Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Freezer Burn]

Im not a parent, but I am the oldest of a large family which means that I was the babysitter/guardian for my siblings, so I have a general idea as to what is safe for a child, as should most with a little common sense.
What astounds me though, in this country, or for what I have been witness to, is the apparent lack of saftey for children here.

I've seen,

1. Toddlers chewing on glass bottles

2. A very small three year old carrying a soju bottle bare footed accross a busy pedestrian crossing, her mother tailing her at least five metres behind

3. Toddlers travelling on mopeds or motorbikes with no helmets or protective clothing or even shoes.

4. Children as young as 10 out on there own at 10-11 at night ( granted its quite safe as far as kidnappings are concerned, I think, I still wouldn't want my kids out till 11.00pm)

5. Kids hanging out at a neighbourhood tent restaurant while sojued up korean men are fighting and carrying on untill four in the morning in some cases.

6. Cigarette smoke blowing all over their children, even in their faces.

I know these and more are also done in western countries, but it seems more prevelant here, I honestly witness these acts weekly if not daily.

What do you guys see and is there anything in place for the protection of children aka child services, like we have.

[komtengi]

the one that really gets me is no baby seats in cars...
in fact the kids are standing on the back seat, jumping around... not even a seat belt.. a crash and they are an instant projectile through the windscreen

[OiGirl]

I almost died from excitement when I saw a car seat in a [parked] car the other day.

[Guri Guy]

I hate to say it but it almost seems like life is cheap here. Safety regulations are flaunted all the time. Ambulances are not given the right of way. Traffic safety is a joke. People speed through school zones (oops there are none) all the time. *sigh*

[Corporal]

Actually I've seen a lot more car seats out and about than even two years ago.

Now if they'd only keep the damn babies in them.

[shakuhachi]

Here is a kid just waiting to be run down my a US Army vehicle.

[SuperHero]

[tzechuk]

[stumptown]

I just call it weeding out the gene pool. A little natural selection, maybe?

[Ekuboko]

[paperbag princess]

1. no helmuts when biking or rollerblading. yikes!
2. playing in traffic. i still can't beleive this one when i see it.

[yangtheman]

Yeah, as a father of 25-months-old and 5-months-old, I know the exact feeling.

I practice child safety religiously, and I also feel unsafe to let my child play on street, even inside apt. complex because drivers speed through the complex, too. Mofo drivers with no regards for kids.

Adults have no regards for kid's health. The other day, I saw a man lighting up a cigarette in a small outside, rooftop garden at Samsung Plaza where tons of kids were playing around. Even my uncle thinks it's okay to give alcohol to a kid so that s/he learns how bad it is. He would take a my cousin's kid out on a bike with no helmet and almost half drunk. I had to stop him when he wanted to take my kid out, too. No way, Jose!

I see so many cars with kids moving around inside (and also bothering the driver), I hate to think what would happen in an accident. What's even more disturbing is all the hakwon buses where kids go nuts.

If not for anything else, this will be sole reason for moving back to US.

[JacktheCat]

I had an interesting discussion with an adult student last year.

He was talking about those two middle school girls who were run over by that American APC, saying the fact that it has never happened in the west is proof that the USA is biased against Korea.

I tried explaining to him that the fact it hasn't happened in the west is that we don't let little children play in the street when there are tanks and APCs rolling down the road.

Never was able to convince him that other people could see something wrong with children playing among moving vehicles.

Letting children play in the middle of a busy street is just one of those quirky things about Korean culture I guess, like the barborhee men.

[Wangja]

[Scott in HK]

Although I fully agree with the use of child seats in cars...I really can't go pointing fingers and saying what bad parents Koreans are...

If I did, I would have to say the same thing about my own parents. As a child we roamed freely around the car as well. It takes time for safety ideas to take root in a society. I remember when seatbelt laws came into effect...it was a long time before people were wearing seatbelts.

As to why kids play on the streets...the answer would be fairly obvious...there really is no where else to play. Apartments are small....parks are few...so kids end up on the streets. No backyards here..no front yards...just concrete...

We can say that we won't let our kids play on the street. But that is where the rest of the kids are so eventual you give in. I am not so sure it is easy to keep the kids off the streets. Our kids play in the back street with the rest of the kids. And it is dangerous. Even with supervision.

My daughter is the hospital with a broken leg and major tissure damage on her foot from being hit by a car while playing in the back alley. My wife was taking care of our 2 year old...our 4 year old was waiting for a car to pass and must have stepped forward before she should have. No one really saw what happened.

The truth is that she will be playing out there again. I would love to keep her in the house and tell her that she can't play with the rest of her friends on the street. We will probably keep her on a short leash when her cast comes off...but in the end she will be out there with her friends again.