.
“This incident is being regarded not as a specific episode of a mentally disturbed man attacking a specific woman, but as a symbolic example of what happens in a misogynistic society,” Lee said. “That’s why it’s touched off such a passionate response.”
Post-Its have been put up all over Gangnam Station Exit 10 in response to the devastating tragedy.
LASeoulGuy's Reaction:
Korea has two major problems.
Problem #1: Mental illnesses are still stigmatized in Korean society. Although I have met a couple of students that are therapists, the vast majority of Koreans don't really take counseling seriously. First, it goes on their record. If an employer finds out that a candidate has had some kind of counseling, the employer might look down upon it and not hire the candidate.
Personally, I remember being near Yeouido Station two years ago and seeing a mentally disturbed teenager look at a pretty girl as she walked past him. His father saw him smile at the girl, took him to the bench and punched him in the head three times. I was so angry that I went to stop him. A guy who was passing out fliers for cell phones saw me try to stop the older man. But his response made me angrier. He told me, "The boy isn't normal." I told him that I didn't care and that his father shouldn't put his hands on him.
Problem #2: The fact remains that Korea is still a male-dominated society. Women are not respected when they drive. If a female driver is a bit slow, the male driver in another guy might say "You should be handling a pot in a kitchen, not a steering wheel."That's what one female student told me when another male driver was angry at her for not driving fast enough.This happened a couple of years ago.
It's also still okay for men to smoke where people see them but women have to smoke in the alleys or behind buildings. I don't like smoking itself, but women are treated differently if they smoke just because they're women.
The Korea Observer remarked that The WEF ranks South Korea 111 in the world out of 136 countries surveyed in the Global Gender Gap report. Korea’s ranking is next to United Arab Emirates and Bahrain – a country that granted women the right to vote in 2002.
The WEF’s report considers that in Korea maternity leave is unpaid, wage inequality is vast, males occupy most technical job fields, men dominate political positions, and 90 percent of legislators, senior officials and managers are men. Korea has a long way to go when it comes to treating women as equals to men.
Before we address those issues, let's mourn an innocent victim that had no reason to die. Pray for the boyfriend and victim's family. A lot of lives have been shattered by one individual. Hopefully, mental illnesses will be treated more seriously and women are treated with more respect and honor. In many ways, women can do a lot more than men. Everyday they are behind the eight-ball just for the simple fact that they are women.
The Korea Observer remarked that The WEF ranks South Korea 111 in the world out of 136 countries surveyed in the Global Gender Gap report. Korea’s ranking is next to United Arab Emirates and Bahrain – a country that granted women the right to vote in 2002.
The WEF’s report considers that in Korea maternity leave is unpaid, wage inequality is vast, males occupy most technical job fields, men dominate political positions, and 90 percent of legislators, senior officials and managers are men. Korea has a long way to go when it comes to treating women as equals to men.
Before we address those issues, let's mourn an innocent victim that had no reason to die. Pray for the boyfriend and victim's family. A lot of lives have been shattered by one individual. Hopefully, mental illnesses will be treated more seriously and women are treated with more respect and honor. In many ways, women can do a lot more than men. Everyday they are behind the eight-ball just for the simple fact that they are women.
Scott Worden (The L.A./Seoul Guy)
Instagram: l.a.seoulguy
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