Samples of illicit drugs are on display at the drug detection laboratory of the Special Prosecutors' Office in southern Seoul in this file photo. / Korea Times

By Jun Ji-hye, Rachel Lee

Korea is no longer a country free of drugs. Drug users and traffickers, sometimes orchestrated by organized crime rings, are smuggling marijuana and other illegal substances in and out of the country.

In a police report published last month, the number of people annually arrested for drug-related offences reported by the National Police Agency since 2007 has hovered between 9,000 and 10,000. Of these incidents in 2011, 5,365 were charged with drug use and 560 for cultivating drug crops, mostly marijuana, in the country.

Also according to the police there are an increasing number of sources from where drug users can easily order various narcotics. This is partly because more people own smartphones making it easier for them to access websites from where they can purchase narcotics, mostly marijuana.

Foreigners and those studying abroad make up a large chunk of the middlemen who supply the drugs after secretly carrying them into the country, according to the police report.

The report also states that Korea has been a key conduit used by drug traffickers since the 1990s for smuggling drugs into the United States from Asian countries.

An inspector from the Incheon Main Customs show CD cases and other goods that were used to smuggle illicit drugs into the country at the customs office in Incheon in this file photo. Smugglers use books, sneakers, parts of speakers and other items such as stuffed toys to bring in methamphetamines and other illegal drugs. / Korea Times



Who does it?

Park, 24, who has studied in the United States for 7 years, said some of his friends and acquaintances are into drugs.

"As far as I know, most drug users are those who study abroad or are born overseas (mostly in the United States)," he said.

A 27-year-old surnamed Kim who used to study in Italy said some of her friends smoked marijuana when they were bored or stressed. She said one of her friends even took some with her on an airplane.

"I heard that she hid it in a sanitary towel. She decided to risk it because she knew it would cost a fortune to get weed here," Kim said.

She also spoke of one of her experiences in Korea when a foreign drug dealer approached her in 2011 in Club Mass in Gangnam, southern Seoul.

"Some foreigners came up to me in the bathroom and asked if I wanted any weed," Kim said.

She said it's no secret that many who study overseas often succumb to the temptation. "You know there are lots of drug addicts in Korea. They are, I think, either Korean-Americans or those studying abroad like me."

Park said the drug dealers are mostly Korean-Americans or foreigners who secretly manage to bring drugs into the country. "They hide it in containers such as empty toothpaste boxes."

He added that 90 percent of what they bring is marijuana. "It's hard to get pills such as ecstasy. I mean, why risk it? They can do it once they go back to wherever they are studying or working."

Regarding the average price or marijuana, those asked for this article said it's two or three times more expensive in Korea than in other countries. It goes for around 13,000 to 150,000 won per gram, they said.

Kim said one of her friends was forbidden from leaving the country after he was caught by police for using drugs.

Park also spoke about a dealer who disclosed a list of people who obtained drugs from him.

"When a drug dealer is caught, prosecutors try to reach a bargain with the dealer during questioning. If the dealer provides a list of drug users, he or she will get a reduced punishment such as a shorter probation period," Park said.

Why do drugs?

It is true that a lot of people do drugs and will continue to do so as long as access to narcotics remains.

Why do people do drugs? Experts say there are two primary reasons.

"Some people take drugs without being aware of what they are taking. This is because drug dealers purposely approach them and let them try substances without explaining to them what they are. This is of course a way of getting them addicted to drugs in order to sell more," said psychiatrist Sohn Seok-han from Yonsei Neuropsychiatric Clinic in Seoul.

"On the other hand, some start taking drugs out of curiosity. They think just one time is okay and a 'good' experience. But this is overconfidence caused by a lack of understanding of the dangers of drugs. Generalizations cannot be made but in many cases you can become easily addicted to drugs after only trying them once."

Sohn said those who have a strong appetite for pleasure have a greater chance of becoming addicted to drugs because they tend to try them to relieve stress. However, he said people should relieve stress in ways other than relying on drugs.

He said pleasure from doing drugs is only temporary and not real. "Drugs affect your brains and the central nervous system. The pleasure does not come from something you choose to do. It's inappropriate to depend on substances to seek pleasure. You will end up ruining yourself," he said.

How to deal with drug problem

Korea has been quite conservative regarding drugs and probably still is compared to other countries where in some people can even legally use drugs such as marijuana.

However, the number of people who commit crimes related to narcotics has been steadily increasing.

Experts here blame the trend on globalization to some extent.

"It results from Western liberal thinking brought into Korea as more people travel in and out of the country these days," said Hwang Eui-gab, professor of the Police Administration Department at Kyonggi University.

"As the world is increasingly globalized, Korea is losing something valuable that it should not lose, such as its conservative cultural mindset about drugs," he said. "These days, some young people think that doing drugs at a party is cool after they saw it done in foreign countries."

Another factor Hwang pointed out is the development of information technology.

"Like many other crimes, new forms of narcotics offense have emerged with the development of information technology. People can easily get drugs by using smartphones as well as through the Internet," the professor said. "So, there is a need to deal with drug-related crimes along with other crimes related to information technology."

According to the National Police Agency, there are new types of drugs that are not subject to punishment yet because they are not yet categorized as illegal under domestic laws. It says many young people take these drugs because they are usually cheap and easy to get.

"Law enforcement authorities take intensive action against the proliferation of well-known drugs. But it is difficult to follow new trends in drug crimes because they evolve in sophisticated ways. There are many loopholes," Hwang said.

He called for measures to be sought to manage the new trends before they become established and highly-organized. "If the use of new drugs continues, they will eventually be distributed to more people. The authorities should study many cases and new types of drugs found in Western countries to figure out how authorities there are tackling the problems. They should come up with more effective measures to counter them," he said.