[Out of the Shadows] War on drugs comes to Korean campuses

A 30-something graduate student at KAIST, South Korea's top science-specialized university, was recently arrested by the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors' Office for distributing and using drugs within a social fraternity he created in 2021 which included members from 13 other elite universities.

Three other university students were also apprehended, and two others were indicted without physical detention for breaching the Narcotics Control Act. Eight other students who took drugs but were not suspected of other offenses were granted deferred prosecution on condition they participated in a rehabilitation program.

The case raised eyebrows as the students, most studying at prestigious schools, did not fit the typical profile of a drug user here.

Korea has been largely successful in its drug prevention policies. Illegal narcotics are much less common than in Europe or North America, and the stereotypical users are either those on the margins of society or wayward youths from wealthy families.

The public perception of illegal drugs is also extremely negative, and there are strict penalties for possession and even use. While US celebrities sometimes openly smoke marijuana, even suspicion of its use in Korea can cause serious problems for entertainers.

As such, students attending the nation's top universities are seen as having a lot to lose if they are caught using drugs, and doing so is a serious blot on their character.

The students in the above case had reportedly been taking and trading drugs including ecstasy, LSD, methamphetamine, ketamine and psilocybin, the active chemical in magic mushrooms, since December 2022.

They managed to skirt authorities' radar despite a surprising lack of caution. Knowing that they would still be viable candidates for corporate jobs upon graduating, their alleged activities included spending lavishly on drug-fueled parties at hotels with female entertainment workers, taking drugs at amusement parks and even carrying drugs in their luggage when traveling to Thailand and Jeju Island.

Weeks after the issue surfaced, Kim Bong-sik, the new chief of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, vowed that he would end drug crimes during his inauguration held on Friday, referring to it as a "crime that harms people's everyday life."

"(Police) will safeguard citizens from crime and accidents by prioritizing activities that aim to prevent crimes rather than responding to them after happening and take stern action against harmful offenses such as drugs," he pledged.

In light of the incident, the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety announced it would provide drug prevention education for college students starting in the second semester of this year to raise awareness of the dangers and harms of drugs, stressing that drugs had become a "grave public concern."

Currently, drug education is only compulsory for kindergarten, elementary, middle and high school students, with the classes mostly focusing on videos that tell students to "just say no" to drugs.

Under the new initiative, however, the program will offer Korean, English, Chinese and Russian lectures. The Drug Ministry also plans to operate drug prevention booths during university festivals, drug prevention campaigns and hold drug awareness video contests, citing the need for educational content that could align with students' interests.

Ten colleges will be the first to benefit from the education sessions: Korea University, Chung-Ang University, Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, Kangwon National University, Eulji University, Jeonbuk National University, Chosun University, Chongsin University, Chungnam National University and Handong Global University. The ministry plans to expand the program to more colleges next year.

Although the classes will not be mandatory, the ministry expressed optimism.

"There was criticism that there was a need for drug education that could have an impact on youth drug use, so we've been preparing for this since June. It's our first time developing programs tailored to students' interests. We expect wide participation from college students," a senior official in charge of drug prevention and rehabilitation at the Drug Ministry told The Korea Herald.

Minister of Food and Drug Safety Oh Yu-kyoung also showed confidence that allowing students to engage in drug education through interactive activities will help them understand drugs better and become more aware of their risks and adverse effects.

Deviation after high school?

While drug abuse among the younger generation has gone beyond a few isolated cases, experts said academic pressure could encourage it.

"Unlike other parts of the world, Korean students live a very restricted life and are under pressure during high school for the Suneung, so they tend to behave more freely after enrolling in college because their parents give them freedom and let them be more independent," Yoon Heung-hee, a professor at Hansung University's drug and alcohol addiction department, told The Korea Herald.

He added that freedom comes with responsibility, but students here often overlook that once they start experiencing nightlife, while authorities struggle to find the right tools to address the issue.

"Parents fail to properly teach about drug abuse during their transition to adulthood because all they care about is getting (their kids) into good schools, so they are rather nonchalant about the dos and don'ts of stress relief," stressed Yoon, a former police officer who worked in narcotics for over 30 years.

"University students step into a less-restricted environment where they get to engage in various activities like 'membership training' (student trips), where they become exposed to alcohol, smoking, drugs and sex. Gradually, this has led young university students to perceive drugs as less serious or problematic. Peer pressure and curiosity could also push youngsters into drugs."

He added that a lack of police monitoring of club districts was allowing a drug-friendly culture to develop.

"The drinking culture and drug use in vibrant playgrounds for youngsters such as Sinchon and Gangnam areas persist due to lack of surveillance. The struggles in tracing them lead college students to feel more emboldened about using drugs," Yoon explained.

In addition, the professor noted that many youths have the technical know-how to access the dark web to purchase drugs, and if not, it is easy to access encrypted messaging apps like Telegram.

Yoo Seung-chul, a professor of media convergence at Ewha Womans University, said social media could also blur the boundaries between what a person should and should not do.

While YouTube officially bans content that encourages dangerous or illegal activities that risk serious physical harm or death, including hard drug use or creation, such content still circulates on it.

Videos uploaded by South Korean channels that purport to allow viewers to experience the effects or sensations similar to those caused by illegal substances are prevalent on the platform, boasting hundreds of thousands of views or even millions as of mid-August.

"Although college students are legally adults and know the risks of using drugs, they may underestimate the consequences and dangers of them due to lack of education and self-control," Yoo explained.

Amid wider calls for having a wider margin of safety and restriction of drugs on social media, the professor said censoring drug-related content could bring up concerns about limiting one's freedom of expression, with some claiming that stringent regulation hinders their will to share and communicate freely.

"It's impossible for humans to monitor the vast amounts of content being uploaded on social media that would amount to at least hundreds of gigabytes every day while AI grapples with filtering such content," Yoo added.

The Korea Herald is running a series of feature stories and interviews on the evolution and rise of drug crimes, insufficient support systems and young addicts' stories in South Korea. This is the 11th installment. -- Ed.