Wandering of a teenager

By Kim Jin-hyun

Upon first sight, the boy appeared to be shy and young for his age. He had been absent from school for two weeks after the induction ceremony. So, his homeroom teacher called his mom to come to school with her son. Even if he does come to school, his attendance is inconsistent.

One late Saturday evening, a policeman called me saying that the boy was in police custody, along with a group of his peers, for allegedly being in possession of a stolen motorcycle.

The policeman related to me the boy’s history of crime, which apparently dated back a long way. Some of his criminal activities included theft and association with other suspected juvenile criminals.

He lives on a social welfare program and is the eldest of four brothers. His dad is a fisherman and his mother a dishwasher.

Due to their poor economic conditions his parents, who both work, are unable to monitor and his behavior, which has made it easy for him to keep bad company from childhood. Most of his life has been influenced by TV, smart phones, and the web. Worse of all, his lack of scholastic ability and indifference to studies have contributed to him being led astray.

He applied to a technical high school in our city and failed because of low grades. Regrettably, our unreasonably bureaucratic educational system forced him into our school, which is a kind of academic school for students applying for university entrance. Needless to say this was an untenable situation for him.

Thus, if he didn’t feel like coming home, he hung out with boys and girls younger than him. It is typical of him to spend time with his teenage friends and sometimes stay with them overnight. Bullying other kids is reportedly one of his bad habits.

A Korea daily newspaper, The Hankook Ilbo, reported that the number of run-away students as of Nov. 20, 2012 was estimated to be up to 200, 000 per year.

The Korean National Police Agency said in a 2012 Police White Paper, that the number of run-away students reported to police was 15,114 in 2009, 19,440 in 2010 and 20,434 in 2011 all young people aged between 14 and 19.

The same paper reported that national crime levels for those16 to 18 years old were 73,836, 64,565, 63,015 in 2009, 2010 and 2011 respectively. It was also reported that the rate of them becoming repeat offenders is over 30 percent.

Although the statistics of the two populations has significantly different variables, I think that there is a connection between juvenile crime and homeless runaways. They are left uncontrolled, making them vulnerable to engaging in criminal activities and leading them to possibly engaging in more serious felonies.

It is not easy to analyze exactly the factors that drive children away from home. I even suspect that parents are in no small part responsible for their children’s activities, due to domestic violence, lax parenting, or difficult economic circumstances.

These are clearly very good factors that can potentially force children onto the streets and into a life of crime.

Nevertheless, in this situation, although our society needs to educate teenagers regarding basic rules, family values, and social etiquette, our public facilities for achieving these ideals are woefully inadequate.

Moreover, some parents cannot but neglect their children because most of their lives are spent making money. In other words, parents of youngsters spend their lives as money makers and are unable to spend time raising their children.

The boy’s surroundings, his parents’ neglect and extreme poverty may have contributed to making him a deviant. Moreover, defects in the educational system prevented him from adapting to school life. His home and society let him down.

His anti-social behaviors must have worsened after leaving home for the streets. Unless this boy is able to seriously change his ways, he will most likely end up being incarcerated.

Although this boy is ultimately responsible for his own actions, one should not ignore the negative impacts of his background and the part it played in his delinquency. At least in part, society must take some responsibility for his misdeeds. Therefore, I ask, "Should he be branded as a delinquent for life"?

The writer is an English teacher at Yeosu High School in South Jeolla Province. His email address is shinykim60@hanmail.net.