[Lost Youth⑤] Experts: "Did Our Society Stigmatize Them First?"

Interview with Four Experts
A Society That Does Not Embrace, Neglected Out-of-Home Youth
"Youth Must Be Protected from Harmful Environments as Soon as Possible"
"The Root Cause Is Youth Poverty... Strengthening the Guardian System Is Necessary"
Calls for Government-Led Efforts to Improve Awareness

[Editor's Note] It has been exactly 30 years since the first youth shelter was established in South Korea in 1992. 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 increased to 138, gradually developing. However, there is still a long way to go. Many out-of-home youth are still left on the streets because they cannot adapt to the shelters or due to a lack of space. Although unwilling, some of these youths 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.

Asiana Economy visited all 17 youth shelters hidden throughout Seoul and found that they were helplessly exposed to harmful environments. However, adults were exploiting these already vulnerable out-of-home youth for prostitution and other purposes. An 18-year-old out-of-home youth, Mr. A, said, “The youth shelters were clearly located in inappropriate places for youths, such as being closely connected to entertainment districts or even sharing the same building,” adding, “Out-of-home youth have been neglected by society.”

Experts unanimously agreed that such youth shelter environments have a negative impact on out-of-home youth. Professor Jeong Ik-jung of Ewha Womans University’s Department of Social Welfare stated, “Even youths who are not out-of-home are adversely affected when exposed to harmful environments,” and emphasized, “Standards must be established as soon as possible to protect out-of-home youth from harmful facilities.” Investigator Heo Min-sook from the National Assembly Legislative Research Office expressed regret, saying, “According to the Youth Protection Act, youths should be kept as far away as possible from harmful environments,” and added, “Out-of-home youth are entities that do not receive protection under this law.”

Improving the shelter environment was essential to protect out-of-home youth. Professor Chu Ju-hee, an HK Research Professor at Chonnam National University’s Institute of Humanities, pointed out, “Even during the COVID-19 pandemic, 4 to 5 people still live together in one room, indicating that conditions remain poor,” and stressed, “It is necessary to have various types of shelters that not only differentiate by timing and form but also address out-of-home youth who have experienced prostitution.”

However, the fundamental problem is deeply connected to youth poverty. Lee Byung-mo, Policy Director of the Youth Shelter Association, explained, “Legal exclusion has led to youth poverty,” and said, “Children receive support through the Child Welfare Act, which was established after the Korean War. However, the Youth Welfare Support Act was only enacted in 2004, and the legal grounds for support are still weak.” Professor Chu added, “The minor guardianship system, which allows guardians to represent out-of-home youth instead of legal parents, should be strengthened,” explaining, “Out-of-home youth have parents on paper but are effectively abandoned.”

Above all, it was pointed out that the state must actively intervene for out-of-home youth as well as children and adolescents still suffering from domestic violence. Investigator Heo argued, “If society actively intervenes in domestic violence, children will escape domestic violence more quickly, and the number of out-of-home youth will decrease,” and insisted, “The Domestic Violence Punishment Act, which rarely punishes offenders, should be revised to increase the role of the state.”

There is also an opinion that society must ask itself whether it is ready to embrace out-of-home youth. Rather than paying attention to them, society may have turned a blind eye and neglected them. Investigator Heo said, “It is tragic. Out-of-home youth should be able to become independent without parents, but they cannot stand in society through normal means,” and added, “We need to reflect on whether we have stigmatized out-of-home youth as ‘bad kids.’” The policy director emphasized, “Until now, our society has not felt the necessity to help out-of-home youth,” and stressed, “The Ministry of Gender Equality and Family must actively work on raising awareness.”