“I just brought 50 pairs of underwear and left.”
“Where is the motel where even minors can penetrate?”
This is part of the conversation between about 10 teenagers gathered at the Gyeongui Line Book Street in front of Exit 6 of Hongik University Station, Mapo-gu, Seoul, around 7 p.m. on the 17th. Those who introduced themselves as ‘Gyeongui Line Kids’ were quite different from ordinary teenagers. It was reminiscent of the ‘gyaru fashion’ that was popular in Japan in the 90s, such as dyeing half of the hair yellow or wearing a short skirt and half stockings.
The Gyeongui Line Kids they mentioned are a modification of ‘Toyoko Kids’ (トー横キッズ), which means Japanese runaway teenagers. Toyoko Kids got its name because it is located next to the movie theater ‘Toho Cinema’ in Shinjuku, Tokyo. They have been involved in various crimes and delinquency, including underage prostitution, drinking, drug addiction, and assault, and have become a social problem in Japan four years ago. Most of these people have the appearance of a minor fashion culture ‘minefield’. Minegye, which means ‘a woman who is like a landmine that explodes when stepped on,’ represents a mentally vulnerable woman.
A group of Gyeongui Line Kids gathered in the middle of Gyeongui Line Book Street Square, not in a back alley, and revealed their misdeeds to each other. When one of them asked loudly, “Are minors breaking into the motel?” someone else said, “Yes. “I was told it would work,” he replied. He seemed oblivious to his surroundings. There were also people lying down on the floor of the square. A female student who appeared to be around her middle school age laid down her head, and her male student naturally covered her with his clothes. Although some of the group were teenagers, they smoked cigarettes and shared ‘drinking stories’ from the previous day.
The path through which they gather is social media such as X (formerly Twitter). If you search ‘Gyeongui Line Kids’, ‘Menhera’, and ‘Mine System’ on
Fifteen people filled a stand on one side of the square. Citizens passing by glanced at the group of people and turned their steps in the other direction. Lim (25), a college student, said, “No matter how young they looked, there were more than 10 people gathered together, so even as a man, I was scared of getting into a fight.”
Gyeongui Line Kids exposed to crime… Even female and adolescent prostitution
Like Toyoko Kids, there were youth who were actually exposed to crimes such as prostitution. Ms. A (18), one of the group of Gyeongui Line Kids whom the reporter met at the Gyeongui Line Book Street, said that she left home and entered prostitution due to difficult family circumstances. Ms. A said, “I started (prostitution) because I had to take on her father’s debt,” and added, “150,000 won for 30 minutes of dating, and there is also an all-day ticket. (Sexual) relationship costs 300,000 won per time.” He also said, “There were many embarrassing moments when adult men approached me for the purpose of romantic relationships.”
Another female student recently appeared on a YouTube channel and said, “I earn about 350,000 won for a 30-minute meeting,” and “I made money by meeting a man and was not punished. “She’s invincible because she’s a middle school girl,” she said. Ms. B said, “As risky as it is, you make a lot of money.” “I don’t do a lot of (conditional meetings), so I earn about 1.5 million won a month,” she said, adding, “Neither a fat man nor her grandfather are fat men or grandfathers if they give me money.”
Expert: “Home and school must serve as an emotional safety net for adolescents”
Toyoko kids are a serious social problem in Japan. This is because runaway teenagers gather together and become involved in numerous incidents and accidents.
In 2021, two Toyoko Kids teenagers took an extreme decision after overdosing on antidepressants at a hotel near Toho 토스카지노 도메인Cinema. Professor Yuji Hosaka of Sejong University told Chosun.com, “Toyoko Kids in Japan is a phenomenon that has not been resolved to this day,” and pointed out, “The big problem is that they do not gather individually in back alleys, but instead fly in groups and are exposed to crime.” did.
Nevertheless, experts cited family discord and social safety net as the reason why Toyoko Kids entered Korea as if it were a ‘culture’.
Park Jong-seok, director of Guro Yonsei Bom Psychiatry Department, said, “It is a result of the failure of home and school to provide a sufficient emotional safety net for adolescents,” adding, “Mental problems such as borderline personality, depression, and manic tendencies are a type of passive self-destructive behavior. “It can also be seen as expressed as .”
He continued, “There are cases like this even when the family environment is stable and well-off. In their case, it can be said that the depression and anger that were always inherent were expressed in deviant behavior, or that emotional dependence and desire for attention were revealed in a distorted way.” did.
Director Park said, “Because it is a phenomenon caused by empathy, communication, and a desire for safety, continuous counseling and treatment for the youth involved and case management monitoring by community experts are necessary.”