Community involvement, more rehab centers needed for addiction recovery Drug addiction is a thorny public health issue in South Korea that should be seen as an illness rather than a moral failing, according to experts, calling for a more supportive environment that helps those rebuilding their lives

Seoul police crack down on drug use in Gangnam bars, round up 91 suspects Room salons -- private bars that hire women to entertain guests -- are often accused of abusing their closed-door nature to provide illegal prostitution services. But recently they have been turning to drugs to compete for cus

Experts link drug use among college students to academic pressure, lack of awareness, confusion between freedom and responsibility 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

Lawyer specializing in drug crimes talks about offenders, their families and how prison isn‘t the answer Many Koreans perceive drug offenders as fundamentally different from ordinary people. An Jun-hung, a defense attorney who specializes in drug crimes, knows from his decade-long experience of repr

Meth seizures at South Korean borders rise 67 percent in 2023, customs agency says INCHEON -- Blue lights flashed on a walk-through screening machine after a man with drugs strapped to his left abdomen and his right thigh stepped into the checkpoint at Incheon International Airport Terminal 1. A gro

Sniffer dogs deployed as military mail used as smuggling route; rising drug cases could undermine combat readiness, experts say The South Korean Air Force announced on Dec. 3 that it had enlisted two dogs -- Dindin and Tank -- to detect the smuggling of drugs into the military. It was the first case

Hoping for new beginning, recovered addicts celebrate 19th Narcotics Anonymous workshop For the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic, hundreds of recovering drug users from South Korea and Japan gathered in Seoul on Saturday to support each others’ path to sobriety. The 19th edition of the worksho

Adolescents’ drug problems reach point where educational videos no longer sufficient Drug prevention education has long been thought of as a criminal issue in South Korea, but an increase in teenage drug offenders has led to wider calls for enhanced drug education. As concerns grow over adolescents’

Recent drug scam targeting students in private academy mecca highlights worrying trend Free drinks were offered last week on the streets of Daechi-dong, a district in Seoul‘s Gangnam lined with thousands of after-school cram schools and known as South Korea’s private education mecca. The drinks, int

Korean students in US say Chun’s claims lay rich kids’ habitual drug use bare, but they doubt justice will be served 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