Even ‘Gun-Free’ South Korea’s Laws Aren’t Enough to Stop ‘Gun Violence’

If, for the sake of argument, we accept that the term “gun violence” has validity as simply a classification of a type of violent crime, then we can kind of move past some of the arguments and debates.

But not many.

After all, few are about the terminology used, but about the idea that gun control prevents violent crime, even “gun violence.”

A lot of people will point to other countries and their gun homicide rates as proof. That’s really not the slam dunk they like to think, since our non-gun homicide rates are also higher than many of those nations’ total homicide rate.

With gun control as a whole, though, there’s a problem.

See, we live in the era of technology. While not all technology is good, it’s still something that, once let out of the bottle, it’s hard to put back in. I’m talking right now about 3D printing. I’m fascinated with this technology, though I have yet to actually get a printer. That’s coming soon, though.

Still, the idea of gun control working died the moment someone figured out how to make a gun on a 3D printer. 

In South Korea, that’s pretty much considered itself a gun-free nation, a recent incident kind of showed what I meant.

Suspicions are spreading that South Korea, which was considered a “gun-clean country,” may no longer be a “gun safe zone.” As gun production laws are shared through YouTube and portal sites, and firearms can be copied in large numbers using three-dimensional (3D) printers, the threat of crime by homemade guns has come to reality.

The Incheon Metropolitan Police Agency arrested A on the road in Seocho-gu, Seoul, at 00:20 on the 21st, accused of murder and violation of the Gunfire, Sword, and Firearms Safety Management Act.

A is accused of firing a homemade firearm at his son B in his 30s at an apartment in Songdo-dong, Yeonsu-gu, Incheon at 9:31 p.m. the previous day. Mr. A claimed that the reason for killing his son was family discord. On the day of the crime, A was with B, his daughter-in-law, two grandchildren, and an acquaintance of his daughter-in-law, who held his birthday party.

The police who arrested A secured a statement that they had installed explosives at their residence in Ssangmun-dong, Dobong-gu, Seoul, and went to the scene to remove the homemade explosives such as thinner and timer. The explosives were connected to 15 PET bottles containing thinner and an ignition device, and a timer was set to explode at 12 p.m. that day. A said, “I installed it with the feeling that I would not go back home.” He also stated, “I learned how to make a gun on YouTube, and the bullet was purchasing and storing the remaining live ammunition from a hunter permitter in a warehouse for the purpose of making extreme choices about 20 years ago.” Mr. A divorced his wife 20 years ago.

OK, so the English is horrific, but you can get the gist of it.

Mr. A made a gun–we don’t know if it was via a 3D printer or one cobbled together from hardware store parts like the one used to assassinate former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe–and killed his son with it. He got ammo from someone who was licensed to have a firearm a while back, and even made explosives.

Now, I’m pretty sure that none of that is legal in South Korea.

And yet, it happened.

When someone wants a gun, they’ll find a way to get a gun. You cannot stop that. Not in South Korea, not in Japan, and not in the United States.

“Yeah, but they still have a pretty low crime rate compared to the United States.”

They do. There’s no denying that.

But they’re also a very different country with a very different culture in place. Culture matters. If you’re raised in such a way to believe in following the rules, and the culture around you reinforces that, you’re much more likely to follow the rules. That’s especially true when it comes to criminal offenses that could lead to prison time.

When you’ve got culture that reinforces the opposite, as some subcultures here in the US do, then you’ve got a different scenario.

It’s not about gun laws because those who want them will get them no matter what you do.

What it’s about is how people view taking human life as a general thing.