[Lost Youth①] Youth Shelter Located in Entertainment District

Youth Shelter Closer to Entertainment District than School
Youth Outside Family Not Protected by Youth Protection Act
Home-Style Shelter... No Signboard
Address Leads to Shared Office... Signs of Poor Management
"Effectively Neglecting Youth Outside Family"

[Editor's Note] It has been exactly 30 years since the first youth shelter was established in South Korea in 1992. The Seoul YMCA set up the first youth shelter with the goal of preventing delinquency among out-of-home youth and providing emergency living support and education. Over the past 30 years, the number of youth shelters has grown to 158, gradually developing. However, there is still a long way to go. Many out-of-home youth remain abandoned on the streets because they cannot adapt to the shelters or due to a lack of space. Although they do not want to, some resort to prostitution to avoid starvation. This article aims to shed light on the reality of out-of-home youth, which adults have deliberately ignored or exploited, and to seek alternatives.

A red-light district in Geumcheon-gu, Seoul, littered with embarrassing prostitution flyers. Just 70 steps away from here is a youth shelter where out-of-home adolescents gather. Despite being a youth facility, the shelter is unable to maintain distance from the entertainment district.
/Photo by Gong Byung-sun mydillon@

"XX Room, unlimited choice of women"

In a nightlife district in Geumcheon-gu, Seoul, where embarrassing prostitution flyers are scattered on the ground, neon signs of karaoke rooms and massage shops begin to light up after 8 p.m. Each establishment displays signs stating "No youth allowed after 10 p.m.," marking the area as off-limits to youth. However, just 70 steps from here stands the Seoul Geumcheon Youth Medium- to Long-Term Shelter (Geumcheon Medium- to Long-Term Shelter), a place where out-of-home youth can find refuge. It takes about 11 minutes to walk from this shelter to Gasan Middle School, the nearest middle school. For out-of-home youth who have nowhere to go and are vulnerable to prostitution, the nightlife district is closer than the school.

Our publication visited all 17 youth shelters in Seoul, whose locations are provided by the Korea Youth Counseling & Welfare Institute, a quasi-governmental agency under the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family. Youth shelters are places where youth who have left home for various reasons can stay and receive meals for periods ranging from one day to up to three years. Typically, middle or high school students who leave home due to domestic violence head to these shelters. However, some of these shelters are located in nightlife districts harmful to youth or show signs of poor management.

Youth shelters closer to nightlife districts than schools... Hidden in residential areas

The Eoullim Youth Shelter (Eoullim Shelter) in Gangseo-gu is also closer to nightlife districts than schools. The distance between Eoullim Shelter and the nightlife district in Hwagok 6-dong, Gangseo-gu, is only 200 meters, about a 3-minute walk. In contrast, the nearest school is over 10 minutes away on foot. The closest, Deungchon Middle School, is approximately 890 meters away. Around this shelter, one can more easily encounter signs blatantly advertising prostitution, such as "Kiss Shop" and "All the girls here are pretty," rather than educational environments. The Youth Protection Act, which protects youth from harmful environments, does not apply to youth shelters.

The distance to youth centers offering various support services was also far. Youth can participate in crisis youth programs, volunteer activities, and clubs at the Seoul Metropolitan Youth Center, but its distant location makes it nearly impossible for out-of-home youth to access. The distance between Geumcheon Medium- to Long-Term Shelter and the Geumcheon Youth Center is 3 km, and between Gangseo Youth Shelter and the Hwagok Youth Center is 1.8 km.

A common feature of these shelters is that they take the form of residential houses. Among the 13 shelters where youth can stay, five are housed in residential buildings and cannot even display signs identifying themselves as "Youth Shelters." Some are so hidden deep within residential areas that they are difficult to find. One shelter official said, "It is not easy to reveal the shelter to the local community," adding, "If residents, who hold prejudices that bad youth gather there, complain, it becomes difficult for both the youth and the shelter."

Signs of poor management... Out-of-home youth feel "abandoned"

Seoul Municipal Sillim Youth Short-Term Shelter listed on the Korea Youth Counseling and Welfare Institute. Upon visiting, a shared office requiring an employee ID badge for entry was found. The actual youth shelter address was located in Gwanak-gu. /Source=Korea Youth Counseling and Welfare Institute

There were also signs of poor management. For example, the address of a shelter that out-of-home youth should visit was incorrectly provided. In the case of the Seoul Metropolitan Sillim Youth Short-Term Shelter (Sillim Short-Term Shelter), following the address listed by the Korea Youth Counseling & Welfare Institute leads to a shared office building in Mapo-gu, Seoul. However, to enter this office, one must scan an ID card like other shared offices. If someone visits without prior notice, they would awkwardly stand among office workers at the entrance. Upon entering and locating the room number, the office was found to be dark. The actual address of the Sillim Short-Term Shelter is in Gwanak-gu, Seoul. Earlier this year, during remodeling, the shelter temporarily moved near Hapjeong Station, but the old address remains listed.

A 22-year-old former out-of-home youth, Mr. A, said, "One shelter in Incheon shared a building with a karaoke room where prostitution seemed to take place. Every time I saw it, I thought it was bizarre," adding, "Whenever I see poorly managed shelters, I feel abandoned by society, but there is no choice. Without these shelters, out-of-home youth would have to endure cold and hunger."

Why do such issues occur? Ultimately, it is a matter of money. Currently, Seoul entrusts 13 of its 17 shelters to private operators. The "Review Report on the Consent for Private Entrustment of Geumcheon Youth Medium- to Long-Term Shelter," prepared by the Seoul Metropolitan Council's Administrative and Autonomy Committee in August, states that while operating shelters directly by the city ensures publicness and sustainability, private entrustment can provide economic efficiency and service expertise. A Seoul city official said, "It is realistically difficult to consider land and environment when entrusting shelters to private entities," adding, "Currently, we comprehensively evaluate operational performance, budget, and personnel when entrusting shelters."

Legislative Research Officer Heo Min-sook from the National Assembly Research Service pointed out, "Adolescence is a period sensitive to the surrounding environment, and out-of-home youth, neglected by their parents, are even more vulnerable," adding, "Although private entrustment was well-intentioned, the fact that shelters are located near nightlife districts without any special measures effectively means that out-of-home youth have been neglected."