A South Korean court has given a life sentence to a true crime fan who told police she murdered a stranger “out of curiosity”.
Jung Yoo-jung, 23, had been obsessed with crime shows and novels and scored highly on psychopath tests, police said.
Fixated with the idea of “trying out a murder”, she used an app to meet an English-language teacher, stabbing her to death at her home in May.
The brutal killing shocked South Korea.
Prosecutors had asked for the death penalty - a request typically reserved for the gravest of offences.
As someone who was also an English teacher working abroad (albeit in a different country), this sort of thing is my nightmare.
I had read previously of another English teacher being brutally murdered in Japan, and that was enough to convince me to never have 1-on-1 lessons in a private residence. Always meet somewhere public or teach in group settings.
You’re pretty vulnerable as a foreigner abroad and cruel people will take advantage of that.
Being alone in general is not a good idea with people you haven’t established trust with.
Humans are just too fickle and prone to acting on urges without thinking about the consequences. It’s getting worse as more people spend less time with eachother.
I don’t quite get this culture of fear.
It seems to come out of ignorance of statistics.
Be the world you want to see.
Don’t feel bad. My kids violin instructor does the sessions at his house and is quite clear it is not a drop off and pickup deal. I imagine it has more to do with him being a guy potentially alone with young girls but it is applicable to what you are saying. Why create extra risk? Meet in public or meet with more than one person.
Not to piss in the soup here, but if someone wants to murder you, it’s perfectly doable for them to meet you in a public place, do the lesson, and then simply follow you afterwards. I say this as a former private English teacher who has heard multiple stories from colleagues about stalker students who always had lessons in “safe” places