By It looks like the Korea Times has found something else to bash USFK with:
A number of American gang members have sneaked into Korea as service members of the U.S. forces, the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) said in a report, raising concerns of their involvement in criminal behavior here.
The report didn’t mention the exact number of U.S. gang members in Korea, but as of April, the FBI has identified people from at least 53 gangs whose members have served in or are affiliated with U.S. military.
“Many U.S. street gang members join the military to escape the gang lifestyle or as an alternative to incarceration,” said the report under the headline “2011 National Gang Threat Assessment.” “But they often revert back to their gang associations once they encounter other gang members in the military.”
Among gangs with members who have served in the U.S. military is Korean Dragon Family, a street gang, it said.
The report said gangs target the U.S. military to expand their territory, facilitate criminal activities such as weapons and drug trafficking, or to receive weapons and combat training that they may transfer back to their gang.
“Incidents of weapons theft and trafficking may have a negative impact on public safety or pose a threat to law enforcement officials,” it warned.
Younger gang members without criminal records have attempted to join the military, as well as concealing tattoos and gang affiliation during the recruitment process, according to the U.S. National Gang Intelligence Center.
Kim Yong-kyu, a spokesman for the U.S. Forces Korea (USFK), said both Korean and U.S. investigators had confirmed they were “not aware of any ongoing investigations that indicated gang presence here in Korea or that involved USFK personnel.” [Korea Times]
That didn’t stop the Korea Times from creating the perception that there are gang members causing crime in Korea. There are assuredly some ex-gang members and some active gang members in USFK. However, I have seen absolutely no evidence that gang members are causing crime against Koreans. You also have to love the picture the Korea Times used to headline this article. Just for the record someone with gang tattoos like the people pictured is not allowed into the US military.
There is more evidence that ex-Korean-Americans gang members coming to Korea are more dangerous than USFK servicemembers who were in a gang.
9:59 am on November 9th, 2011 1
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10:07 am on November 9th, 2011 2
“You also have to love the picture the Korea Times used to headline this article. Just for the record someone with gang tattoos like the people pictured is not allowed into the US military.”
Thanks for explaining that. When I saw that photo I thought there is no way those are GIs. So why then is this photo used in a story about GIs if the information given is accurate?
10:43 am on November 9th, 2011 3
Korean Dragon Family??
Sounds like a bunch of Tom & Orbit wannabees.
10:52 am on November 9th, 2011 4
@1 Complete B.S.
3:17 pm on November 9th, 2011 5
Les ~ Tom is the local troll around here. Almost everything he says is designed to get a rise out of people here. A lot of forum members – myself included – have stopped reading his posts because they typically have little to do with the matter at hand.
5:03 pm on November 9th, 2011 6
A confederate battle flag means you’re in the KKK? Hmmm. For most people it just means their from the south. A lot of people not from the south also wear confederate battle flags as a symbol of their “rebelliousness”.
For the record, the actual confederate flag is the “stars and bars”.
At the First Battle of Manassas, the similarity between the Stars and Bars and the Stars and Stripes caused confusion and military problems. Hence the use of the naval ensign as a “battle flag”.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flags_of_the_Confederate_States_of_America
7:50 pm on November 9th, 2011 7
When I was in the ROK the only gangs one had to worry about were the young communists and black marketeers. Being up north and still with a DMZ mission, we rarely had time to see them.
Thanks to Leon for explaining the difference between a southerner proud of their heritage, and for real hate, which has no place in the Army.
God bless all you guys and gals still over there
9:12 pm on November 9th, 2011 8
Not everyone with a confederate flag is a KKK. I’d venture to say very few of them are. Displaying that flag is simply ignorant and intolerant. However, the real issue here is the bating language used by that rag, the KT. “Sneak in,” they say? Is it against the law for a current or former gang member who himself has not been convicted of any crime to enter Korea? Of course it’s not. As ROKDrop says, this is just tarring the military.
9:27 pm on November 9th, 2011 9
Anti-globalization and xenophobic nationalism rears its head again. Let me explain. The South Korean government has invested a great deal of money in English education for the purpose of globalization. Whether you agree if the money is well spent or not (South Koreans routinely score much lower than people in other Asian countries who spend a great deal less on English education), it remains that South Korea has becoming increasingly prominent on the world scene in the last 15 years or so (the cusp of it being the election of Kim Dae Jung as president, as far as I’m concerned. The election of this former dissident, at one time on death row, has garnered South Korea a great deal of attention on the international scene). Now, for a group of people to want to belong to a community, or to want integrate, in the international community (ipso facto, the English speaking community since English is the current lingua franca), this group must have positive attitudes toward the members of said community. This touches the concept of ideal self. Do South Koreans see themselves as becoming members of the international community, and therefore speakers of English? I would imagine that they do. By sullying the reputation of the local English speaking community, be it USFK members or English teachers (the two most prominent groups), the anti-globalization/xenophobic minority in South Korean society seeks to manipulate public opinion against integration. At the risk of repeating myself, research has shown that if one holds negative views about the members of a community, he or she will be unwilling to associate with and become integrated into said community. And so, there you have it. Stories such as the one above.
9:39 pm on November 9th, 2011 10
You might not have seen any, but Korean police have:
http://news.sbs.co.kr/section_news/news_read.jsp?news_id=N1001021147
9:42 pm on November 9th, 2011 11
[...] Gang members? In USFK? Whodathunkit? And with impeccable timing, SBS reports that police recently booked 16 US service members on charges of smuggling and smoking spice—several identified themselves as members of the “Bloods.” [...]
9:52 pm on November 9th, 2011 12
#11,
Just a question: Are South Korean gang members exempted from or screened out of military service?
10:04 pm on November 9th, 2011 13
Gangsters are forbidden to serve in the Korean army. I remember in the past, one way of identifying them was through their tattoos, since tattoos were mostly worn by gangsters. People started getting tatted just so they didn’t have to serve.
10:14 pm on November 9th, 2011 14
The tattoo artist can go to jail for that. I heard there’s a new law that specifies the tattooer and the tattooed will both serve the amount of jail time their military serves would have required.
/actually, a fairly common sense law
//rare in this day and age
///unheard of in the US
11:00 pm on November 9th, 2011 15
“Gangsters are forbidden to serve in the Korean army. I remember in the past, one way of identifying them was through their tattoos, since tattoos were mostly worn by gangsters. People started getting tatted just so they didn’t have to serve.”
That’s just the stereotypical gangsters. Many of the top guys don’t have any tattoos, trust me on that. I’d should know, I’m related by marriage to someone who was the godfather of one of the most influential gangs (dozens of Korean stars performed at his wedding, gratis…that’s how influential the guy was). Besides, they usually get tattoos once they’ve already served. The father of one of my son’s playmates is a high ranking member and he doesn’t have any tattoos (I see him from time to time when I go to the sauna).
6:13 am on November 10th, 2011 16
Yeah but we’re talking about getting out of service. This isn’t a surefire test anymore since tattoos aren’t as taboo as they used to be, thanks to hip hop and the NBA.
8:35 am on November 10th, 2011 17
Not that I would really know, but do the tattoos make the gangster or does the “Thug Life Mentality” as a way of life make you a gangster? And if we have Mara Salvatrucha 13 in Korea, then we may potentially have a terrorist group-related gang in this country. But then again, there are plenty of Koreans in Korea that are involved with organized crime, domestically and internationally.
“Among gangs with members who have served in the U.S. military is Korean Dragon Family, a street gang, it said.” Yes, and how many? And would it matter? There are Russian Mob-related businesses in Korea, and I hear the Russian Mob Network is more complex and vast than some juvenile street gang.
I’m pretty sure I’ve had or known Soliders that were former, current, or had relations with gang members. Some of them were outstanding, some were all right, and some were suited to be elsewhere. A former gang member that has been properly indoctrinated and socialized into the United States military system can make an outstanding Soldier.
So what Korea Times?
5:45 pm on November 10th, 2011 18
#17 Stateside, if you have Chinese characters on your arms, you’re a badass gangsta.
7:03 pm on November 10th, 2011 19
#16, #18,
Yes, tattoos started being less taboo about 10 years ago when a marginally popular Korean singer developped a penchant for posing shirtless in order to show off his many tattoos. The censors tried to prevent him from performing on TV, but that only increased his popularity as it cemented his badboy image (sorry, I really can’t recall his name).
Nowadays, many entertainers proudly display their tattoos.
I look at the tattoo artists’ websites from time to time and a couple are quite talented. I’m not a big fan of black and grey tattoos which are popular here (they seem uninspired although the execution is good). But, there’s one young lady who’s particular gifted. Beautiful colours and shading. I imagine the waiting list to get inked by her is a long one. Yes, it’s not just entertainers and gangsters anymore. Some of my students in the last couple of years have had tattoos in very visible parts of the bodies. One girl had “Carpe Diem” tattooed in metallic blue across her forearm. She was quite happy when I pointed out that I knew what it meant. Another student had a similar tattoo on his arm, but he kept it hidden from me. His was written in incorrect English. I think he was embarrassed because he knew of the mistake, not because of the fact he had a tattoo. The worst one I’ve seen was at a spa. Some idiot had “Fly me to the Sky” inked across his shoulder blades in bold letters. I guess bad English tattoos is the Korean equivalent of those Chinese symbol tattoos that were popular 10 years ago in the US.
#17,
I doubt they have M13 in Korea. They just picked that picture to increase shock value (see #9). I doubt the Korea Times is well versed in art of identifying gang tattoos. However, I’ve seen Korean kids at Incheon airport with shaved heads and crucifixes tattooed on their necks, clearly members of some Korean-American gang. They seemed tense when they noticed I had noticed their tats (I look like a cop, short hair, muscular build).
7:20 pm on November 10th, 2011 20
@17, Typically tattoos are used to mark affiliation with a specific gang. Being as their rather hard to remove they act as a form of permanent “membership card” lol. Of course showing the wrong tatt in the wrong place can get you killed.
As for gangs in SK, I highly doubt the local Chaebul’s would allow a foreign gang to hold much influence. Possibly some Chinese / Japanese gangs might have a presence via their Korean business ties, but you won’t see any activity from the Mexican cartels over here.
The US Army has had a history of gang members joining. Having been in a gang doesn’t prevent you from joining the US Army, but you can not participate in gang related activities while your a service member. Doesn’t mean that some don’t get in anyway. It’s been a problem for decades, won’t stop anytime soon.
9:26 pm on November 10th, 2011 21
RetiredPara, I would really like to know where and when you were stationed in ROK. I was there in 1983 about 8 miles from the DMZ at Camp Pelham.
My e-mail is hiler8@gmail.com
thanks
10:46 pm on November 10th, 2011 22
SockPuppet: Interesting… I know another? GI who was married to the Korean mafia for a while. I wonder why affluent families + GI marriages break up according to anecdotes I have heard while GIs might get married to the mafia. I don’t have large enough statistical samples to determine if this is the case….
11:32 pm on November 10th, 2011 23
ROK military do not accept those with even a hint of tatoo on anyone’s body…. Also, most inductees are college or high school graduates so we can weed out those organized crime members who usually are high school drop outs.
5:40 am on November 11th, 2011 24
#20,
“As for gangs in SK, I highly doubt the local Chaebul’s would allow a foreign gang to hold much influence. ”
So you’d think, but one hand washes the other. Don’t remember that chaebol president who hired thugs to kidnap a couple of bouncers at a bar so he could beat them up with a lead pipe? There’s also a mob boss who was in the national assembly in the 60′s and 70′s. He was quite popular, apparently.
#22,
I’m not American. And my in-law, in the top 5 most powerful bosses in Korea according to my wife, is a cousin…So, it’s not exactly as if I married into the mob, as they say.
PS. As for GI marriages breaking up…Coming from someone who’s been married for quite a long time, I’d blame cultural differences (which can be overcome with maturity and tolerance).
7:33 am on November 11th, 2011 25
…Missed the “foreign” bit. Yes, you’re right. The Chaebols that have close ties with local gangs wouldn’t let foreign gangs get too much influence.
1:48 am on November 15th, 2011 26
@25,
Lol the chaebols own the gang family’s. Korean mafia is organized into family’s, not dissimilar then the old US Italian run mafia. The smaller local gangs are each aligned with a bigger mafia family, their not part of the family but they work for them and get to conduct their own illegal business hassle free. The big chaebol family’s each have financial connections to the mafia family’s, they use the mafia to get “dirty” work done without getting their own hands dirty. Want to build a new apartment building somewhere and some old adjushi doesn’t want to sell his home? Go through mafia channels to “persuade” him to sell.
It gets really interesting when you look at how many Korean college girls get into prostitution to begin with. They finish high-school and get credit cards and spend money, their family doesn’t make much so they can’t support their girl. Eventually that money becomes due and the girl can’t pay it back. Now she has two choices, first being to volunteer get a shark loan through a gangster and work in his bar or service as a call girl. Second is she can just ignore the bill and tell them to fck off. Eventually the company owning the loan will have to write her off (there is no credit history in SK), but to recoup money they “sell” her loan to a gangster under the table. Basically a mafia family agrees to pay a percentage of her loan value to the financing company, and then they go after her to pay them them back plus interest. In either case she has to work as a call-girl or other “service” to pay the money back, if she miss’s one payment the local gangs grab her and she’s now working as a prostitute for them.
It rarely gets to that last part.
2:43 am on November 15th, 2011 27
or cooperated with them…. Korean Organized crime is under control just like the Yakuza, Triad, or Mafia.
3:35 am on November 15th, 2011 28