[Student Voices] How a Drug Scandal Changed Daechi-Dong

Yunseong Kim (Korea International School Jeju / Grade 7)

by Yunseong Kim (Korea International School Jeju / Grade 7)

As I walked down the street in Daechi-dong, I saw a man and a woman giving away drinks. I was coming from basketball practice and was really thirsty. I went right up to them in the hope they would give me a drink as well. Even though I was clearly interested, they didn’t offer me anything. In hindsight, they didn’t give me the drink because I was with my parents. The people had been targeting students on their own.

It was only in the news that I found out the drinks were called “Mega ADHD” and contained methamphetamines, ecstasy, and other drugs. Over 100 Mega ADHD bottles had been distributed in Daechi-dong, disguised as “study aids.” It had seemed normal to many passersby, since Daechi-dong is a place for studying and study aids are common there. Looking back, I can feel the danger: I had been standing right next to these people peddling illegal drugs. According to some reports, they had also blackmailed the parents of those who accepted the drinks, threatening to inform the police about their children’s drug use unless they paid a large sum.

It was shocking to experience this in Korea, a country known for its safety. The realization that criminals were peddling dangerous substances in what seemed like a secure environment has prompted me, and many others like me, to be extra cautious. After the incident, the Korean Ministry of Food and Drug Safety issued strong warnings against eating or drinking anything given away on the street. This has become the clear norm: do not accept anything offered by strangers. Most free-sample givers have disappeared entirely from the sidewalks.

But the question remains: Why would students take something like Mega ADHD? Like me, they may not have understood what it was. But I think there’s another reason – academic stress. Students always feel pressure to be better than their peers. This is especially strong in Daechi-dong, where students go to study at some of the top academies in Korea. When preparing for big tests like the KSAT, students feel like their whole lives are at stake. Often, too, they are running on very little sleep. This combination of extraordinary pressure and physical exhaustion can lead people to make decisions they’ll later regret.

These days, nobody is giving away free things on the street corners of Daechi-dong. The Mega ADHD incident has led to a heightened awareness of the dangers lurking in our communities. However, the streets of Daechi-dong are still crowded with tired and stressed-out students. One danger has disappeared – but what will rise up to replace it? As long as the competition to succeed is so fierce, students will always be at risk.