No Need to Worry

One thing we weren't prepared for when we moved to Daegu is how safe it is. When we were first shown to our apartment, I was a bit unsure about the area as it's set back in sort of a series of alley-ways and it's not well-lit at night. When I asked Sun if our area was safe, she was confused and didn't really answer. We quickly realized that crime is not much of an issue around here and that the racket of young kids playing nearby is more of a cause for concern.

Kids are everywhere - all the time. Young children, four or five years old, are often seen walking down the busy street alone as there's no real worry of something bad happening. In fact, Koreans are generally quite active in promoting the well-being of kids, rather than concerned about crime against them . Yesterday, as I was walking to Carmen's school, two young boys were shouting at their friends across an intersection and just before they took a step onto the street, an old, grey man, who was a complete stranger, ushered them back onto the sidewalk and gave them a polite lesson on watching for traffic. On a recent late-nite walk to the store, I came across a young (probably four years old) boy who was insistent on practicing his English with me on his way home from Tae Kwon Do. This is like a haven for kids. They're safe and they're everywhere.

And just to give you an idea of the density of the population, Carmen's school has a population of about 600. That population is made up of kids from just five local apartment buildings. I find that astonishing, as there's a countless number of these massive buildings in our area.