Iljin in the Making The Life Course of Perpetrators of School Violence in South Korea

Abstract

This study seeks to locate "the points of impact of social forces" regarding juvenile bullying-and-violence in South Korea. Based on the multi-informant case-file material of 20 perpetrators of school violence detained at a Juvenile Detention Centre between 2011 and 2013, this is the first qualitative study to place bullying-and-violence in South Korea within its life-course context. This novel approach is achieved by applying classic findings from developmental criminology conducted in Western societies to the South Korean case-file material. Additionally, original emoticon-based "life-course turning points diagrams" are presented as potentially offering an alternative means of conceptualising and analysing life-course trajectories. Against a binary conceptualisation of school violence, this study reveals a cyclical connection between earlier victimisation (in the home) and later offending (at school). In contrast to school-and-security-centric measures advocated and implemented by the government at the time, this study advocates more family management-centric measures.