Jeolla Safety Alliance: Staying Safe in Gwangju
Words by Maria Lisak and Kate Jarocki
Photos courtesy of the Jeolla Safety Alliance
Unlike crimes committed by non-Koreans, the Gwangju Police Agency does not keep track of how many crimes are committed against foreigners. This rather questionable oversight means that any understanding of international residents’ safety is at least somewhat anecdotal. But there are enough anecdotes to suggest that while Gwangju is a relatively safe city, residents should still take precautions. Theft, for example, certainly occurs: the editor of Gwangju News recently watched CCTV footage of a deliveryman stealing his wife’s mail.
Violent crime also remains a concern. All of Gwangju was recently reminded of what potential exists for violence just this past September, when a Korean man in Gwangju murdered his Korean girlfriend, his girlfriend’s mother and his girlfriend’s daughter, all within a timespan of two hours, because his girlfriend gave him the cold shoulder when he attempted to mend the relationship. Too, violence is common against migrant women, especially those from Southeast Asia. And the city’s English-speaking community of internationals has recently buzzed about two separate incidents at a popular expat-operated bar. Less dramatic but still vexing is the harassment reported by female internationals. Some native English teachers have pursued prosecution of gropers, often Korean ajeossis.
It can be difficult to cope with the fear and possibly trauma involved in a problem requiring the help of the law. Add in the difficulty of language barriers when trying to communicate a statement and the process can feel overwhelming.
Several organizations exist to help, however. On December 3 of last year, Hollaback! Korea launched a website targeting street harassment. Both the site and Facebook page remain highly active and include many residents of Gwangju. Gwangju is also home to the Jeolla Safety Alliance (JSA), an organization that aims to help foreigners with personal safety matters throughout the South Jeolla Province. Formed in November 2012 by Gwangju expatriates Nancy Harcar, Maria Lisak and Laura Sparley, the group was created largely in response to the rape of an English teacher in Gwangsan-gu by a taxi driver. One of its first acts was to promote the existence of the One Stop Emergency Center at Chosun University with a YouTube video.
The JSA prevailed upon Gwangju News sometime back to include a cut-out emergency-contact card inside every print issue. In addition to space for personal information, the card has a place to give the names of Korean contacts one can turn to for help. More than saving an international from relying on his or her phone for an important number, the card offers an opportunity to open a dialogue between Koreans and foreigners on the subject of safety. This dialogue is helpful in deciding how emergencies should be handled and in what ways the native speaker can offer support. It also assists in spreading the word that safety should be a top concern and not something to be thought of only after an emergency has occurred.
Have that conversation about safety today.
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RESOURCES
Emergency Police: 112
Emergency Support Centers for Migrant Women / 가정폭력방지본부
http://www.wm1366.or.kr/
Address: 5th Fl., 1001-25 WolSan-Dong, Nam-Gu, 503-230
Tel: 062-366-1366
Email: kjmw1577@hanmail.net
Gwangju International Center:
Samho Center 1-2F, 5, Jungang-ro 196beon-gil, Dong-gu, Gwangju 501-023, South Korea
Tel. 062-226-2733~4
Fax. 062-226-2731
E-mail. gic@gic.or.kr
Gwangju Women Sexual Violence Counseling Center
http://www.gjhotline.org/gj2010/
062) 363-0442
kjwhl@hanmail.net
Gwangju Dongbu Police Station, Foreign Affairs
33, Yesul-gil, Dong-gu.
Tel: 182.
E-mail: Monika1004@naver.com.
Jeolla Safety Alliance: info@JeollaSafetyAlliance.com or Facebook group page