“Mom, why is she stumbling like that?” As entertainment establishments around schools are neglected,..

“Mom, why is she stumbling like that?”

As entertainment establishments around schools are neglected, more and more students are exposed to harmful facilities. Administrative authorities have taken action against complaints from parents concerned about the educational environment, but resentment is increasing as there are few signs of improvement.

In front of Nonhyeon Elementary School in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, on the 28th of last month. Elementary school students holding their parents’ hands turned to the signboards around them. The colorful signboards were full of restaurants and bars promoting “24-hour business” even in the morning sun. Not a few drunken people stumbled and smoked because they couldn’t wake up from drinking all night. Even on the second floor of a nearby building, a store specializing in adult products was operating with a “Real Doll Sales” sign.

It is also common to get out of the way by being surprised by a one-ton car that frequently travels near the school. Due to the 24-hour operation of nearby restaurants, food and liquor transport vehicles were driving hard through narrow alleyways at any time. Parents of the Green Mother’s Association are holding flags and supporting vehicle control at all crosswalks around the school every day. A parent holding a Green Mother’s Association flag in front of the school’s main gate said, “It is a particularly dangerous place for children because there are many entertainment establishments near the school and there are many vehicles.”

Although entertainment facilities are concentrated around children’s living spaces, parents of Nonhyeon Elementary School said they were helpless no matter how much they filed complaints. A parent of Nonhyeon Elementary School said, “There are many drunken people in the morning, so the Green Mother’s Association pays more attention to transportation support than other schools,” adding, “Drinkers come into the park near the school and smoke, but no matter how much they file a complaint with the district office, it is not being corrected.”

There are many stalls in front of elementary schools, and there are places where drinking tables are held on the way home from school. There are five or six stalls lined up right in front of the main gate of Yeomri Elementary School in Mapo-gu, Seoul. At 4 p.m. on weekdays, when merchants had just started their business, they could see a drunk who had already begun to flirt.

Parents near Yeomri-cho said they were anxious. B, a nearby resident with an elementary school child, said, “Children of Yeomri-cho usually go to school on foot, but I’m worried that a drunk person stumbles around in front of the school.” C, a parent of Mapo Elementary School near Yeomri Elementary School, complained, “Not only Yeomri Elementary School but also other school children come here because of the academy,” adding, “It is no joke because there is a drinking party at night when I return from class.”

An official from Mapo-gu District Office in Seoul said, “Since it is illegal to store piles or street vendors on the road under the Road Act, the street stall in front of Yeomni-cho is a place where business permits cannot be obtained,” adding, “Every day, whenever a complaint is filed, we go out to the site to guide and impose fines.”

Last month, a company near Unbuk-cho, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, reported its business as a studio rental business and broadcasted as an adult, causing a problem. Parents complained as the appearance of broadcasters smoking on the street in sensational clothes was exposed to elementary school students. Accordingly, on the 23rd of last month, district offices, police, and school officials conducted a joint on-site inspection. The Gangnam-gu Office said, “We conducted a guidance on smoking and clothing because we could not identify illegal factors at the time,” adding, “The district office and the Office of Education will cooperate to request the Ministry of Education to revise related laws.”

Kwon Il-nam, a professor of youth guidance at Myongji University, said, “If you learn from the landscape of drinking and entertainment businesses in the community, it is highly likely that this will act as a learning effect and will not be repulsed by harmful businesses even when you become an adult.” “Even if the registered business is not an entertainment establishment, strong supervision and punishment should be carried out if it is confirmed that it has the same effect as harmful businesses.”

[Reporter Cho Byung-yeon]