Yes, Korea has that, too.

Korea has lots of things that the USA has (except Disaronno). Korea has big cities, little towns, country views, concrete jungles, fast food, Chinese food, Febreze, and commercials. They also have B and E, otherwise known as breaking and entering.

Korea is a country that is virtually crime free. Guns are illegal, gangs are unheard of, and CCTV (closed circuit television) is quite literally everywhere so robbery is out of the question. Crime is not only something that is looked upon simply as being bad, but it is also something that is seen by one's family as dishonorable to the family as a whole.

With all of this in mind, yesterday my apartment was burglarized via someone breaking and entering into my apartment while I was not home. The entry method: sliding open my 18" wide by 12" high bathroom window that vents into the common hall outside, reaching in, and taking the goods. The goods: a cheap hair dryer.  The motive: either the thrill of stealing or wet hair and a hot date. The suspect: still unknown.

I live in an upstairs apartment of a building with a door code and CCTV. However, the CCTV is only confined to the entry and parking areas of my building and not the common halls or stairwell, so I may never know who slid my tiny window open (the window has two metal bars on the inside), reached their grimy hand into my bathroom, and stole my hair dryer that was parked in between the window and metal bars covering the window. It wasn't even a good hair dryer; it was one of the cheapest dryers that Home Plus sells. (The cheapest one didn't have a 'cool' setting.)

The worst part about the entire ordeal was the four or five hours in between realizing it was missing while I was thinking someone actually came completely into my apartment after gaining access to my door entry code, and realizing that my bathroom window is incredibly easy to open from the outside, provided it is unlocked. (Of course it was unlocked most of the time, if not open, because that is how I vented the moist air that builds up in the bathroom when I take a shower.) I methodically went through my entire apartment to see if anything else was missing, and if I might have unknowingly put the hair dryer somewhere else. It was about 1:30am when I noticed it was missing, or I would have notified my work. I don't really know anyone else in my city that I could call or go stay with at that hour, or I would have. I didn't fall asleep until after 5am, and that was only because the only way I could sleep was telling myself that the suspect stole my hair dryer through my bathroom window. Plus I could no longer keep my eyes open. And while the suspect still could have entered my apartment using the keypad, the most likely point of 'entry' (even if by someone's grimy hand) was my bathroom window because nothing else was missing. The hair dryer was resting right there in the bathrrom wintow between the window glass and the metal bars, so it was an easy target. Plus, 8 of the 10 apartment dwellers on my floor keep their hair dryer in that same spot, which is what gave me the idea in the first place. Being almost at the end of my hall gives me reason to worry, though, because the suspect bypassed many other hair dryers in the pursuit to steal mine.

Safety measures have been taken, though. I created a report with my work (they rent the apartment for me), and with the building Super, who also came tonight and showed me how to change my access code. I will also never unlock that window again. And any time I feel threatened, I'll dial 112, the number for the police in Korea. (119 is for fire emergencies, 112 is for police.)

I am posting this experience because I want people to know Korea is not completely crime free. No matter how big or small the crime may be, criminals are everywhere and they prey on unsuspecting people.