Iljin in the Making

Abstract

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.